Shot by @hoeshell
Toronto’s Ashton Mills finally shows the city what he’s capable of in his debut nine-track album, “You Watched Me Lose My Mind” that was released in November.
“On an emotional level, all of the writing and lyrical content comes from a vulnerable place. I’m going through it just as much as anyone else is and if that can give anyone a point of relation where we can connect our worlds together, I feel like that’s a beautiful thing,” Mills said.
Mills is like a revolver – each bullet chamber holstering a different skill that he’s fired out onto this new project.
“You Watched Me Lose My Mind” was entirely produced and written by the artist himself. A recording artist, record producer, engineer, multi-instrumentalist, director and designer, Mills has been able to take advantage of his expertise to allow himself to be in full control of the process.
“The biggest blessing and curse is that every single little decision is mine to make. I’m incredibly meticulous,” Mills said.
The artist told Sidedoor that his love for linking together small details to create something elaborate is what gives him complete control, but can cause him to be over-analytical at times.
Shot by @hoeshell
Mills always has to be mindful that being a “one-stop-shop” can be more time-consuming than working with an entire team. It’s taught him to be super streamlined, he said. Mills entangles passionate and emotive lyricism with dreamy, lo-fi beats in tracks like “Belladonna/Waterboy” and “Midnight” that give off a state-of-the-art feel to the R&B sound.
“Belladonna/Waterboy” also happens to be Mills’ favourite song to produce. He said the track was all based on feeling.
“I went into that song with no limits, preconceived restrictions, or structure for how I was going to write it. So far, that’s my bohemian rhapsody,” Mills said. Additional vocals by Nicole Era, Samantha Era and Ramona Amanté are included on the album, giving just the right amount of texture and dimension that it needs.
Mills teamed up with Plus Ultra and photographer Frank Lin to allow his vision to come to life in the form of visuals for the project. Being able to grow his team and explore what other visual creatives, singers and producers have to offer will be a refreshing change, he said.
“I’m just excited, man. I just dropped and I’m already charged up.”
Listen to “You Watched Me Lose My Mind” on all streaming platforms