KiNG MALA
KiNG MALA is the nom de plume of Los Angeles-based artist Areli Castro, whose twisted, beat-driven sound, as heard on songs like "She Calls Me Daddy," "Cult Leader," and "Sunny Side Up," evokes dark alt pop contemporaries like Billie Eilish and Banks -- the latter track was featured on her 2023 EP Spilt Milk.
Castro spent her formative years performing at coffee shops and wine bars in and around her native El Paso, Texas. An outsider by nature, she felt hemmed in by her hometown's conservative social and cultural restrictions and relocated to Los Angeles. Assuming the alter ego KiNG MALA, a play on "bad bitch" in Spanish, Castro began experimenting with masculine tropes (King as opposed to Queen) and, after the release of her 2020 EP Gemini, found her voice amidst the discord. With that connection secured, she started writing songs rooted in themes of truth, self-empowerment, and patriarchal confrontation, culminating in the release of 2022's Honey Catching Season, which included the intensely dark "Cult Leader" as well as "Sloppy," a collaboration with fellow pop provocateur UPSAHL. Castro kept the momentum going in 2023 with her third EP, Spilt Milk, which skillfully married darkness and light on standout cuts like "Dirty Dishes" and "Sunny Side Up."
© James Christopher Monger /TiVo
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Discography
15 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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honey catching season
Pop - Released by Handwritten Records on 14 okt. 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
SPILT MILK
Pop - Released by Handwritten Records on 10 nov. 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
mercy
Alternative en Indie - Released by Handwritten Records on 22 jul. 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
golden retriever boy
Alternative en Indie - Released by Handwritten Records on 28 okt. 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
she calls me daddy
Alternative en Indie - Released by Handwritten Records on 8 apr. 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
dirty dishes
Pop - Released by Handwritten Records on 6 apr. 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
GEMiNi
Alternative en Indie - Released by Handwritten Records on 4 dec. 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
never wanna know
Pop - Released by Handwritten Records on 14 sep. 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
sunny side up
Pop - Released by Handwritten Records on 8 jun. 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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cult leader (King Kitty Remix)
Alternative en Indie - Released by Handwritten Records on 24 jun. 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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cult leader
Alternative en Indie - Released by Handwritten Records on 8 apr. 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
i hope you know what you're doing
Pop - Released by Handwritten Records on 8 sep. 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
hypothetical
Pop - Released by Handwritten Records on 14 feb. 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo