After dedicating years to honing his skills as a live performer and songwriter, Melbourne-based musician and producer Tyler Millott, a proud Gamilaroi man, has crafted a unique musical identity. He has toured alongside notable artists such as Ali Barter, Husky, and Gretta Ray, which has significantly shaped his artistry. In 2018, he unveiled his solo project, The Terrifying Lows, marking a pivotal moment in his career.

With a sound that’s both dark and irresistibly captivating, The Terrifying Lows explores a distinctive style of rock music that immerses listeners in rich layers of evocative guitar riffs, entrancing vocal melodies, and relentless rhythms. The project stands out for its ability to draw audiences into a sonic landscape where they can effortlessly lose themselves in the music.

We’ve recently chatted with Tyler on his latest track ‘When I Feel Like Giving Up,’ creative process, guilty pleasures, and more.

Hi, and thank you for your time! I’m sure fans would be interested in knowing more about your backstory. How did you start the project?

After years of touring and performing as a session bass player in Melbourne, Australia with the likes of Ali Barter, Husky, Gretta Ray, and more, I started The Terrifying Lows in 2018. I always had a lust for songwriting and wanted to do my own project and eventually cut back on the session playing and got stuck in.

Is there a specific philosophy or worldview underlying your music?

I tend to lean towards the darker, melancholic lyrical content, and the vision and overall sound for the project really presented itself to me when I came up with the name The Terrifying Lows; exploring introspective themes of depression, anxiety, addiction etc.

What are the elevator pitches for your music that’ll make people have to listen?

I like to say that it’s a rhythm-heavy introspective alternative rock/pop akin to artists like PJ Harvey, Autolux, and ‘AM’ era Arctic Monkeys. However, my new music is quickly evolving into something else.

Take me through your sound design process. Does the conception come first or do the songs evolve naturally – do you have a clear idea of what it will be before you start to make it?

I do have a clear vision of what I want the body of work to sound like. The songwriting process is a little more flexible than that… the chords and lyrical content anyway but definitely the overall sonic landscape and arrangements fit a concise theme.

How do you get into the headspace to write something? Are you a “writing at 3 a.m.” type of person? Or are you sporadically making notes on your phone that eventually become something amazing?

I will definitely jump on an idea at whatever time it comes but I do like to stick to a healthy routine. Not necessarily “9 to 5” but I do prefer to treat it more like a day’s work. My days of getting loaded and jamming are behind me.

When you start designing a new sound, do you already “hear it in your head” or do you just start noodling the knobs and experiment and see what you can come up with? What was it like for ‘When I feel like giving up’?

There is a certain element of noodling or experimentation but I do plan for an album or body of work. With my second LP that I’m working on at the moment, wanted to move away a little from the guitar rock sound of my first record. This is exactly how ‘When I Feel Like Giving Up’ came about. The piano loop kicked off the whole song and set the tone.

What do you hope listeners take away from ‘When I feel like giving up’?

Well, firstly I hope they like it! But for me, it is an exploration of the emotional weight that comes with aging and feeling like you’ve got nothing left to give. So, with that in mind, I just hope people can relate and hear that there are others out there going through the same thing if that’s what they’re feeling. The more I talk with my peers the more I hear that it’s a common experience.

the terrifying lows

Can you introduce us to the When I Feel Like Giving Up’ creative process? What were your influences on it?

This song is a cathartic anthem for those navigating dark moments. I was listening to a lot of lo-fi indie at the time; woozy, wobbly DIY sounds that I was loving so that was a major player in the conception of this tune. Again, I wanted to move away from guitar so I took to the keys and crunchy lo-fi beats and the rest is history. We also used a really cool vintage Roland synth on a lot of it so there’s a bit of an 80s tinge in there.

I also want to ask you about the bands that have been continuous influences for you, but also about new bands and new records that you think are exciting in this scene.

I feel like that’s a hard question to answer these days. I grew to kind of hate the fact that there was a direct link between my influences and the sound on my first LP. After that, I just opened the antennae to everything that tickled my fancy.

Even if it was a certain element in a song and not the song or the artist itself. However, with my second album, I’m trying to dip into the early electronic vibes of the 90s. UNKLE, Portishead, etc.

Guilty pleasure time. What would you say are some of your current most guilty pleasures? All is fair game, food, books, video games, whatever floats your boat. Let us have it.

Oh, my my… I just started creating a playlist called “CRINGE FACTOR”. Let’s just say that I think ‘This is How You Remind Me’ by Nickleback is a tuuuuune and people need to lay off the hate. Think for yourselves, people.

Looking to the future, what’s next for you?

Finishing off this album is priority number 1. I’ve more singles lined up (a killer collaboration on one of them, just quietly), and then the album releases mid-year. Some shows are on the horizon as well but the art is everything at the moment!

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Still can't tell exactly my origins because of my suspiciously ‘Chinese eyes’.