‘I like my nipples red raw in the studio’, says self-taught musician and composer, Malthus
This is A HOT MINUTE WITH, a quick-fire interview series championing all the rising talent catapulting into fashion, art and music’s fickle stratosphere. From pinch-me moments to bad dates and even worse chat-up lines, think of it as an overindulgent conversation – like the ones you have in sticky club toilets at 4.A.M. Except these guests don’t regret the overshare…
Credit: @anna.lena.krause
NAME MALTHUS
AGE 25
LOCATION London, England
STAR SIGN Capricorn
BIGGEST PET PEEVE Famine
When Malthus, a 25-year-old musician, performer and composer, arrived in London just over two years ago, he got off the train from his “back and beyond town in Lancashire” with little more than £30, a bag full of clothes, and the hope of kicking off his career as a musician. A couple of years on, the self-taught creative has collaborated with the likes of CHARLES JEFFREY, and HELIOT EMIL, as well as founding his own studio, releasing numerous tracks that have cemented Malthus as an artist with far-reaching talent and the portfolio to prove it.
In pre-pandemic times, Malthus’ music was first and foremost a release. “It just felt like something I needed to say,” he explains from his studio in London. “It would be this really emotional experience for me where I would have vague ideas of songs that I would want to develop in front of a live audience without them even knowing about it. I think because the process was so raw for me, it really translated to them as well.” The experimental nature of Malthus’ creative process helped develop tracks such as Sew Me to You and Tide Went Time Ago.
Although the multi-instrumentalist musician admits that performance is the biggest part of his music, he also explains that one positive that has come out of the past year is that he now has a body of work that is ready to be released. For him, music these days is beginning to take shape as a much more defined, controlled and certain process. “This newer stuff sounds so much brighter and more direct but the lyrical content hasn’t changed. It’s still about the same period in my life and I’m still drawing on the same references with my own experiences,” he explains.
Malthus’ music lingers in the sweet spot that connects the deep soulful tones of JOJI and Nick Drake, as well as the beat of Gorillaz and the composing talent of Daniel Lopatin and Devonté Hynes - an eclectic mix of sounds that we are dying to experience on stage once again.
Ry Gavin: What inspires your work?
Malthus: I rewatched Requiem For A Dream the other night and I've been mulling over that whole period of Heroin culture in the ‘90s and ‘00s. That detachment inspired my recent Threads radio show.
RG: What is your creative process?
M: Write it, scrap it, rewrite it, rewrite it again.
RG: How has that process changed over the past year?
M: I think a lot more about moving to my own music now - dancing definitely became a consideration.
RG: What are the challenges of scoring a runway show with no audience?
M: It's interesting because you don't have anything to bounce off of - I'm able to set the tone completely. It does feel lacklustre though, I'm dying to perform live.
RG: Which designer would you most like to collaborate with?
M: I'd love to write or direct something for Iris Van Herpen.
RG: How would you describe your sound?
M: Metallic and soulful.
RG: If only one club can reopen, which one should it be?
M: Don't Panic in Wigan used to throw these mad jungle raves when I was 16. This is nothing to do with the pandemic at all but I'd scream and fall off my chair if it decided to reopen.
RG: What is your go-to studio outfit?
M: I tend to just wear a pair of shorts tbh. I like my feet touching the ground and my nipples red raw from the studio air con.
RG: If you could date any character from a book, who would you date?
M: Francis Cauldhame from Iain Banks' The Wasp Factory would be on the list. They were this enigmatic psychopath that was forcefully transitioned from male to female by their father after a dog bit their dick off.
RG: What’s the first thing you are doing after lockdown?
M: I'll probably die the day before knowing my luck.
RG: Where in London do you feel most inspired?
M: Anywhere that feels solitary.
RG: What gives you the “ick”?
M: Back hair.
RG: Which musician do you idolise the most?
M: Today, it's Clint Mansell.
RG: What are your big career plans for this year?
M: Definitely a Malthus album.