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Ryan Linder and Malachi Graham, the creative forces behind Small Million, first crossed paths in a manner generally reserved for rom-com meet cutes. Both were with their respective friend groups at a sparsely attended Holocene dance night in 2015. The two factions eventually started intermingling.
“Everyone was talking to each other,” Linder remembers, “and it was like, ‘Oh, she makes music, he makes music. You guys should make music!’ And you’re like, ‘Sure, sure, sure.’” The nameless friend’s instincts proved correct, however, as the two were soon collaborating, molding Graham’s more folk-country influences into Linder’s electronic soundscapes.
The give-and-take of their respective sounds has made for some of the most exciting future pop music to come out of Portland in years. First EP Before the Fall mixes glistening downtempo rhythms with the substantial twang of Graham’s singing like a bright pink, sequined Nudie suit. Forthcoming album Passenger (out this September via Tender Loving Empire) adds in the overwhelming colors of shoegaze rock and musicians like drummer Ben Tyler and bassist Kale Chesney into an already heady mix. Warming it all from within is the strong creative partnership that Graham and Linder have built along the way.
“It came slowly,” Graham says. “We’re both very driven weirdos, and it’s through the process of writing and making music together that our friendship grew.”
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