Malachai

Malachai are a cryptic, capricious, Bristol-based duo whose perplexing, structurally erratic cut-and-paste songs bear the unmistakable imprint of classic late-'60s/early-'70s British rock -- psychedelia, prog, heavy blues, and white-boy garage-soul -- stitched together with traces of trip-hop, hip-hop, dub, Krautrock, and more. Equally impudent in their playful disregard for established musical boundaries, and in their willfully enigmatic public persona, burly-voiced vocalist Gee and shadowy sample-master Scott (no last names given) began working together as Malakai in 2006 (they were later forced to change the name after an Australian rapper laid claim to their original spelling), citing inspiration from <a href="spotify:artist:4Q82S0VzF8qlCb4PnSDurj">Brian Wilson</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:3WrFJ7ztbogyGnTHbHJFl2">the Beatles</a> as well as <a href="spotify:artist:5LhTec3c7dcqBvpLRWbMcf">Madlib</a>, Edan, and <a href="spotify:artist:6FXMGgJwohJLUSr5nVlf9X">Massive Attack</a>. With encouragement from <a href="spotify:artist:6liAMWkVf5LH7YR9yfFy1Y">Portishead'</a>s <a href="spotify:artist:53b2a4ytPlelgBJYLLocWh">Geoff Barrow</a>, a longtime friend and local Bristol figurehead, they began releasing music the following year, blurring the perceptual lines between live instrumentation and transparently sampled material on tracks like their debut single, "Fading World," issued on <a href="spotify:artist:53b2a4ytPlelgBJYLLocWh">Barrow</a>'s <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Invada%22">Invada</a> imprint, and "The Battle" (later retitled "Shitkickers"), the lead track on a 2007 <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Island+Records%22">Island Records</a> EP. After a prospective deal with <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Island%22">Island</a> fell through, Malachai released their first album, 2009's Ugly Side of Love, on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Invada%22">Invada</a> as well; it was picked up by <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Domino+Records%22">Domino Records</a> for a U.S. release the following year. A sequel album, Return to the Ugly Side, appeared in 2011 followed by their third effort, 2014's Beyond Ugly. ~ K. Ross Hoffman, Rovi