RealSoundsOK: From Apes To Angels Q&A

Your name:

Millie Gaum.

Where are you from?

I was born in London but raised in Brussels, returning to London with my mother when I was 13. I have lived in Sheffield since 1997.

Name of band:

From Apes to Angels.

Who else is in your band?

Andrew Brassleay, who makes all our additional noises, I believe, from some kind of underground lab in a secret location.

How would you describe yourselves and your music?

Re-imagined 80s synth pop. Like The Book of Love having raided Chvrches' studio and pinched all their best 21st-century keyboards.

Who are your main influences musically?

In terms of songwriting it has to be Everything but the Girl, The Cocteau Twins, Joni Mitchell, Bjork, Suzanne Vega, The Cure, The Smiths, Billy Bragg, The Velvet Underground and more recently The Album Leaf, M Ward and Sufjan Stevens. I'm a sucker for a sad song. In terms of musical genres I like ambient and dance music.

Andrew is into artists such as Grimes, Purity Ring, and iamamiwhoami.

What do you hope to achieve in music?

I love that question! I still have a childish urge to be recognised and praised and I guess I would really like for my music to be heard more widely. I will always write songs because I need to to process my feelings and I guess any achievement is a by-product of that.

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?

From Apes To Angels has only just started so we hope our highlights are still to come, although we've had a few blogs say nice things about us. But in 2011 a DJ got in touch with me, having heard me online, and asked me to do some vocals for him. I recorded a song for him which he worked his magic on and the track got picked up by a label and remixed and is still now used in sets. I love the idea of a nightclub full of people dancing to one of my songs!

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

I would like to forget that time my old band and I drove, full of excitement, all the way to a recording studio in deepest Cornwall but got the day wrong and ended up standing around for hours hoping the guy might show up. We didn't have mobile phones. We managed a call from the local pub's phone but no one was in.

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?

We've only launched two into the public domain so far! There are more to come that are currently under wraps. But I like the direction our new single Perfection is taking. It has an 80s vibe, but it also feels like a modern dance record. I love the beat. You can listen to it here: https://soundcloud.com/fromapestoangels/perfection