Started in the summer of 2024 and released on July 11, Milena’s first full-length album, Where to Begin, is here and ready for eager ears. The seasoned artist is credited with the creation of two shorter albums, Foggy and Riddle; both equally showcasing her talent, but have production and composing credits given elsewhere. With Where to Begin, Milena wanted it all to be hers: the creation, the battle, the completion, the satisfaction, and finally, the release.
On a peaceful summer night, one would expect the warmest thing to be the floating heat lingering above the green grass. However, the beaming smile of Milena and her bubbling, bright enthusiasm warmed the evening the most as she settled in to talk to EnVi about all things Where to Begin.
Everything is More Milena
Where to Begin is not only longer, but it is more Milena in every way. When approaching the concept of a full-length album, Milena decided if she was going to tackle it, she was going to do so with full understanding: production, vocals, composing, everything. This led the album to encompass her true vision with sonic scenery and sensory details threaded through every song.
This also gave her the ability to tweak and adjust the album’s genre-bending qualities. When asked about the selection of jazz being infused throughout, Milena flatly said, “Well, actually, I have a tattoo of Chet Baker here,” before she pulled a mischievous smile and pulled up her sleeve to show the tattoo in all its glory.
No longer able to hold it back she broke into laughter before continuing, “I’ve been influenced a lot by jazz since I started making my own music … As it goes, I figured out my voice suits jazz more than R&B.” She continued to explain how she’s weaved in and out of genres like pop, R&B, and jazz since the beginning of her career, which has aided in finding her individual musical voice.
Where to Begin? The Beginning, Of Course
Within Milena’s plethora of choices to make when creating the album was also the question of setup. How should the songs be arranged? To tell the story of a relationship starting in the summer and ending in the spring, they are laid out in chronological order. This narrative-based album is recommended by the artist to be listened to from beginning to end without shuffle, but of course, whatever you’re feeling is fine as well.
Where to Begin starts with a song of the same name. Track one contemplates the age-old answer when someone asks, “Why do you like me?” While it is the introductory song to a year of love and wonder, it is also arguably the most complex song on the album, having taken six months to be perfected.
“I tend to spend a really short time working on my songs, but ‘Where to Begin’ was… I don’t know why, but it was so hard to finish it,” Milena explained, scratching her head at the memory. “Also, I made it by myself, so I changed a lot of musical elements in it, and the instruments.”
The intent for perfection came from wanting to make it so jazzy that it sets up the entire album for a silky experience of Milena’s self-created sonic personality. Seemingly tired even from the thought process, she let out a gentle and breathy laugh while finishing her thought, saying, “It took me the longest time to finish.”
“Where to Begin” soon shifts into the sensitive and soft “Bluejay” with strings whisking listeners into a floral composition from the first moment. While all the songs have been created within the past year, the stories come from scattered times in Milena’s life; “Bluejay” holds one of those stories.
“I really enjoyed writing Bluejay. The idea came from a true story; other songs do as well, but Bluejay gives [that feeling] whenever I listen to it. It feels like I go back to the time when I wrote that song,” Milena explained, chin in her hand as she gathered her thoughts and then smiled and exclaimed, “It’s a love song!” The story comes from the first time someone told her “you look like that” (referring to a bluejay) at the beginning of a relationship, giving her the oh-so-telling feeling of excitement of what they will say next.
The track drips with the feeling of old Hollywood love expanding into a black and white film. The vocals beg to be sung with a live symphony, and the story playfully hints at the narrator striving for idealistic love. As Milena’s character hopes to rearrange their star signs to align, the bluejay warms their wings with May sunlight, not realizing they may be flying too close to the sun.
As the classic beauty “Bluejay” closes, the modern and wavy “Foot on the Moon” opens, introducing a lo-fi groove to the album and that signature bedroom pop. Daniel Kim of wave to earth shows up twice on Where to Begin, once being on “Foot on the Moon,” with his influence very present in the atmospheric additions to the genre. The track feels like soaring through the stars with a lover before being steadily grounded at the start of “bad handwriting.”
Focusing on a long-distance love, “bad handwriting” teeters on being a lullaby while also being a subtle, heartbreaking track of unwanted spatial separation. Within the two minutes of the song, the sun seems to rise and fall with Milena’s voice as days pass between lovers. While songs typically take Milena two to three days to write, “bad handwriting” stands as the fastest-written song on the album, having been written in only 20 minutes. She clarified quickly that this only happens every once in a while, also known as “a miracle!”
