Mali-Koa releases "HUNGER" her debut album

HUNGER IS OUT NOW

Rising, critically acclaimed songstress Mali-Koa finally shares her debut album

Hunger, which she releases today alongside stunning visuals for the title track.

Across twelve incredible songs, Hunger is a remarkable journey documenting

experiences of love, loss and self-empowerment through Mali’s deeply poetic

songwriting and mature pop sound. At the heart of Hunger is Mali’s full-bodied, raspy

and powerfully emotive vocals, which have seen her connect with tastemakers and

millions of fans across the world who have been patiently waiting for Mali’s album

since she captivated them back in 2018 with the buzz track “Honest”.

Opening with the ambitious affirmations of “Hunger”, the album swiftly segues into

the brooding synths and thundering claps of “Get It Wrong”, “Sorry” – currently at

1.5M+ Spotify streams – and the glorious “Revolution”, a smooth gospel-tinged track

featuring the soulful Ella Q and Sing Choir (Prince, Whitney Houston, John Legend,

Charlie Wilson) for a truly spiritual sonic experience.

Tender piano ballad “Hearts” allows Mali’s vocals to take centre stage, setting the

scene perfectly for the vibrant post-breakup single “Me Before You”. “At the End of

the Day” hears Mali emotionally trying one last time to save a relationship before

launching into the heartwrenching orchestral fantasy “Some Things”, the album’s

second single which Mali herself directed and created visuals for.

Hunger’s fifth and final single “Shoebox” is a lesson in shedding what no longer

serves you; the climactic pop ballad’s delicate pizzicato strings, melancholic pianos

and driving 80s style beat are a perfect match for the up-tempo, funky disco-

flavoured grooves of “Human Nature”.

Alt-pop ballad “The Art of Letting Go”, which was produced by Mali’s brother Calum

Hood of 5SOS, serves Imogen Heap-esque vocal vocoding while tugging at the

heartstrings each step of the way, before Mali closes the album with “Dancer”, an

invigorating pop number instilling a strong sense of self-belief and confidence

needed now more than ever.

Recording Hunger during sessions across London, Stockholm and Nashville, Mali

worked with a roster of renowned talent to bring her sonic visions to life including

Dan Muckula (Leona Lewis, Nina Nesbitt), Jimmy Hogarth (Amy Winehouse, Sia),

Gil Lewis (U2, Sigala, Emily Burns), Robert Harvey (Gorgon City, Clean Bandit, Jax

Jones), Grammy Award winning producer Maestro ‘The Baker’ (Rihanna, J Hus) and

Onree Gill (Alicia Keys, Justin Timberlake, John Mayor, will.i.am).

Speaking about Hunger and the title track, Mali-Koa explained: “Hunger is an ode to

all the people I’ve been over the last ten years and the ever-changing face of

ambition, love and hope. It’s the notes I never got as a young person, as well as an

encouragement letter to me as an adult. It’s raw and emotional like I am and it

doesn’t shy away from the hard stuff. Life is about duality and balance and I wrote

Hunger just the same. I wanted to create something timeless, I know in ten or twenty

years I’ll look back and be proud of the story Hunger told. You always know when

you write a special song, ‘Hunger’ was that song for me. It was born from a place of

love and ambition, with equal parts disappointment and longing. The lyrics were

sharp but honest and the message no matter how daunting, just as hopeful. It was

the ugly truth, but as I’d always known it - real and optimistic. I realised after we’d

written it just how much this particular story above all others meant to me. It was

about all the obstacles, my successes and my shortcomings I’d faced. It’s a nod to

the impossible and all-consuming dream, and the lives we build around them and

manifest for ourselves. The day I wrote ‘Hunger’ in Nashville I remember thinking,

“this is it, this is what I want to say”. It’s the title track of the album because without

‘Hunger’, I’m almost certain there would be no record at all.”

Mali has built critical attention for her music and songwriting from a plethora of

tastemakers including THE GUARDIAN AUS, THE LINE OF BEST FIT, NOTION,

REFINERY29, CLASH MAGAZINE, VICE’s NO BASIC GIRLS ALLOWED,

EARMILK, 1883 MAGAZINE, PAUSE HER, TONE DEAF, SPINDLE, EUPHORIA

and ASBO MAGAZINE alongside her debut Mahogany session and a cover shoot

for HEART EYES MAGAZINE; the politically charged “Revolution” in particular

winning over heavyweight industry names like Elton John, Trevor Nelson and

Laura Whitmore, proving Mali is a multi-faceted artist at the brink of breaking

through into mainstream consciousness.

With her sonically refreshing talent and a major collab with UK chart fixtures Sigma

on the way, Mali-Koa’s debut album is sure to exceed her fans’ expectations and

continue her trajectory towards the upper echelons of the pop sphere.

Hunger tracklist:

1. Hunger

2. Get It Wrong

3. Sorry (watch)

4. Revolution (watch)

5. Hearts

6. Me Before You (watch)

7. At the End of the Day

8. Some Things (watch)

9. Shoebox

10. Human Nature

11. The Art of Letting Go

12. Dancer (watch)