Amy Millan is a Canadian

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

singer and guitarist. She records and performs with the bands

Stars A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by self-gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night; their immense distances from Earth make them appear as fixed points of ...

and

Broken Social Scene Broken Social Scene is a Canadian indie rock band and musical collective including as few as six and as many as nineteen members, formed by Kevin Drew (vocals, guitar) and Brendan Canning (vocals, bass) in 1999. Alongside Drew and Canning, the ...

as well as having a successful solo career. Her second solo album, '' Masters of the Burial'', was released by

Arts & Crafts Productions Arts & Crafts Productions is a Canadian music-focused media and artist services company that offers services as an independent record label, management firm, merchandiser, and publisher worldwide. It has earned 21 Juno Awards. Arts & Crafts has ...

in September 2009.

Biography

Early life

Amy Millan grew up in the Cabbagetown neighbourhood of

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. She attended high school at

Jarvis Collegiate Institute Jarvis Collegiate Institute is a high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is named after Jarvis Street where it is located. It is a part of the Toronto District School Board (TDSB). Prior to 1998, it was within the Toronto Board of Education ...

, and later the Etobicoke School of the Arts where she studied drama alongside future

bandmates Kevin Drew and

Emily Haines Emily Savitri Haines (born 25 January 1974) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She is the lead singer, keyboardist and songwriter of the rock band Metric and a member of the musical collective Broken Social Scene. As a solo artist, she has pe ...

. Millan dabbled in acting, appearing as a pregnant teen in the first episode of the second season of Degrassi Junior High. Millan and Haines formed the band Edith's Mission. Although short-lived, Edith's Mission did play a sold-out show at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto.Berman, Stuart. '' This Book is Broken.'' 2009. After high school, Millan moved to

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

for three years to attend Concordia University and gained experience as a solo performer by playing in coffee shops. Upon returning to Toronto, she formed the roots-rock band 16 Tons and wrote many of the songs that she would use to launch her solo career several years later. After the breakup of 16 Tons, Millan moved to Los Angeles. While living there, her song with 16 Tons, "Bury Me," was added to the soundtrack of the film ''

Drowning Mona ''Drowning Mona'' is a 2000 American crime comedy film starring Danny DeVito as Wyatt Rash, a local police chief from Verplanck, New York, who investigates the mysterious death of Mona Dearly (Bette Midler), a spiteful, hard-drinking, loud-mouthe ...

''. However, Millan, missing a city where walking was encouraged over driving, returned to Toronto.

Stars

was formed by

Torquil Campbell Torquil Campbell (born March 17, 1972) is the co-lead singer and a songwriter for the Montreal-based indie rock band Stars. In addition to singing, he also plays the melodica, trumpet, synthesizer, and tambourine. Campbell is also an actor and ...

and Chris Seligman in New York City. The line-up subsequently grew to incorporate

Evan Cranley Evan Whitney Cranley is a Canadian musician based in Montreal, Quebec. He records with the bands Stars and Broken Social Scene, although he considered joining the band Metric before finally joining Stars. Musical career Early on, Cranley was in ...

, with whom Millan had played gigs while a member of 16 Tons. Feeling that Millan would be a good fit for the group, Cranley invited her to New York City to audition in December 1999. After receiving assurances that she would be actively involved in the songwriting process, Millan agreed to join the band. As much of their debut album had been recorded prior to her joining, Millan's involvement in 2001's '' Nightsongs'' was limited, although she did write and sing lead vocals on "Toxic Holiday". Desiring to return to Canada, but not wanting to move to Toronto, the band relocated to Montreal. Drummer Pat McGee was recruited as their fifth member prior to the release of their second album, ''

Heart The heart is a muscular Organ (biology), organ found in humans and other animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels. The heart and blood vessels together make the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrie ...

'', in 2003. Millan's influence was more evident on this album, and a number of the tracks were performed as duets between her and Torquil Campbell, establishing a style for which the band would become well known. Stars' commercial breakthrough came with their 2004 album ''

Set Yourself on Fire ''Set Yourself on Fire'' is the third studio album by Canadian indie rock band Stars. It was released on September 14, 2004 on the Arts & Crafts International record label in Canada and the United Kingdom, and on March 8, 2005 in the United Stat ...

