ARTIST INFO

Label: Tender Loving Empire
Genre: indie pop
Hometown: Portland, OR
Has Opened For: MAX, Fakear, IDER, Hatchie, HÆLOS, Lo Moon, Loch Lomond

UPCOMING SHOWS

PAST SHOWS
Sept 22, ‘23 / Cascade Equinox Fest (Redmond, OR)
Sept 9, ‘23 / Doug Fir Lounge (PDX, OR) - sold out in advance
Sept 5, ‘23 / Bottom of the Hill (San Francisco, CA)
Aug 31, ‘23 / Knitting Factory NoHo (Los Angeles, CA)
Mar 26, ‘23 / Treefort Music Fest (Boise, ID)
Mar 4, ‘23 / Polaris Hall (Portland, OR) - sold out
Mar 3, ‘23 / Barboza (Seattle, WA)
Oct 21, ‘22 / Crystal Ballroom with MAX (Portland, OR)
Mar 11, ‘22 / Mississippi Studios (Portland, OR) - sold out
Sept 24, ‘21 / Treefort Music Fest (Boise, ID)
Sept 9, ‘21 / Holocene (Portland, OR)
Jun 19, ‘21 / The Lot at Zidell Yards (Portland, OR)
Jan 12, ‘20 / Mississippi Studios with IDER (Portland, OR)
Nov 18, ‘19 / Doug Fir Lounge with Fakear (Portland, OR)
Sept 28, ‘19 / Modest Music Fest (Moscow, ID)
Sept 27, ‘19 / Mississippi Studios with Hatchie (Portland, OR)
Sept 5, ‘19 / Doug Fir Lounge (Portland, OR)
Jul 19, ‘19 / Wildwood Music Fest (Willamina, OR)
Apr 25, ‘19 / Holocene (Portland, OR)
Mar 22, ‘19 / Doug Fir Lounge with HAELOS
Mar 21, ‘19 / Treefort Music Fest (Boise, ID)
Dec 17, '18 / Polaris Hall (Portland, OR)
Dec 12, '18 / Barboza (Seattle, WA)
Oct 10, '18 / Mississippi Studios (Portland, OR)
Aug 8, '18 / Holocene (Portland, OR)
May 19, '18 / Willamette Valley Music Festival (Eugene, OR)
May 9, '18 / Holocene (Portland, OR)
Dec 17, '17 / Rontoms Sunday Sessions (Portland, OR)
Dec 3, '17 / Old Church (Portland, OR)
Oct 26, '17 / Holocene (Portland, OR)
Sept 16, '17 / Brickroom (Ashland, OR)
Sept 13, '17 / Hemlock Tavern (San Francisco, CA)
Sept 12, '17 / Tiki Bar (Costa Mesa, CA)
Sept 6, '17 / Kilby Court (Salt Lake City, UT)
Sept 5, '17 / Mississippi Studios (Portland, OR)
July 22, '17 / PDX Pop Now! Festival (Portland, OR)
June 19, '17 / Bunk Bar with Lo Moon (Portland, OR)
June 2, '17 / Volume Fest (Spokane, WA)

RESOURCES

• Press photos (high res)

ONLINE

Website
Instagram
Bandcamp
Facebook
Twitter
Soundcloud
YouTube
Spotify
Apple Music

MUSIC

VIDEO

BIO

You have said too much to a stranger in a bar bathroom; your back is killing you because of everything you haven’t said; you’ve overwatered your houseplants again. Small Million is here for you.

Flowing from the collaboration of longtime creative partners Ryan Linder and Malachi Graham, the Portland-based indie pop outfit welds deeply affecting sonic production to sharp lyrics about intuition and inhibition, losing control and ending up in unexpected places, being willing to fuck up, bodies hurt and bodies joyful. The effect is both intimate and epic, delicate and fierce. Listen to it to ache, dance to it to heal.

