PREMIERE: Ashlynn Malia shares debut LP ‘MALIA’ with focus track ‘Villain’
Ashlynn Malia has been in the music industry since childhood, starting out as a Kidz Bop star and coming of age in the era of TikTok artists.
Early fans of Malia’s career will recall her 2019 track “desperate” featured in Stephen King’s The Stand.
Now 22 years old, Ashlynn is coming further into her own with her self-titled debut LP, “MALIA” out Feb. 2 with focus track and music video “Villain.” The dark, sensual collection isn’t the first body of work in her discography but she shares that “it is the most ‘me’ I’ve ever sounded. It's the sum of all the parts of myself I unlocked in my previous projects.”
Although Ashlynn wants the listener to interpret the LP through their own lens, she says it’s intimately hers: “I wrote about my own life and tried to use sound to paint a picture of my human experience over the past few years. The beauty of writing truthfully though is that many truths are universal, and hopefully listeners find their own stories in my lyrics.”
In the middle of MALIA‘s play-through we find the focal track, “Villain,” which is arguably the LP‘s most sensual sounding number if not so lyrically. While much of the LP leans ethereal and dreamy, “Villain” is self-aware, methodical and ominous.
MALIA - TRACK LISTING
1. Avalanche
2. Cool Girl
3. Midas
4. Villain
5. Feels So Good
6. Nobody Else
7. Dying To Miss Out
“Up until this point, I've released a lot of music written from a victim standpoint. I’m not saying none of it is valid - it's very much the opposite,” said Ashlynn. “I actually think I could be more scathing if I wanted to be, considering some of the shit that’s gone down. But I'm nothing if not painfully self-aware, and I wanted to write about the part I play in my own demise.”
“Villain” paints a picture of a lover coming to terms with her own complicity in the pain she endures, combating her demons, wondering if she’s her own worst enemy. With her characteristically pure and airy runs, Ashlynn’s voice is closely followed by a lower distorted echo, haunting her every phrase. In the end, the dark presence catches up, solidifying the union between Ashlynn and her darker villainous side, creating a single deep and sultry tone.
On the whole, “MALIA” showcases the maturity and growth of Ashlynn’s voice, career and concept. When asked what she would tell her younger self following the success she has achieved, Ashlynn said, “I would tell her she doesn’t have to worry about when things other than music take up time and space in her day. She wanted to be a genius so badly but was missing out on an essential part of art, which is living your goddamn life. My voice wasn’t found in the studio, it’s just recorded there. I think she’d be really grateful to know that people listen to her music to feel less alone, as she wrote it from a very lonely place.”
One thing is certain— Ashlynn Malia isn’t alone on this one. “MALIA” has something to say, and we’re listening. We’re all in our villain era.