Memory Making and Diving Deep
As Where to Begin continues, the relationship within it deepens. Songs like “read my love” are warm like decadent espresso in a dimly lit bookstore while being reminiscent of 2000s vocal jazz and blues. Others, like “Coffee Shop,” focus on the type of platonic love that balances on feminine understanding and tender silliness.
“Coffee Shop” was inspired by a close friend who included one of Milena’s songs in her wedding and was written immediately after. It acts as a reflection of the relationships women build in their adulthood, wrapped in old stories that never seem farther than yesterday.
While “Coffee Shop” cocoons the raw beauty and sensitive love of female friendships, the following track, “Piano (feat. Yun Seok Cheol),” transports the listener into a cinematic serenity. Inspired by A Rainy Day in New York, the track smells like cinnamon, tastes like whiskey, and feels like velvet chairs and silk. Though the song recounts the feeling of being fully encapsulated in someone who feels like a work of art, it’s hard to see their love slipping until they leave in the spring.
The eighth track, “What about Next Spring (feat. Kim Daniel of wave to earth),” is the only song where Milena’s voice is paired. Because of their partnership under the same company, as well as Milena being the opener for wave to earth on their recent U.S. tour, fans have been hoping for a song combining their complementary voices.
During the tour, this hope became reality. “We spent a lot of free time singing and playing guitars and instruments together. While we were singing, I was thinking, ‘Wow, I think our voices sound quite well together,’ so I was like, ‘Okay, what if I make a duet song and ask him to help me?’” Talking about her colleague and friend, Milena’s tone shifted into something softer, evidently grateful to Kim for his advice and friendship.
She continued the story, elaborating on his contributions to the album, saying, “He did the whole production [for “What about Next Spring”] and even mixed it, so he helped me a lot.” Bursting into laughter, she finished by adding, “He even told me this is the first time he recorded playing drums. So it’s like drummer Daniel’s debut song.”
“What about Next Spring” marks the soon-to-be end of a relationship for the main character, creating a soft, isolating moment bottled within “Love with a loneliness.” Holding a fairytale quality, the song incorporates strings, an ethereal guitar sound, and riffs leading toward the end of the song, as well as the end of the relationship.
The penultimate track, “Subtle Change,” is a slick and charismatic nod at old-school Milena R&B while alluding to the small twist everyone slightly notices before a breakup. Seamlessly, the song switches into the final track, “Wrong Way,” a reopening of Milena’s debut track, “Night Train.”
“It’s actually a continuous story of my debut song ‘Night Train,’ so I use bossa nova in both songs,” Milena begins. “It is my first full-length album, so I wanted to make a connection to my debut song…Also, ‘Night Train’ is one of the most popular songs of mine, so I wanted to make a special secret connection.”
“Wrong Way” wasn’t originally supposed to be a continuation of the narrative of “Night Train,” but as it was being written, Milena slowly realized the stories were so similar that they could fit together perfectly. Not only does it showcase how far she’s come since her debut, but it also shows the transformation her music has undergone. “Wrong Way” is sung in English while “Night Train” is sung in Korean, showing Milena’s tactful duality and shift in tone and goals over time. Both remain whimsical while attached to reality and positively “Milena.”
Growth and Gratitude
Before saying goodbye, Milena took time to express the impact her closest supporters have had on her while creating the album. “For the inspiration part, it’s not unexpected, but I was inspired a lot by wave to earth and Colde with this album … When we were doing the shows in the U.S., they gave me a lot of advice and good insight to finish this album.” Speaking with her hands covering her heart, she finished by saying, “They kept pushing me and cheering me on, so without them, this would have never worked out… I’m so appreciative.”
With sharpened skills, a fresh mindset, and friends to support her, Milena is prepared for whatever Where to Begin brings her. Whether that may be a tour, festival, or continuing to bring fans closer to their own experiences through her music, Milena is ready. So, are you?
Milena is available to stream on Spotify and Apple Music. Make sure to stay up to date on all things Milena on her Instagram and TikTok.
Want more EnVi interviews?Check out our artist spotlight with Maya Kuriel here!
