Mali-I feat Natty Wylah - 'This place' single

'This Place' ft. Natty Wylah is the second single from UK dub producer Mali-I’s debut album ‘In Session’ coming out in Spring 2022 on None More Records.

Mali-I is Mali Baden-Powell (Z Lovecraft / Rhythm Section / Monzanto Sound), 3rd Generation Windrush, named after Bob, spelt like the country. ‘This Place’ pulls in the influence of St Germain and Ron Trent into the world of The Disciples.

Mali-I says about the track “I recorded it on my iPhone 4 back in the sweltering heat of July 2018, which at the time was the second warmest July on record. I had just downloaded this app, and thought I could use a smartphone to make beats... and literally cooked this dub groove with house elements on my AirPods. 

A few years down the line and I pinged some beats to Natty who I knew I wanted to get on the album as 1) he is a great MC and 2) despite his hip hop nature, he had a killer selection of rocksteady, reggae and dub and knew that he would overstand, as it were, my attempt to give the conscious reggae vibe some new style. I didn’t want to compromise the somewhat unintentional aesthetic of late 70s, early 80s roots rock reggae. That stuff managed to combine very simple songwriting, great musical performances and what was then cutting edge FX and dubbing; like the pitch shifter, and digital reverb.”

Natty says “It was a pleasure to put this together, instantly as soon as I heard the riddim it gave me the feeling – ‘This Place’ was quickly cocooned and really butterflied in the studio session with Mali mashing out the decked out desk sends and square wave wizardry. The track, really, I vision it on a big boy system so that’s where it belongs in my head but equally it can be contemplated more intimately. It speaks of a longing, finding home... even when it seems distant, regardless of the land under foot... It’s about the path to finding home within yourself.”

Out now on digital platforms.