Although Milla Jovovich is a well-known actress and model, few are aware she is furthermore a gifted vocalist and musician. An introduction to Milla, the musical artist.

• Milla – “The Divine Comedy”
• Plastic Has Memory
• New Electronic Folk Music: The Peopletree Sessions
• Where is Milla’s music now?

Although Milla Jovovich’s music is not a part of her “fame-factor”, it is nevertheless something she has worked on since the late 80’s. In 1994, she released her debut album The Divine Comedy, featuring fine tuned, melodic pop songs with a pinch of folk- and rock music thrown in. Although officially, she hasn’t released any new music since, she continues to perform onstage as well as collaborate with other artists – as she told InStyle, August 2007 “I’m not trying to make money out of it – I’m just here to give.”

Although there have been no other official music releases from since her debut album, she periodically shares new “demo songs” with her fans on her official website at MillaJ.com, which are available for free-of-charge private listening and downloading, though not for (commercial) redistribution. You can also show your support to her music by purchasing her debut album from e.g. Amazon.com.

Milla released her first album, titled The Divine Comedy, in April 1994, after signing a record deal with SKB Records. Despite early creative differences with the record company, Milla firmly held to her original stylistic aspirations in music, and eventually got her way, allowing her to make her own creative decisions rather than going with the bubblegum wave of the 90’s, as initially demanded by her record label.

The Divine Comedy is a bold, flirty, folky and melodic musical collection of 11 tracks written and sung by Milla in her strong but ethereal voice, which has been compared to the likes of Sarah Brightman, Kate Bush, Tori Amos, even Enya. Each track on the album is heartfelt and compelling, with the songs echoing a wide range of strong emotions anyone can relate to; while “Gentleman Who Fell” will have you smiling for its playful mood and lyrics, the beautiful “Clock” evokes a more rural, almost African atmosphere with its exceptional, Enya-esque vocals. “Don’t Fade Away” again is again a return to the playfulness of “Gentleman Who Fell”, but with a more hazy air to it, while “Bang Your Head” will have you listening intently simply because of its fascinating range of melody. This is just to name a few highlights of the album.

Regrettably, Milla’s musical debut went largely unnoticed by the general public of the 90’s, although it was recognized by a number of noted music-related publications as a “genius” record. Milla was also featured on e.g. MTV’s Alternative Nation in 1994, on which she discussed her music and her debut album, as well as performed. However, the fact that the general public mainly brushed past the album is not to say that Milla’s music would not have generated avid fans. Indeed, the album quickly garnered a solid fanbase, and has received rave reviews from listeners and critics alike; to quote an enlightened Amazon reviewer, Milla’s The Divine Comedy is a “remarkable musical debut.”

Featured Tracks:

001. The Alien Song (For Those Who Listen)
002. Gentleman Who Fell
003. It’s Your Life
004. Reaching From Nowhere
005. Charlie
006. Ruby Lane
007. Bang Your Head
008. Clock
009. Don’t Fade Away
010. You Did It All Before
011. In A Glade

A few years post-The Divine Comedy, Milla Jovovich picked up the guitar and fronted the (however shortlived) band Plastic Has Memory, which toured around New York and Los Angeles in 1999. Stylistically, the band took Milla’s music to a new genre and era as, rather than The Divine Comedy, their music has been compared to bands such as the electronic, trip hop and rock band Portishead; quite a leap from the folky, melodic tunes of Milla’s 1994 debut. After some time of touring, the band members went their separate ways; unfortunately for fans of the band, Plastic Has Memory never released a studio album, and thus their material is hard to come by, seeing as it is unreleased.

Unreleased Tracks:

001. Aggravated Rose
002. Boat Drives Me Away
003. Flash
004. Let Me
005. On the Hill
006. You Keep Me Here

The New Electronic Folk Music album featuring Milla Jovovich is an album that has since its release been source of much controversy, mainly due to a (legal) dispute between Milla herself and producer David Turin. Although stylistically intriguing in its more electronic and haunting sounds – a huge leap from the 1994 The Divine Comedy – fans will be disappointed to discover that Milla, reportedly, never approved of the release of this album.

The album consists of private sessions of discussion and song between Milla and producer Turin, mixed with electronic sounds and music. However, the word on the street is that during her music sessions with Turin, Milla was never informed that her private musings would be recorded and released (!), for which she was reportedly outraged. Furthermore, Milla reportedly did not authorise photographer Kate Garner, Turin’s wife, to use her photography of Milla on the cover of the album.

