Producer Josh Mills has been honing his music and sonic footprint for years. Bending and shaping a style that could be described as retro-futuristic. Synthesized vocals courtesy of the vocoder, Mills builds sleek, neon-lit musical worlds as Missions. Steely synths, airtight drum programming, and melodic robotic vocals paint a circuital picture that is equal parts mainframe meltdown and an android love story.
On August 2nd Mills will release Missions’ debut album Subcreature with Holodeck Records. “Josh is the most Holodeck of all Holodeckers” I was told recently. Mills has been there since the beginning of the ever-evolving record label. Coming up alongside S U R V I V E and Boan, Mills cut his teeth in the Austin synth community before relocating to the big city lights of Los Angeles in 2017.
Once Mills made the move to California, he kept a heavy collaborative spirit alive in his creative world. He has worked with Emmy award-winning Stranger Things composers Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein, as well as writing, producing, and performing with Parisian pop artist Lou Rebecca(Rebecca’s Holodeck Records debut Restless drops 9/20.)
But with his debut Subcreature, however, Mills puts Missions front and center.
Missions’ lead single “Truther” is an absolute monster of attitude, groove, and late night glances. Heady swaths of synth give way to a propulsive electronic beat, setting the stage for a late night rendezvous in some cavernous corner of the universe. I picture city lights reflecting off slick black leather, wet sidewalks, and distant catcalls as the song plays on. Mills’ vocoder’d vocals only add to the mysterious and almost sensuous vibe of the track. This is pure vibe and visceral thrills.
Missions’ Subcreature could very well be 2019s Tropical Depression. “Truther” alone carries with it the same personal and intrinsic electro beauty that Jake Schrock’s debut did. Schrock’s debut, as with “Truther”, just completely blew me away. Both carry something in their circuital DNA that just sticks with me. They both feel very much of their own sonic world, and I for one cannot wait to spin Subcreature when it hits in August.
Until then, check out “Truther” below in the hypnotic video created by Essentials Creative. Album design by the always incredible Telepath Design. You can preorder Subcreature here.
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