Mix of the Week 17/10: Who is Malaa 25
House music’s biggest mystery is back this week with an adrenaline fuelled mix. The enigmatic Malaa, who masks his identity with a balaclava, is one of the most consistently exciting house DJs, touring the world under Tchami’s Confession label. His recurring mix series, Who Is Malaa, maintains this consistency, delivering some of the best house mixes in the scene. This week he released his 25th in the series and it stands as one of the strongest.
The best feature of the mix is Malaa’s transitions. While heavily rooted in house, there are elements of future house, trance and techno peppered throughout the roughly half an hour runtime. These elements come through in multiple layers that are slowly introduced and then faded out to create the transitions from track to track. A high hat or kick drum will pound away before the melody comes in, only for the percussive elements to fade into a new set of beats to match the next song. As a result, there is constant momentum as the mix moves forward. The main driving force of the mix is his exceptional bass work. The low end is rich as the thick bass thumps along to create the perfect amount of energy to dance to. The song selection is also notable, moving from deep and housey to bright and melodic, giving the mix a good amount of variety. Special mention goes to the inclusion of Dom Dolla’s “San Frandisco”, which featured as Backyard Opera’s release of the week late last month.
