Today Miloe–a.k.a. 19-year-old Minneapolis artist Bobby Kabeya–announces his new EP, entitled Greenhouse. Born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kabeya moved to the U.S. with his family at the age of 8 to reunite with his father, a journalist who was granted asylum three years prior. Greenhouse is an exhilaratingly energetic and youthful homage to Summer and the weather patterns of his childhood, paired with lyrics of teenage melodrama and idealism. “The Minnesotan climate can feel so limiting compared to where I grew up, almost like we’re waiting half the year to actually live our lives,” he explains. Living in a region that faces harsh winter for much of the year, and in 2020 served as ground zero for uprisings against police violence, Kabeya created Greenhouse as an offering of sunshine to his community as winter returns. Pre-order Greenhouse, out October 30th, HERE.
To celebrate the announcement of Greenhouse, Miloe shares the EP’s lead single “Winona” alongside a music video. Rooted in bedroom pop, “Winona” blends 80s synth-pop with Congolese guitar finger-picking, and offers an exciting first look at this EP. Check out the song and video (which was shot by Kabeya’s parents!) now HERE or HERE
Bobby Kabeya was raised by musical parents who met through the church choir during college and taught him to play the piano at the age of six. His childhood home was filled with the sounds of influential Congolese artists Papa Wemba and Lokua Kanza, South African reggae legend Lucky Dube, and Western luminaries Bob Marley, Mariah Carey, and Lionel Ritchie.
When he was eight years old Kabeya traveled over 7,000 miles with his mother and three younger brothers to reunite with their father. Once in the US, Bobby began to pick-up more instruments through the local art and after-school programs, eventually beginning to jam with friends outside of school in his early teens. Finally, in 2017 Miloe was officially formed, building a local fanbase through high-energy basement shows with a seamless blend of indie pop and rumba folk. His self-titled EP was released in 2017, followed by singles “Motorola” and “Everything (That Should Go),” which appears on Greenhouse.
