DJ sisters Malix are curating the sound of the summer – CULTED
by July 1, 2024You know what they say: keep your friends close and your family closer, or at least that’s what DJ duo Malix are doing. Sisters Sanasesh and Rishy Malix have been DJing together for most of their music careers, despite both starting out solo, and they officially united to create Malix (formerly known as SANESHA X RISHY) in 2022. Since then, the sister DJ duo have become known for their unique sound, pulling on a multitude of genres within their sets, from Latin house and afro tech to baile funk and house music.
Between travelling around the world playing gigs to starting their own club night ‘faem e li’, an event that showcases some of the most exciting talent in the world, Sanasesh and Rishy both have a lifestyle as rapid as their sets. We caught up with Malix ahead of a summer of crazy live gigs and new music on the horizon. Here’s what went down.
You guys spent the start of your careers working separately, so what made you decide to reunite as Malix?
Yeah, so we started DJing individually, but people were booking us together before we were even established as a duo, saying like “can you go back to back with your sister?” And the more people that were booking us, we realised “there’s some synergy here, it’s kind of fun.” It wasn’t until 2022 we became a duo officially, and I think it just started to make sense the more we were DJing together. It was just such a natural process.
A post shared by malix (@malix.music)
Did you face any challenges bringing your sounds back together to create Malix?
We played different music but as soon as we were getting booked together we started combining similar sounds. I don’t think it felt that difficult, because our tastes just started aligning a lot more, the more we started gigging together.
When we started our night – we have a club night called ‘faem e li’ – in 2022, that was specifically for electronic music that we never really had the chance to play together at events because we’d be catering to the crowd a lot. So through that night we were able to curate a space and play genres that both we felt very aligned with. I also think as you grow together your music tastes just align really well.
I think there’s always challenges when you do anything with anyone, regardless of whether its your sister or a business partner, but we’ve always had open ears to different types of genres of music, so neither of us have ever been like “oh, I don’t like this” or “I don’t like that.” We’re both very open to different types of sounds, so combining into one we’ve just learnt from each other.
We know you cover a lot of genres in your sets, but what would you say is each of your personal favourites?
This question is like asking a mum who has four kids “who’s your favourite child”. But I feel like, for both of us, house music would be our favourite genre, because it’s so broad. A lot of things come under it, there’s so many branches and subgenres through house that have blended into the music that we play today.
We know your music style comes from a mix of places, from growing up around Pakistani and Arabic music to finding Colombian and Brazilian beats in your travels. How do you blend such different cultures in your sound?
It’s always nice to throw in songs that are very nostalgic to us, and incorporate sounds that we used to hear growing up in our household into our music sets: it can be quite unexpected but also fits perfectly. For example, we could get a classic South Asian song that’s very well known in that culture, get those vocals, put it in a loop and mix it with a house song, and it works very well. I think that’s what adds a bit of culture and sauce into our sets.
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We’re sure you’re getting ready for a long summer of live music gigs. What events are you most looking forward to playing this summer and why?
The one that we’re doing next week we’re really excited for! It’s at the Tofte Manor which is an open air venue; I think we love summer because you get to play outside and it’s basically a festival, or like a day festival. Also, obviously [we’re looking forward to] Carnival in London because we get to play different parts of our music, and we’re having a party this August in Lisbon.
What’s the best and worst parts of performing live?
I think the energy exchange is really nice. DJing a form expression where you get to play music that you like, and you’ve sat for hours finding… so [the fact that you] get to sit on stage and see other people resonate with that is a connection that’s unbeatable. It’s so fulfilling. Whether it’s your track or not, it’s still something that you feel really connected to.
The worst part is just your sleeping routine. The routine is one of the hardest things to get over as a DJ, because you have late nights, you’re eating chicken wings and chips at like 5am, and it’s just not cute. It’s not a very healthy lifestyle, but you just have to try and make it work. And in the end, we love it so much we always find a way.
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We know you’ve played sounds for some of the biggest houses in the world, from Prada and Nike, to Ahluwalia and Louis Vuitton. But what’s a fashion brand you’d love to do the runway music for?
We said Martine Rose. Or Surpriya Lele, because she kind of draws on a similar heritage. We also said Burberry, because it’s iconic British and the music we play encompasses so many different cultures [which is] kind of like “London vibes”. Or Dilara Fındıkoğlu because her clothes are so exquisite.
In your opinion, what’s the song of the summer?
I feel like, when we play, it has to be “Despacio” by Bontan. It’s got saxophone, it’s got drums, it’s just such a vibe.
Is there anything else exciting on the horizon that you guys can share with us?
We’ve been producing music since last year, and we will have some singles that will be coming out at the end of summer. And towards the end of the year as well we have a mini project coming out, and that’s super exciting because it’s the first time we actually get to put out our sound as producers as well as DJs. We’re already trying to incorporate it into our sets and get some initial feedback, [but soon] it’ll be actual single releases to have out there in the world!
Sounds exciting! Can you sum up the vibe of your pending single releases in one word?
Saucy.
Featured image via @malix.music©
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