On September 16th, Australia’s Mallrat traveled to Victoria for a single Canadian date to perform a beautiful set of dreamy bedroom pop on The Park Main Stage at Rifflandia Music Festival.
The Queen of Brisbane has been on the rise. She recently worked with The Chainsmokers on a remix of her song, Wish on an Eyelash, which is out now on all streaming services. This show was the final date of her brief four date North American tour.
Joshua Szirmay-Corrales got the chance to speak with Mallrat backstage and was joined by Tyson Elder who shot photos for the interview. After mentioning how she liked the name Rocktographers and that she needs Tyson’s glasses to make her look smart in interviews, The two talked about the similarities between Australia and Canada, The Chainsmokers remix, TBC Club in Brisbane, Men at Work, her last full length album, The Mallrat show experience, what’s next for the artist and her love for film photography.
Joshua Szirmay-Corrales: You just got off the stage at Rifflandia, how are we feeling?
Mallrat: Very Good!
JSC: This “Itsy Bitsy” North American Tour as you call it, sees Victoria as your only Canadian date. How are you enjoying your time here in Victoria and Canada as a whole?
Mallrat: It’s so beautiful. It’s funny because when we crossed the border from America to Canada, it instantly felt more familiar. It doesn’t make a lot of sense but culturally, Canada is a lot more similar to Australia than America which is interesting.
JSC: That is interesting! There’s a Victoria in Australia, and you’re currently in Victoria, Canada. Any similarities?
Mallrat: Yeah! We were driving around yesterday and there were certain areas that we were like, if you looked at it for long enough, it could be Melbourne. So a little bit similar. Not Victoria, but Melbourne’s sister city is Toronto. A lot of the town planning is the same but a lot of the grid and tramlines in the city are identical.
JSC: That’s incredible, I never knew that.
Mallrat: and I think some of the trams in Canada are also from Melbourne.
JSC: You know a lot about this, that’s insane!
JSC: Your last release saw a collaboration with The Chainsmokers for a track entitled, Wish on an eyelash pt.2. How was it collaborating with them on this track?
Mallrat: It was very unexpected because I checked twitter one day and I had The Chainsmokers tweeted at me, “Love this song by Mallrat, it’s so short though and I’m obsessed with it. So we made a longer version”. I was like, this wasn’t on my Bingo card like it was such a surprise. So I was like, let me send you the stems so you have all the pieces you need to do that, the way you want to do it. The final product sounded really cute and it was very organic which is so rare for something at that scale. They were so sweet and I got to see them play it at their LA show a few weeks ago, which was so special. There were like 20,000 people there. So yeah, it was very unexpected because Wish on an eyelash was the first song on my album, acting as an intro track. It wasn’t a single or anything but it just took off.
JSC: I feel like an artist remixing any song probably means a lot, but do you feel like it hit differently that this was the song they chose?
Mallrat: I mean it definitely means a lot to me that it happened because of love for the song. Usually a remix happens because your team might reach out to someone like, “hey, this is the single, does this artist want to remix it?”, which is cool but the fact that The Chainsmokers did it just because they liked it, makes it special.
JSC: Right on! Now it’s time for Yay or Nay: Australian Edition! I’m going to bring up some stuff based out of the Oceania country and you tell me if it’s a yay or a nay and why!
First up, Talk to Me: the new A24 movie based out of Australia.
Mallrat: Talk to Me? I haven’t seen it! That being said, I don’t like scary things. So for me personally, nay but I love that it exists. It’s just not for me.
JSC: Fair enough! Next on our list, Rugby.
Mallrat: Oh! Uh. I don’t watch sports, so not for me but respect!
JSC: Respect! This might be a bit more familiar: TBC Club in Brisbane, also known as the club that played Sheck Wes’s Mo Bamba for 5 hours straight.
Mallrat: Yeah! yay! How do you know about TBC?
JSC: I know about it through that headline! The story made it to Canada!
Mallrat: So that’s basically the only club I’ve ever been to because I’m from Brisbane and it’s like the only place I’d ever go out to till I moved to Melbourne. I’d only go to the TBC Club. So yeah, that’s a yay!
JSC: You probably weren’t there that specific night the headline was covering, but could you maybe explain what TBC Club looks like for those who have never been?
Mallrat: It’s not massive. You go down some stairs, which kind of feels like you’re in a cave and it’s just this little dark room.
JSC: Fascinating! I got one more for you, Land down under by Men at Work.
Mallrat: Obsessed. Love Men at Work. Love Phil Collins, especially his solo stuff. So that’s a yay!
JSC: Awesome! We got two yays and two nays. Thanks for playing!
JSC: Going back to your catalog, your last full length release, Butterfly Blue, was released in 2022. What was your vision when creating this album?
Mallrat: The only parameter I set for myself was that I wanted it to be like Monster Trucks and Angel Choirs. So lots of ethereal vocal textures that are beautiful and heavenly, while also including very gritty and aggressive sounds.
JSC: That’s really cool that you brought that up, because I wrote about your appearance here as part of Rocktographer’s Who to see at Rifflandia guide. While researching you, one of the things I really like about you is your aesthetic and what you built your brand around. Looking at that tour poster of the four dates for example, very soft but also very monster truck kind of vibe. Beautiful from a different lens!
Mallrat: Thank you! I was just saying in a previous interview that so often I’m trying to trick people. With the name Mallrat, I chose it because people who listen to Mallrat who didn’t know anything about it before will assume it’s a band of four guys, with long hair, drinking beer who like garage rock. I like to catch people off guard. I like to do that during my performances as well. Keep them guessing.
JSC: It kept me guessing! Indie pop is the main genre, but you have so many influences with 808s and acoustic guitar. Very cool!
What should one expect from a Mallrat show?
Mallrat: I think the thing I like most about my shows is seeing people connect with the lyrics in front of me. Hearing people sing along, that’s what’s special about it to me!
JSC: What’s next for Mallrat?
Mallrat: Working on an album and it’s ridiculously good. However, it’s not close to being finished yet but it’s really good.
JSC: So highly recommended and stay tuned?
Mallrat: Yes, stay tuned!
JSC: One final question before we wrap up this interview, I noticed you brought out a disposable camera during your set. Do you like film photography and what about it do you like?
Mallrat: I do! I just feel like I have such a fun life and I just like to be able to keep a little diary of the cool things I get to see and the beautiful people around me. I’m not a very technical photographer though. I do like mistakes in film photography, light flares for example and I love the surprise of getting a roll developed, remembering what you took photos of.
JSC: I love that, always keeps you guessing what you took photos of.
Mallrat: Exactly!
JSC: Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me!
Mallrat: Thank you so much!
Mallrat’s latest album, Butterfly Blue, is out now on all streaming platforms. While her North American tour just finished, Mallrat will tour again! Make sure to catch her next time she does a tour, support her on her next release coming soon, and remember to continue supporting live music.