Mili: Indie Icons Bringing Music and Magic

Do you consider music a source of comfort? Are vibes and aesthetics important to you when refining your musical tastes? Are you into unconventional lyrics and whimsical imagery against the backdrop of fairytale-like melodies? If you want to immerse yourself in a realm of magic, mystery, and madness, then Mili is the band for you! 

They’re a Japanese indie group making music primarily in English with a few songs in Japanese and Mandarin as well. Maybe by the end of this article you’ll have completely reorganized your Spotify playlists to accommodate them!

As the vocalist, Cassie Wei (momocashew) harnesses the power of her soft and mellow voice to create lyrical melodies. They can be gentle and sweet as in “Colorful” and “Unidentified Flavorful Object;” and at times even haunting or cryptic as in “Sl0t” and “Mushrooms”. Her voice is so calm and comforting that you might end up falling asleep to her singing about a mirror that gruesomely burns its owner’s enemies!

Yup, Mili’s songs aren’t just pretty little things to listen to — a lot of their songs tell stories as well.

Fans of the group enjoy indulging in the stories as much as drumming their fingers to the violin-piano harmonies. For instance, while “Ga1ahad and Scientific Witchery” consists of poisoned-sandwich tea parties and time-looped necromancy, “Summoning 101” unravels the tale of a witch desperately searching for her beloved wolf before her own time runs out. 

Unconventional metaphors seem to be second nature to Mili as the song “Meatball Submarine” shows off pretty well. On the surface, it appears to be about decorated marine sandwiches and their aquatic journey to reach their destination. However, a popular fan interpretation sees how this song deals with the struggles of appearing presentable to the person one loves; and how trying to impress someone could lead to their “mayonnaise dressing licked off and their cheddar cheese torn apart.”

It’s not just the lyrics that have attracted attention to Mili — a lot of people have stumbled upon this group thanks to videogames such as Deemo and Cytus; for which Mili has created many soundtracks.

Recently, they’ve lent their musical prowess to a South Korean role-playing videogame titled Library of Ruina. “Iron Lotus, String Theocracy” and “From a Place of Love” are songs they’ve done for the game; and they’re all absolute bangers resonating with emotion and vigour — perfect for tugging at heartstrings regardless of whether you’re immersing yourself in the game or not.

Now they’ve got another notch in their belt with ENDER LILIES: Quietus of the Knights, an action RPG released on Steam and the Nintendo Switch. Check out their latest release for this game, “Bulbel”!

Millennium Mother (2018) was their last LP, and rumors are rumbling about a hefty new addition to their discography this year. Seeing as they’ve been churning out tracks pretty frequently, it’s not far-fetched to expect a new studio album in the works with fresh new tracks! 

Mili has music for any and every audience, whether you want to get your thinking juices flowing with theories and personal interpretations of some of their deeper songs or you’re simply looking for something fun and groovy.

So, has this band caught your ear?

Header: Mili (Website)

About the Author