In November 2003, Milla’s official European site received the following message regarding the album from Chris Brenner, Milla’s business partner and friend:

We wanted to make Milla’s fans aware of on misunderstanding however regarding the unlawful sale and distribution of “The People Tree Sessions.” I am afraid that you have all been mislead and that in truth this is not Milla’s second Album. Milla cares very deeply about her music as it is HER ONE TRUE EXPRESSION and she does not stand behind The People Tree Sessions in any way, shape or form. We met the man behind this nonsense through his wife Kate Garner who is a talented photographer and has shot Milla for various magazines. Kate told us that her new husband David Turin was a producer and was working on something with Janes Addiction frontman Perry Ferrel, and that he wanted to work on some ideas with Milla as a collaboration. That is the one and only reason that we went and played music with David. By the end of the week we realized that there was no truth to the Perry Ferrel story but were happy with some of the ideas that came from working with David. We always thought that perhaps those idea’s could turn in to a couple of great songs after really working them out. Several weeks had passed and David approached us with this idea: He said he was working on a compilation cd with Perry, Steven Perkins, The Dust Brothers, etc., and wanted to know if he could take one of the ideas, a track called “Perfect World” and remix it with The Dust Brothers and put this one track on the cd. Milla and I did agree to that idea as long as she approved the final edit. One evening Milla found in her mailbox a cd with a picture that Kate had taken on the cd case. When Milla opened it there were 13 or so tracks on it. She had assumed at the time that David had made this for her own personal use, so that she would have the ideas we worked on to work with for possible future recordings. She never imagined that David would take the liberty of releasing this as her second album. SHE NEVER APPROVED OF THIS. She was very hurt, angry, and bitterly disappointed that he would exploit her in this way along with misleading her fans into believing that she would release something that is not a true representation of herself. What her fans are hearing is indeed her voice, but not her songs. David rebuilt that music and created songs around ideas that Milla hoped to take in a much different way. Milla and I have asked David nicely, and not so nicely to stop selling The People Tree Sessions and to STOP MISLEADING MILLA’S FAN’S. Out of respect to his wife we didn’t make this a legal issue until last year when Milla’s Lawyer sent David Turin a Cease and Desist letter which he has totally ignored. the end and sad result is that Milla is no longer friendly with Kate Garner, will never work with her again and is furious that Kate supplies David with cover art that she has no right to do. Photographs of Milla are only intended for what they were shot for. Kate knows this yet she has given David the right to use photographs of Milla for commercial use when she herself doesn’t own the rights to those photographs of Milla. As you can see this is a big mess. Milla’s legal team is contacting Amazon to remove the People Tree Sessions from their catalogue. We are seeking a settlement from David which Milla will donate to AMFAR and OCRF. Just remember that if any of you want to buy this mess David call’s Milla’s Music that you are not only being misinformed but you are putting money in the pocket of a greedy, self centered man that is no friend of hers. It’s a shame that someone as creative as David Turin would resort to the worst level of exploitation and continue to do so despite the knowledge that it upsets my dear friend Milla Jovovich. I can tell all of you that she is the most generous, giving spirit I have ever met and I personally hate to see her used in this way. Please, support Milla on this and do not buy this unfortunate collection of noise. I appreciate your help and your understanding.

Although there are opposing views as to what happened between Turin and Milla – e.g. Turin’s father George Turin has often gone public with his side of the story, claiming Milla had previously been excited for the project, but had then backed out for reasons unknown – it would be well advised not to purchase this album, because it does not support her musical career. None of the profits from the album sales go to her, nor has she evidently authorized its sale in any way.

Since her 1994 debut, despite popular request, Milla Jovovich has not released any further records.

In an interview with InStyle UK (August 2007), Milla revealed that she in fact recorded a second album shortly after the release of The Divine Comedy, which however went unreleased due to further creative differences with her record label:

My record company wanted me to change some things and I couldn’t handle it – this is my writing. I don’t think anything should be changed. It’s genius! So now I just treat that second record as something for me.”

However, though Milla has yet to release new music officially, she has by no means remained idle.

In addition to releasing the occasional new demo on her official site (under “Current Demos”), Milla has made several special onstage performances, with her latest appearances including gigs in Moscow and Paris (2007) as well as at the Vogue China Icons 2008 Awards in Beijing, China. More recently, in April 2009, she performed “The Mission” with the Maynard James Keenan-fronted band, Puscifer, on the Los Angeles stretch of the Puscifer tour.

Recent Collaborations:
• 2009: “Underneath the Stars” from the album Underworld: Rise of the Lycans
• 2007: Puscifer, “REV 22:20″ from the album V Is for Vagina

Recent Live Performances:
• Apr 4/5 2009: Performed “The Mission” with Puscifer on the Los Angeles stretch of their tour
• Feb 13 2009: Performed “The Mission” with Puscifer on the Las Vegas stretch of their tour
• Dec 6 2008: Performed “Falling” at the Vogue China Icons 2008 Awards in Beijing, China
• Mar 14 2007: Performed at the Bobino Cabaret Club in Paris, France
• Mar 3 2007: Performed at the TsUM Collection Moscow Reveal in Russia

Please visit Milla Jovovich’s official site for a complete discography.

At this point, it is unlikely Milla will be releasing new music on an official level anytime soon.