Words: George Gray, Images: Press Shots
As the Summer finishes down under, in Europe we’re being treated to a fresh wave of Oceania artists to discover, and Brisbane based Mallrat is one we just couldn’t take our eyes off.
Fresh off festivals, Triple J features and a new album, her blend of sounds is catching ears left, right and centre. We sat down with her to get the low-down on the new album and story so far.
Light hit my face like a straight right is her second LP, but to kick things off we took it back to her beginnings. “I started in high school around 15 or 16”, Mallrat divulges. Soundcloud rappers like Yung Lean and icons of 2010s pop like Lana del Rey first catalysing her journey in music.
“I still listen to lots of stuff I loved then”, she admits, growing her sound through influences from “all over the place” as she’s evolved as an artist.
The next steps came naturally for Mallrat, “the path appeared before me”, she jokes. “Whenever I put in the effort everything seemed to magically fall into place”. “It sounds dramatic” Mallrat says, but creativity is evidently core to her persona.
As a result her creativity can often manifest itself in producing, something she admits was a key goal on the album. New techniques, and lots of referencing a range of dance music from two step to breakbeat were essential in finding the textures for the album she reveals.
In particular more “left-field and experimental” producers formed lots of references, from ambient SOPHIE tunes, to the likes of Hudson Mohawke and Confidence man.
Mallrat adds it’s these anomalies of the aussie dance scene that often inspire her most. The likes of old friend 1 Tbsp, the purveyor of Girl EDM Nina Jirachi and fellow Brisbane OGs Confidence Man all fueling her love for the genre, “they’re so cool”.
Sampling all these influences is more than a process to mallrat, “it makes music so exciting to me, as if you’re making this big collage”. It’s easy to see why. From the use of Finnish a-cappella on Virtue to fellow Brisbane group Cub Sport on an album favourite Pavement, the album’s brimming with re-inventions. “Every time I hear my manager rolling his eyes with how much I want to sample, I just love it”, she teases.
It’s a tricky process though, “Hocus Pocus took a lot of rewrites” she admits with a sample of the iconic 9Pm by ATB just missing clearance. Instead Mallrat took to DJ Zirk’s Born 2 Lose to give the track that added rawness, and texture. “I love that Memphis Rap, Three 6 Mafia era” she shares, “it was so much fun bringing that in as a contrast to the more ethereal melodic stuff”.
That passion and creativity bubbles over into songwriting too. “I’m always jotting down little hooks or starters” she admits, but when it comes to the studio things can get a bit abstract. “It could start from any bit of gibberish that fits the melody”, something that became a bit of a roadblock on Ray of Light. “I had to keep re-jigging the verses because the first take featured this gibberish I’d just fallen in love with”.
It feels intuitive, taking music back to its “raw” origins for Mallrat when at times she admits she can lack confidence performing. As a result lyrics sometimes come from unconventional spaces, “I’ve less of a literal style, so it can be hard to describe what songwriting consists of to me”. She argues songwriting is something strongly personal, “pushing against logic and rigidity”.
“Songwriting to me is creating something difficult to describe, and describing it shouldn’t be the point of it”, instead suggesting lyrics should reflect abstract emotion, evoking feelings rather than executing a concept.
As a result “more than anything the album feels like an anthology”. It was only through listening over and over to the songs that she found the recurring imagery of light, realising it was the abstract idea tying the work together. “Light can be its own character, emulate situations or just draw people in”.
“It blurs the lines and that’s cute to me, when I think of light in people or things I feel
drawn to them”. A natural way for an album to come together reflecting Mallrat’s approach to making music. “There wasn’t any intention, it just came from the heart, or must’ve been on my mind” she muses.
As things came to a close I had to ask about her goals for the future. First up, big aspirations for playing more in the UK, the likes of Glastonbury in her sights. “I’ve always loved watching back live Glasto sets”, citing the likes of Florence & The Machine and Dizzee Rascal, “I watched the Dog Days video religiously”.
“I’d never rule out a move… but it’s not exactly a hop, skip and a jump”, she jokes, but further afield seems to be beckoning Mallrat. “I really want to seek out opportunities in LA”.
It’s the opportunities to write and work on other people’s projects that intrigue Mallrat most – outlets for her creativity that are “so special”. There’s a couple of clear answers when it comes to collabs too, “I’d love to make a fat beat, Big Fish Theory style, for Vince Staples or perform with Yung Lean”.
Some big ambitions, but for now she’s trying not to “look too far past the current album and tour”. The community around her in Brisbane seems the perfect place for that. “A real incubator for new talent” in her own words.
Whether she’s amongst artists, friends or sharing playlists with pro kickboxers, Mallrat is certainly carving out her own lane, and like a Straight Right it’ll be hard to dodge her for too long.
Listen to the new album HERE and find more about Mallrat’s upcoming tour dates and merch HERE
