Mala

Half of the acclaimed dubstep pair Digital Mystikz, the London-based producer, DJ, and label head Mala, born Mark Lawrence, first encountered reggae during adolescence. A subsequent immersion in drum'n'bass and jungle, however, revealed fresh dimensions in rhythm and low-end frequencies. Jungle's habit of drawing from multiple sources also steered him toward jazz and funk, prompting a return to reggae that led him to adopt dub master Augustus Pablo as a guiding influence. In the early 2000s he began playing dubstep across London venues and on the pirate station Rinse FM, soon linking with DJ Coki to launch the production duo Digital Mystikz. When Loefah and Sgt. Pokes joined, the four friends launched the DMZ club night devoted to the sound; the event later grew into the DMZ label. Mala separately founded Deep Medi Musik, which issued respected 12"s from artists including Kromestar, Goth-Trad, and Silkie. Across the 2000s and into subsequent years, Digital Mystikz, DMZ, and Deep Medi stood as central forces in underground dubstep, drawing endorsements that ranged from John Peel to Gilles Peterson. Peterson developed a close friendship with Mala, placed him on the Brownswood Recordings roster, and joined him on a research excursion to Cuba. After capturing performances by local musicians there, Mala returned to South London to shape the material; Brownswood issued the resulting project, Mala in Cuba, in 2012. He next traveled to Peru, where he studied regional musical traditions and worked with local players on his following album, Mirrors, which Brownswood released in 2016.