FOR THE Poetic TRANS Getting FUCKED

Callie Wohlgemuth Model: Sikkiim

All photos by Anna Lowry

If you are looking for a new band whose songs can only be described as amoody fusion of musical elements from the genres of electronic, dub, indie, then look no further! Malady is the band we’ve all been looking for. The London-based four piece was brought together after Percy Junior Cobbinah (vocals/guitar) and Charlie Clark (guitar/synth) got to know each other after turning up at the same gigs; Cobbinah and Ertan Cimen (drums) frequented all the same uni house parties; while Clark met bassist Khaleem MitchellPatterson at college. Their music is heavily influenced by things familiar to them including living in London and observations on their immediate society.

When we initially set out to write this spotlight, the band had only one but very exciting track out in the world, “London, I Love You But You’re Bringing Me Down.” Inspired by LSD Sound System’s “New York I Love You But You’re Bringing Me Down,” the track is a conflicted ode to their home. They mesh together sounds familiar to them including styles from underground and rave circuits and indie guitar into a unified sound. Co-editor Zoe Fieldman and I got the chance to speak with the band’s frontman Percy Junior Cobbinah back in April. Cobbinah expressed to us how important it was for the band to find their distinct, cohesive sound. But after the COVID-19 pandemic hit our world, he said, “it was difficult to get everyone working in the same room… lots of things were happening digitally but it just wasn’t the same as working in person.” It was like a waiting game which made it difficult to keep his creative juices flowing. Once everyone was able to work together again due to ease in restrictions, they got to work solidifying their debut as Malady.

It is obvious in their newest single “Famous Last Words” that they are continuing to grow into their sound. The song is a groovy yet pensive interrogation of living and purpose. Cobbinah explains that the song as “The realisation that any notion of inherent, and/or divine, purpose is false and subsequently the futile, scrambled attempts to forge meaning in places that meaning can never really be found.” Drawing influence from synthrock dubstep, the song is sparkling with vibrating rhythms, layers of synth sounds, and heavy vocals. After spending a whole day listening to the song on repeat, I am eager to hear how Malady continues to evolve in the future. Article by Anais Quiles-Lewis