Millen JR

MILLEN JR is the lovechild of vintage soul, backroom funk, outsider pop, and smoky jazz, stirred with a wink and a slow-burning groove.

Drawing from a kaleidoscope of influences, he channels the raw heart of Ray Charles, the righteous warmth of Pops Staples, and the falsetto finesse of Curtis Mayfield, but filters them through his own off-centre lens.

His sound sashays between the laid-back dub-soul of Fat Freddy’s Drop and the poetic melancholy of Nick Drake, riding grooves tight enough for Vulfpeck, yet always cracked open for a story or a slow smirk. There’s deep soul lineage here—echoes of Aretha Franklin's gospel fire, the jazz-blues grace of Cassandra Wilson, and the velvet touch of Lizz Wright—but also a proudly Australian edge.

Raised on the sun-drenched larrikin charm of Mental As Anything, the swagger of the Hoodoo Gurus, and the horn-drenched funk of the Dynamic Hepnotics, MILLEN JR doesn’t just borrow from tradition—he waltzes with it in Cuban heels and a second-hand velvet blazer.

Add in a dash of Elvis Costello's lyrical snarl and the surreal wit of Alexei Sayle, and you’ve got an artist who croons, grooves, and occasionally pokes you in the ribs just to make sure you’re listening. His songs are confessionals wrapped in rhythm—soulful, subversive, and built for late-night drives, lonely dances, and unexpected revelations.