Move to the Malahtic Music

© John Nash

The Malah live.

South Carolina-based psy-jam trio The Malah has been making music since 2003. They’ve been trying to make it down to Miami for the past year, and finally secured a gig with local jammers The Heavy Pets Saturday, March 6 at Downtown Miami hotspot The Vagabond. Rum Bum's Tracy Block spoke to bassist Elliott Vaughn about the band’s meaning, instrumental style and maintaining their mission. 

How did The Malah come to be?

We’ve all been friends since high school and found a common creative outlet through music. Brandon [guitar, synths] and I studied jazz together at the Fine Arts Center in Greenville, and after a couple years of long jam sessions with Seth [drums, percussion], The Malah project was started in 2003, with several festival appearances in South Carolina.

How did you guys decide on the name The Malah? People always seem to pronounce the name differently, but emphasis is meant to be put on second syllable, as in ‘Malahdic?’

‘Malah’ was a word Brandon came up with because of its rhythmic and 'melodic' pronunciation. The Malah always seemed to fit our music. We’ve found other meanings for the word since, including: ‘Mala' – prayer beads used by Eastern religions and 'Malah' – a distinct variety of strawberry.

The band has definitely taken a strong instrumental approach to music. Why did you decide not to take the lyrical route?

We’ve always felt that you can say a lot with music without using words.The energy and emotion that can be created with melody, harmony and rhythm has no boundaries. Music is a universal language that transcends the barriers of race, nationality, age or gender. That, plus the fact that, you do NOT want to hear us sing!

The Malah sound is very spiritual at heart. How do you maintain this state of being on and off the stage?

A good musical experience is a spiritual experience. Through music, art and dance, we realize that we’re all connected to each other and the great spirit. Let the music take you on a journey, and for that one moment, you’ll forget about all of your fears or worries. You forget about time and the materialistic world. You dance and let your spirit be free. That's what it's all about.

While your mission remains the same, your sound has definitely evolved. Would you say that’s due more to development as creative artists or technology? Both?

Probably both. Our sound is always evolving. Technology has opened the doors for creativity in music and we have found ways to use these tools in our music, while keeping our performances very live, unique and energetic.

The Malah has a very progressive sound. What audiences do you tend to appeal to mostly?

We appeal to a wide range of audiences, because we bring in influences of electronic dance music, funk, jam, rock, hip-hop, jazz, even classical. Our largest audience is probably in the livetronica scene, although we have fans from the jam scene, techno scene and hip-hop scene – young and old.

We saw you at Bear Creek and Aura, will you be hitting any music fests this summer?

The inaugural Aura Fest was a lot of fun and Bear Creek is always a highlight for us. We will be at Bear Creek again this year, as well as the Purple Hatter's Ball, which will be held at Spirit of the Suwannee in May. We’ll also be playing the Desiderata Festival in New York in June and the Rootwire Festival in Ohio in August.

We know you’ve been trying to get down to Miami for the past year. What finally locked in the Saturday show?

It’s all thanks to our friend Chad Cohen at Def Owl Productions in Miami, who’s been working hard to get us down there for a while.

Intersted in seeing Malah? Head to the Vagabond in Miami Saturday night...and don't forget your dancing shoes.