Singer Maalavika Manoj | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
After a year’s break from release of music, Maalavika Manoj, Aka Mali, a dark, esoteric concept and a arrest have returned with music videos that dive into the world of creed and control. ‘Dr. Dust ‘, which was released on 24 April, is about manipulation of care as care. It begins like a lullaby, and a misleading, sweet tune with a unstable undercontinent because it reaches a crescent.
The song was inspired to see and listen to many stories about the extreme cases of mutual control, from domestic issues to sensational sects. Mali said, “The more I was sitting on it, the more I was surrounded by this world, where people, especially younger generations fall prey to these enticing cults. It also brings more reliable questions about controlling relationships in our everyday life,” Mali says.
Directed by Hitali Dharamshi, the music video of the song stated as a charismatic cult leader, whose sacrifice ceremony makes way for a successor. Interestingly, both Mali and Hitali shared a sick attraction with deep social events, and Hitali wanted to make a film in this space. The most obvious way to portray control was through Panth Katha, which examines the cyclical nature of control, identity, blind faith and dependence.
Hitley says, “How the trust system can be made and distorted, something was a compelling about it. The shooting of the video was an intensive, playful process – some extent staging a dream sequence that has moved between frequent eccentric and unstable. Hitali says. To make it a little more fun and cooperative, Mali has shown his fans through social media, to make it a little more fun and cooperative. – Musicians, designers and artists – in video.
Mali has a dedicated fan since its first feature album Caution for air (2021). He began working on it in 2019 with his then producer Arnob Bal. It took shape around the epidemic with many of its social and personal sanctions, and was being released in 2021. “The album itself became more about being careless during an apocalypse period in history,” the gardener recalls.
‘Dust similar to Dr. Dust’ Mali has some previous singles, including ‘Mango Showers’, ‘Age of Limbo’, ‘Semi Automatic Butane’ and ‘Enicu Rathiri’. Connects all those who are deep lyrical elements. Therefore, while ‘Mango Shower’ is about predicting a dangerous situation, ‘Edge of Limbo’ is inspired by war in Syria. Similarly, ‘semi automatic butane’ is about smoking and oral fixation, and ‘Anniku Rathiri’ is about the secret of a murder.
In the past, Mali has collaborated with AR Rahman, Amit Trivedi, Indus Panth and Raghav Metal. “When collaborating with other artists, what is most complicated is that there is a way to interpret every person’s working style and the same feelings. We have a lot of intensive conversation around it, and sometimes we become a bigger way than the actual music we work on. But the music lives as a souvenir of those ideas,”
Forbes 30 Under 30 Indicity, Mali won the award for the Best Indian Act in 2024 at the MTV Europe Music Awards. He was the first Indian artist to be chosen by Spotify to be a part of his radar program. The BBC painted him in a music documentary, named India’s rhythmMali has performed at some of the most prominent places around the world, including SXSW Sydney, Music Matters Singapore, Paris in Le Zenith, Vembali Aren and Lolpluja India. Mali was also invited to perform during the inauguration program of Neeta Mukesh Ambani Cultural Center in Mumbai.
Recently, Mali also opened for Ed Sheeran during Bengaluru leg Mathematics attack“Performance for a big audience also pushes someone’s abilities as an artist actually as an artist. It was also very beautiful to see how everyone participated and appreciated the songs during and later during the gig,” she says. Further, the gardener has some more solo – in which a pipeline is called ‘Savior Complex’.
Published – April 30, 2025 06:05 pm IST
