First Look Friday: The Sunny Soul Of M&O FKA Milo & Otis [Music + Interview]

First Look Friday: The Sunny Soul Of M&O (fka Milo & Otis) [Interview]

M&O (FKA Milo & Otis) gave us a bit of their time recently to rap on where they've been these past few years since the release of their astral The Joy LP back in 2012. The Joy was a personal favorite that year, but what really shined through on the recording was the connection the two of them have in the studio and (apparently) outside of it as well. Multi-instrumentalist Otis lays down some of the sweetest and minimal r&b grooves I've heard since Quadron's debut record, which are perfectly complimented by the dynamic vocal treatments Milo provides on each and every track, strutting everything from mid-range croon to all-out falsetto.

Their upcoming record has seen two impressive releases already with the dissonant fuzzy shuffle of "Hollow" and the lilting slow jam "House," both providing a window for their old-soul sentiments to shine through those minimalist, melancholia-inducing grooves. Their sophomore record Almost Us is due out April 3rd, featuring collaborations with Chicago's own Donny Trumpet, as well as a slew of other talented locals who are sure to impress. You can read our interview with the B-more/Chitown duo below, but be sure to click play "Hollow" and "House" --their first two offerings from the new LP--as you scroll down. Keep it locked to the Okay-realm for more from the sunny-soul tandem now known as M&O.

OKP: Its been nearly two years since the last album dropped. How have you guys been spending your time? Touring? Recording? Downtime?

MILO: Otis & I don't really believe in downtime. There's this Quincy Jones quote that says, "You can never be a better artist than you are a person." I would say we have spent the past two years living, growing and becoming better people, and by extension better artists. We went on a tour of the country, built ourselves a Chicago studio space from the ground up, worked several day jobs, fell in love, had our hearts broken, played music, wrote music--and learned a lot of new things about ourselves as friends and as bandmates. Our artistic process is very much about remaining present in the world and constantly honing our craft, so when we sat down to write the new album, the songs seemed to come effortlessly, because in reality we had been writing them for almost two years.

OKP: How do you distance yourself from the producer/singer stereotype? What is the relationship like between you two? How long have you been working together?

OTIS: Even as a duo, we consider ourselves a band.

It takes time to build a band, you have to live through shit together. Milo and I started working together casually in 2010, when I used to send her beats from ATL and she would sing over them. At this point, Milo and I very much finish each other's sentences in the studio. She writes a lot of chord progressions and instrumental harmony and I help her with lyrics and melody frequently. I play bass, drums, keys, guitar and also know how to mix. I wouldn't define our relationship musically by what goes down in the liner notes. We are a team, we do everything together.

OKP: The Joy was a standout a couple years back. What are you most looking forward to with this next album?

MILO: Otis and I love The Joy, but we also understand that it represents our musical identity at a certain point in our lives. We like to think of an album as a tattoo, it perfectly captures our emotions and experiences during the time we wrote it and it's so beautiful to have that audio time capsule of sorts. But when I listen to The Joy there is something about my voice that seems to be doubting itself. Otis also says there are elements of his instrumentation that he feels didn't come out quite the way he had envisioned in his mind. With this next record I'm excited for people to hear how much closer we have become to our dream-selves, and how much we have allowed ourselves to be strange and vulnerable and brave in order to create a sonic landscape that really represents us as the people & artists we are today. The new album title, Almost Us, is all about that constant process of becoming.

OKP: The last album featured a ripening Chance The Rapper on "Lift Up." Are there any collaborations on the upcoming LP that you're particularly excited for us to hear?

OTIS: We were really lucky to be able to have a few very talented local singers and rappers come through and try out some things on the new tracks. We even have Milo’s two sisters joining us on a couple songs. However, as the creation of the album went down we realized the most important collaboration on the album was actually between the two of us. Milo and I sing together for the first time on this album, and we worked more closely together on the writing & editing process than ever before. Some of the collaborations we had envisioned suddenly felt out of place - as though interrupting an intimate conversation. This was a delicate moment in the fabrication of our sound and sonic identity, and it seemed right to just explore those ideas together, as a band. Though of course we are looking forward to teaming up with some of these talented artists on remixes and in the future...