MALA
DJ / Producer / Founder of Deep Medi
Co-Founder of DMZ & Digital Mystikz
Soundsystem Culture
Born and raised in South Norwood, London, Mala has played a pioneering role in UK music since the turn of the century. His work as a producer stirred dubstep’s musical melting pot with its most primal ingredients before it even had a name.
Mala came to prominence as a founding member of DMZ, the crew behind some of modern bass music’s most influential dances and the most highly prized 12s the movement has ever known.
Almost 20 years later, his ideas and his creations continue to influence, push and fuse contemporary electronic music to unchartered places…
The Roots of Dubstep
In the early 2000s, Croydon, London and the UK as a whole were already hives of musical influence and inspiration. Dancehall and dub had long made their mark on the electronic scene. 2-step, garage and jungle ruled the airwaves. Set against this background, Mala’s work with DMZ was attracting more people to a new sound with familiar roots: Dubstep.
Its sparse, half-time drums, moody basslines and haunting melodies had created a new scene distinct from its influences. This mood carried through to the Forward>> and DMZ dances. The local dubstep scene began to spread, gained UK-wide recognition and grew into a worldwide phenomenon.
Throughout this journey, Mala’s work was recognised for its unique take. Mary Anne Hobbs invited Mala and his peers to propagate the paradigm on Dubstep Warz in 2006, introducing a host of new fans to the sound. John Peel was also playing Mala dubplates on Radio 1 as far back as 2003.
This period of work saw Mala build some of his most recognized creations. The heavily demanded ‘Anti War Dub’, the soul-stirring gumbo that is ‘Don’t Let Me Go’. The epoch-defining ‘Left Leg Out’ and his remixes of the most iconic names across music’s last four generations: Grace Jones, Sade, Moritz Von Oswald, Lee Scratch Perry, Fat Freddy’s Drop and The Last Poets among other greats.
Keep Your Medi Deep
In 2006, Mala launched his own label: Deep Medi Musik. Envisioned as a place for Mala’s more experimental creations, the label eventually took on a different direction. Deep Medi now calls itself home to one of the most eclectic mixes of artists on the scene.
“I just wanted to provide a platform for other producers, really,” notes Mala in conversation with CLASH, “for some of the music that I was getting sent.”
Since its founding, the agenda-setting label and Mala have continued to develop the UK bass blueprint. Together they’ve championed creative compositions from the likes of Skream, Swindle, Silkie, Commodo, Calibre, Goth-Trad, Truth, Kahn, Egoless and many more genre-affirming artists.
The label has also spanned genres and is now the home to one of grime’s most iconic tracks in recent years, Sir Spyro’s ‘Topper Top’.
Pushing Forward & Breaking Boundaries
Desiring to draw deeper on a variety of influences, Mala set his sights on Latin America. His journey, supported by Giles Peterson and Brownswood Recordings, created two of the most critically acclaimed and forward-thinking albums in UK bass in the last decade: 2012’s ‘Mala In Cuba’ and 2016’s ‘Mirrors’.
These two works are a testament to Mala’s skill in weaving together diverse musical influences. They’re an exploration into collaborating, vibing and spiritually connecting with gifted musicians across South and Central America. For the listener, the albums are truly singular experiences, joining dots and making parallels between seemingly disparate worlds.
Outside of Brownswood Recordings, Mala continued to build up a wealth of formative releases and countless dubs. His sets remain places to hear a selection of music unique to Mala’s record bag, providing a truly one-off experience for attendees.
His creative output has also acted as the basis for other pioneering musicians’ creations. ‘Changes’, one of Mala’s most iconic, haunting and cult compositions, was remixed by fellow forward-thinker James Blake and sampled by both The Game and XXXTENTACION on ‘Holy Water’ and ‘Look At Me’ respectively.
Akala also requested Mala to score his powerfully on-point TV-adapted theatre show 'The Ruins Of Empires'. Both these occasions represent Mala’s influence on contemporary music and culture well beyond the confines of the speaker stack.
Fusing Frequencies
Mala continues to innovate in the bass music space while staying true to his roots. From collaborating with the likes of Grace Jones to digitally rereleasing DMZ classics, his foundations shine through. Reggae and R&B provide the backdrop for Mala‘s 2022 collaboration with Joe Armon-Jones. His work takes on a familiar but new sound in live orchestral performances in the UK and Croatia at Outlook festival.
The envelope continues to be pushed, but the beat stays familiar. And for this, Mala receives critical acclaim. His iconic Dubstep Warz performance weighs in at number two in The Guardian‘s 100 Greatest BBC Music Performances.
Music, Energy, Culture & Collaboration
Mala’s work over the past two decades has served as inspiration for a generation of musicians and producers. Pushing the boundaries of sub-heavy music, he continues to develop a sound with clear South London roots, still hungry for new influences.
From intimate venues at home to international festivals, for Mala, it all comes back to one thing: driving the most exciting corners of electronic music with energy, culture and collaboration.