Some artists compose music. MILYAM builds atmospheres. Intimacy is a type of song that envelops you, seduces you, takes you in without you even being aware of it. It's quiet and it's patient and it's amazing in the right way.
The song is quite interesting because it does not rush to impress you. It slowly unfolds, however, with confidence and emotional sensitivity, so each sound and feeling takes its place. MILYAM has a sense of mood, space and tension that is unusually sophisticated, and creates an all-encompassing listening experience, that is elegant, emotional and true throughout.
The production is cinematic and immaculate. Simple but detailed, layered electronic textures that invite close listening. There is no coinciding here. There's a specific sound for each and everything it does, and there's a feeling that's all the time very polished, but not cold or impersonal.
MILYAM's voice is the centre of all things. A sultry, well-judged, and highly expressive performance, it embraces the emotions of the song with ease. She always doesn't exaggerate the emotion. It's the restraint that makes it so powerful. You are not pushed against, instead, you lean into it, and that's a skill.
But the notions of intimacy, vulnerability, closeness and the forbearance of a silent war of courage is woven into the emotional fabric of the music as well. This is late night R&B and soul made high-brow, and it deserves to be heard at the same time as it would be at a late night show.
It is also important to note here that this is the work of a true independent artist who is constructing something true, on her own terms. Her label, her vision, her standard is Milyam Empire. Intimacy is already a hit on Amazing Radio in both the UK and the USA and that's well deserved. This is music for a reason. It's present in every note.
