Producer Spotlight: James Ryan Ho ‘Malay’
on Lewis Capaldi’s “Fade”
The Producer Malay has worked and collaborated with artists such as John Legend, Frank Ocean, Sam Smith and most recently Lewis Capaldi. Even although the artists he has worked with vary quite considerably in sound, when listening to the tracks that Malay had produced and collaborated with them on, there is a very definite sound and production style that runs consistently through them.
Taking Lewis Capaldi’s ‘Fade’ from his debut EP: Bloom. The track starts with Piano and vocals which is no stray too far from what Capaldi would normally work with, having self-released his debut single “Bruises” as a fully acoustic piece. At the start of the track the you can already hear Malay’s sound by the heavy compression on the vocal, as well as the light airy reverb and subtle delay. As the track progresses there are more signature sounds of Malay’s that are added; such as sub frequency synths that are covered in a lush reverb. This reverb helps push the Synths further back in the mix giving the illusion of the main focus: the vocal being at the very front. This is a technique used by Malay quite a lot and in result can leave a mix sounding very full without a lot of things going on. In the Second Chorus of the song there are Drums that enter. These drums are live drums that have been recorded, sampled and played back from a sampler. Malay is notorious for building his beats this way and I feel that this is one of the things that makes his production unique. The drums even although they are samples don’t feel programmed at all and are played with irregularity and feel. Malay’s drum sound is one of the most recognisable aspects of his production style, being recorded in with feel and human timing discrepancies but also mixed with contemporary sub and drum sounds. These are just a few things that makes Malay’s mixes sound like him.
Cans on for a Listening List:
Sam Smith: “Say it first”
Lewis Capaldi: “Fade”
Frank Ocean: “Pink+White”
James Morrison: “Heaven To a Fool”