Getting To Know... Malakye Grind

Having already established themselves as one of the more exciting names on the rise right now, Australian outfit Malakye Grind are now back once again to deliver their anthemic new single 'Every Day Is Perfect'.

Lifted from their newly released sophomore album 'Dystopian Dream', which is available to stream now, 'Every Day Is Perfect' makes for a stellar return to form for them. Bringing back more of that raw and driven alt-rock energy they are known for, they are certainly looking to get our fists pumping to this one.

So with the new single available to stream now, we sat down with them to find out more about their origins and what has been inspiring them most over the years.

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What was the first instrument you fell in love with?

Pat: Guitar, Ace Frehley was god to me as a kid.

Brook: The piano - My grandmother Molly taught me to play from around aged 8. The first song she taught me was a ragtime song by Jelly Roll Morton and I’ve basically been playing music ever since.

What kind of music did you love when you were younger?

Brook: Funk music and Motown songs for sure, anything that kind of made you move. My parents had a cool record collection and my sister and I started adding to it when we were young with music that we could dance to.

Pat: Rock and Metal

Rob: I loved Talking Heads then a bit later Public Enemy.

What was the first album you remember owning?

Pat: First Album I bought was Kiss Dynasty.

Brook:What was the first album you remember owning? Michael Jackson’s Bad - we had his Thriller and Off the wall LPs at home so I was already listening to MJ so we were pretty pumped when the music from Bad started coming out - then I found Appetite for Destruction by Guns and Roses and it’s been on since then.

What is the one song you wished you could have written yourself?

Brook: What is the one song you wished you could have written yourself? I know it sounds cliche but probably ‘Imagine’ by John Lennon - a timeless piece that each generation will need to hear and be influenced by as we continue to navigate humanities devisions. The only reason I wish I’d written it would be because it needed to be written and if he didn’t write it then someone needed to bring that message to life.

Pat: I’d love to have a beer with Duncan Slim Dusty.

Rob: Welcome to the jungle Guns N Roses. It describes LA perfectly.

Do you have any habits or rituals you go through when trying to write new music?

Rob: For me it's listening to the instrumental demos over and over again for hours until something clicks. Other times it's kind of instantaneous. I have a vocal booth at home so it's handy to grab a drink and just play a track on a loop until I start to get melodies.

Brook: I usually go surfing before I sit down to work on songs but to be honest new music comes to me at super random times, when I’m driving, or from a dream and I wake up and try and record it - it’s often a rush to try and record it or grab an instrument to work it out before the music evaporates!

Who are your favourite artists you have found yourself listening to at the moment?

Rob: Psychedelic porn crumpets, Amyl and the Sniffers, Idles and of course Tool.

Pat: Freddy King

Brook: These are two pretty big extremes but I’ve been going through all of the music by UK Dance Hall artist M Dot R and also I’m obsessively listening to a 1964 Jazz Piano Trio LP by Oscar Peterson called ‘We Get Requests”.

If you could open a show for anyone in the world, who would it be?

Brook: Definitely Guns n Roses and I’d love it to be in LA - besides really loving to hear Slash play live again I’d love to put together our best banging set and playing our music to a massive LA GnR crowd.

What do you find is the most rewarding part about being a musician?

Rob: All of it, the writing the recording and also playing live.

Pat: Writing music….its my outlet, it comes from a dark space and helps me, I stand in my room look out the window stare at the sky, clouds and trees play guitar negative to positive.

Brook: You can’t become a better musician without becoming a better person” - I guess I’ve explored that reflection for the last 25 years. It’s definitely one of the things I find rewarding in that playing music requires a few key traits, discipline, dedication and concentration and I reckon these are pretty good habits to take with you through life.

And what is the most frustrating part?

Pat: Smashing your fingers and not been able to play for months.

Rob: How long the process takes from writing to finished recording. I get impatient!

Brook: The most frustrating part ATM is that songs are getting shorter as a response to having to grab attention quickly and hold them for a shorter period of time before they need to be distracted by something else. Two minute songs can work in certain styles and punk songs are traditionally pretty short but I’ve heard some songs recently that feel robbed by the pressure some artists must be feeling. I’m more into artists dictating the direction of art than directions being dictated by record companies or social media companies.

And what is the best piece of advice you have received as a musician?

Pat: a shot of tequila or 2 beers settles your nerves before you play.

Brook: The best piece of advice I’d had was from Australian drummer Terrapai Richmond and that was to “play hard” - to dig in and own the groove. It transformed my bass playing and I’ve been conscious of playing that way ever since.

Rob: Tenacity beats talent.

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Malakye Grind's new single 'Every Day Is Perfect' is available to stream now. Check out the new video for it in the player below.