'' and the accompanying single "

Ageless Beauty "Ageless Beauty" was the fifth single released by the Canadian indie pop group Stars A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by self-gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...

", which she wrote and featured a lead vocal by Millan. Their fourth album, '' In Our Bedroom After the War'', was released in 2007 and was followed by the EP '' Sad Robots'' the following year. In June 2010, they released their fifth full-length album, '' The Five Ghosts''.

Broken Social Scene

Although she did not officially contribute to

's first two albums, due to scheduling conflicts for BSS members Emily Haines and Leslie Feist, she was asked by former classmate Kevin Drew to "be the girl" and sing with the band for the release concert of the band's second album, ''

You Forgot It in People ''You Forgot It in People'' is the second studio album by Canadian indie rock band Broken Social Scene, released on October 15, 2002. It was the band's commercial breakthrough. ''You Forgot It in People'' features intricate, experimental productio ...

''. From 2002 onward, Millan has often performed in BSS alongside fellow Stars members Evan Cranley, Chris Seligman and Torquil Campbell. She appeared on their 2005 self-titled album and also contributed vocals and writing to Kevin Drew's 2007 solo album ''Spirit If...'' as well as to Brendan Canning's 2008 solo album ''Something For All of Us''. As in Stars, Amy usually sings with BSS but also plays guitar and percussion during live shows.

''Honey from the Tombs''

Amy Millan released her debut solo album, '' Honey from the Tombs'', in 2006. It consisted of songs largely written before 2000, from when Millan was a member of 16 Tons. The album title was inspired by a

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on society's underworld and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He began in the American folk music, fo ...

interview where he compared the release of older songs to the discovery of sweet honey buried in Egyptian tombs. The album was produced by

Ian Blurton Ian Blurton (born 1965) is a Canadian musician and record producer. Early life He was born in Champaign, Illinois in 1965, and moved to Toronto in 1973. Musical career He has been a part of Toronto's indie music scene since the early 1980s. He ...

and musical contributors included

Brendan Canning Brendan Canning (born 1969) is a Canadian indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used ...

and Kevin Drew of

and Dan and Jenny Whiteley from Crazy Strings. In contrast to her work with Stars, Millan's solo work is strongly influenced by country and folk music. Thematically, many of the songs deal with loss and loneliness, and taking solace in alcohol is sung about numerous times. Millan's upbringing in Toronto provided the inspiration for the song "Wayward and Parliament", which is based on her time working in the coffee shop "Jet Fuel" on Parliament Street. Two videos were shot to promote ''Honey from the Tombs'': "Skinny Boy" was directed by George Vale, and "Baby I" was directed by Anthony Seck. The songs "Losin' You" and "Baby I", were released as 7" singles in Europe. Millan also toured extensively to support the album, playing dates in North America, Japan and Europe.

''Masters of the Burial''

Millan released her second album, ''Masters of the Burial'', on September 8, 2009. The album is produced by Martin Kinack and musicians appearing include Evan Cranley, Dan and Jenny Whiteley, Mark Roy, Leslie Feist and Liam O'Neil. The album features several cover songs, including some written by Death Cab for Cutie and Sarah Harmer.

Personal life

Millan is married to Stars bandmate

. Their daughter, Delphine Rita Jane Cranley, was born on March 21, 2011. Millan gave birth to a son in 2017.Amy Millan on Instagram
/ref>

Discography

Albums

EPs

Singles

Compilations

Collaborations

For Amy Millan's work with Stars, see Stars discography.

Footnotes

External links

Amy Millan
official website
2009 Amy Millan Interview at Bandega.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Millan, Amy 1973 births Living people Canadian pop guitarists Canadian indie pop musicians Canadian indie rock musicians Canadian women rock singers Singers from Toronto Arts & Crafts Productions artists Stars (Canadian band) members Broken Social Scene members Canadian women pop singers 20th-century Canadian guitarists 21st-century Canadian guitarists 20th-century Canadian pianists 21st-century Canadian pianists Canadian rock pianists 20th-century Canadian women singers 21st-century Canadian women singers 20th-century Canadian women guitarists 21st-century Canadian women guitarists 20th-century Canadian women pianists 21st-century Canadian women pianists Etobicoke School of the Arts alumni