Kid Millions

New York-based Kid Millions is an adventurous drummer whose playing embraces driving, trance-like repetition as well as chaotic, free-form improvisation. He is best known as a founding member of Oneida, a long-running group from Brooklyn who play a highly energetic, melodic form of indie rock influenced by Krautrock, minimalism, noise, and more. Millions’ other main project is Man Forever, which has evolved from extremely repetitive drum-focused compositions to a more sophisticated art-pop style. He has collaborated with fellow Oneida members in additional groups such as People of the North and Soldiers of Fortune, and has drummed for Boredoms, Spiritualized, Royal Trux, and other notable groups. On occasion, he’s released solo works such as 100 Disciplines (2016). He has issued several albums of improvisations with saxophonist Jim Sauter (Borbetomagus), and has ongoing projects and collaborations with Laurie Anderson, violinist/vocalist Sarah Bernstein, drummer/composer Greg Fox, Mouse on Mars co-founder Jan St. Werner (2021′s Imperium Droop), and many others. Aside from all this, he has written for publications such as Modern Drummer, Pitchfork, and Rolling Stone, and has given lectures and workshops about composition, drumming, journalism, and other subjects at numerous schools, universities, and conservatories.
Born John Colpitts, Kid Millions co-founded Oneida in 1997. After releasing two albums on Turnbuckle, the band signed to Jagjaguwar and released several acclaimed records, including 2002′s Each One Teach One and 2004′s Secret Wars. Outside of Oneida, Millions performed on releases by bandmate Bobby Matador’s group Nurse & Soldier, Ex Models, and Samara Lubelski. Additionally, he formed other groups with his bandmates, such as People of the North, Soldiers of Fortune, and dub side project Jäh Division, who released an EP called Dub Will Tear Us Apart in 2004. Millions participated in Boredoms’ 77 Boa Drum concert in 2007, released the following year. He joined psychedelic group White Hills in 2008, performing on four of their albums.
Millions started the percussion-focused project Man Forever in 2010. Its self-titled debut LP, issued by St. Ives, consisted almost entirely of his furious drumming, with some bass playing by Sightings’ Richard Hoffman. Expanding its lineup, Man Forever released the live LP Learned Helplessness in Rats -- Rock Drummer in 2011, then moved to Thrill Jockey for 2012′s Pansophical Cataract. Boanerges, an album of live improvisations with Borbetomagus saxophonist Jim Sauter, was released by Doubtmusic in 2013. Millions performed with Spiritualized in 2013, and an improvised set with J. Spaceman, Live at Le Poisson Rouge, was issued by Northern Spy in 2014. Fountain, a studio session with Sauter, appeared on Family Vineyard later in the year. Additionally, Man Forever released albums with So Percussion and White Gregg.
Millions’ solo release The Sanguine Cadaver appeared on NNA Tapes in 2015. He formed Fox Millions Duo with fellow powerhouse drummer Greg Fox, and Thrill Jockey issued their first album, Lost Time. A collaboration with Carsick Cars’ Zhang Shou Wang, titled Beijing 2014, was released by Genjjing Records, and a cassette with Sauter called Bloom appeared on Monofonus Press/Astral Spirits. Also, Millions formed the Symptoms with Laurie Anderson and Tony Diodore, and played in the all-star improv group the Unspeakable Practices. Beyond the Confession: Kid Millions Reworks Harry Taussig, an unusually guitar-focused Kid Millions album, was released by folk label Tompkins Square in 2016. The ambitious ensemble work 100 Disciplines, featuring numerous percussionists and vocalists, was issued by Thrill Jockey the same year. Millions began drumming for the reunited Royal Trux in 2016. Tense Life, Millions’ first recording with violinist/vocalist Sarah Bernstein, was released by 577 Records in 2017. Man Forever’s Play What They Want, a more song-based album featuring guests such as Anderson and Yo La Tengo, appeared on Thrill Jockey. Monas, an improvisational trio with Colin Fisher and Johnny DeBlase, released the album Freedom on Astral Spirits.
The self-titled debut by Charnel Ground, Millions’ instrumental rock project with Chris Brokaw and Yo La Tengo’s James McNew, appeared on 12XU in 2018. New Atlantis released an eponymous CD by Matter Waves, a microtonal improv group that featured Millions as well as Rhys Chatham and David First. Safe & Sane, an LP with Sauter, was co-released by Astral Spirits and Family Vineyard in 2019. Albums with Bernstein (Broken Fall) and Fox Millions Duo (Biting Through) appeared the same year. Million Lands, a dub-inspired collaboration with multi-instrumentalist Ben Lanz, released their debut LP, The Ochre World, on Ernest Jenning Record Co. in 2020. Millions and Jan St. Werner (Mouse on Mars, Lithops) released their debut collaboration, Imperium Droop, on Thrill Jockey in 2021. ~ Paul Simpson