In the time since Small Million's last release, years of chronic pain have led lead vocalist and lyricist Malachi Graham to deep explorations of embodiment that have changed everything from her singing voice to her dance moves to her observation of human frailty. “There’s one side of chronic pain that leads you towards intuition, self-discovery, and listening closely to yourself. But it also means you end up sitting on the side of the room a lot, watching people and paying attention. Also you’re pissed,” notes Graham. Producer and instrumentalist Ryan Linder’s background as a filmmaker informs the textured richness and intelligent restraint of his song building. He approaches production with obsessive technical rigor that’s always in service of centering intense emotion. Graham’s clear, unadulterated vocals breathe at the heart of Linder’s rich sonic terrain, drawing comparisons to The Cranberries and Florence + the Machine.

While Linder and Graham have been writing as a duo for a decade, with 2018’s Young Fools EP finding an audience on Spotify with over 2.5M streams, for their newest chapter they've expanded the band, enlisting Ben Tyler (Small Skies) on drums and Kale Chesney (Lo Pony) on bass and harmonies. Small Million's evolution into a four-piece has expanded the band’s sound from their synth pop origins to encompass more organic, raw indie rock energy.

Small Million has played with artists like Fakear, IDER, Hatchie, HÆLOS, Lo Moon, and Loch Lomond, and their tracks have been featured on compilations by Tender Loving Empire, PDX Pop Now!, and Vortex Music Magazine. They released their debut EP Before the Fall in June 2016, their follow-up, Young Fools, in Fall 2018, and singles “Saintly” and “Tarot” in 2019. Their newest music is dropping throughout 2022 on Tender Loving Empire Records.

PRESS

Recent Premieres & Features:

• Named one of Portland’s Best New Bands in Willamette Week

• Billboard Magazine premiered “LONE”

• OPB Music premiered “Young Fools”

• Substream Magazine premiered “Sirens”

• Alternative Press featured “Sirens”

• PopMatters premiered “Bullets” & “Outro” Music Video

"Graham wails over Linder’s electronic pulses as myriad harmonies swirl on the EP—the juxtaposition is beautifully cohesive, nostalgia-soaked and demurely danceable.." —Vortex Music Magazine

“The synthpop duo's sound is innovative and darkly captivating, capable of pulling audiences in with pop-accessible hooks only to keep them around for the scintillating stories and sounds that come with them.” —PopMatters

“Featuring imaginative lyrics and supernatural sounding synths, this Portland duo push and pull each other.” –Alternative Press

"Un duo synth-pop a peu de chances de vous laisser de marbre." 
–Rolling Stone France

"Between the powerhouse vocals that yield fierce, Lucius-level harmonies and the tight instrumentation, Small Million give you plenty to gush over. We’re talking instant, hard-core music crush right here. This pair’s chemistry rivals the likes of fellow Portland bands (Joseph, Sisters) while their energy should appeal to Matt & Kim fans. Their prismatic appeal – as in, their sound dazzles you from every angle – puts them high on our Artists to Watch list."
—The Revue

"In the sparse synths and deeply emotive vocals, the duo found a universal language in their shared love of melody and emotion... [In] Small Million's euphoric debut EP, Before the Fall, you can still hear the Americana-steeped virtuosity in Graham's voice on 'Nightblooming' and 'Sleep Long,' but even at its twangiest, it seems right at home among the twinkling synths and rhythmic loops." –Willamette Week

"As Malachi Graham’s vocals echo over [Ryan Linder's] plush, well-produced instrumentals, the melodies feel cathartic, building the song towards the climactic, richly textured conclusion — one that feels like a long, emotional release." —The Wild Honey Pie

"Malachi’s delivery stands front and center around an array of vocal-samples and glimmering synths that shine forth like a cave of wonders filled with thousands upon thousands of sparkling rubies." –Impose Magazine

"A stellar debut EP." –Portland Mercury

“The give-and-take of [Ryan and Malachi’s] respective sounds has made for some of the most exciting future pop music to come out of Portland in years.” —Willamette Week