Malia

BIO

Born in 1978, Malia is a British jazz vocalist who has so far released five albums. The musician was born into a family of mixed African and English heritage in Malawi – Malawian mother and British father. The artist grew up listening to only two local radio stations (one in the native tongue, the other in English) and her father's Beatles-heavy record collection. The ‘Yellow Daffodils’ star was not exposed to a large variety of music and this contributed to her lack of intense desire to sing and create music until her early teens, when for political reasons her family was forced to relocate to London.

While in the United Kingom, Malia took was inspired by the rich musical landscape that surrounded her, plunging herself in the dance-oriented new wave style that conquered the English music scene. After finishing school, Malia worked as a waitress while at the same time organizing a band to accompany her to sing ballads and jazz standards in bars and clubs around London. It is in New York that the songbird was captivated by Liane Foly’s French song and this prompted her to contact the composer/producer of the song, André Manoukian in France. From that time, the artist has collaborated with Manoukian on a couple of her albums starting with her debut Yellow Daffodils in 2002. The album Black Orchid, her fourth, is a tribute to Nina Simone. Malia, who is the Echo Jazz Award winner for Best international Singer 2013, has made her music mount international soul and jazz charts as she upholds a busy touring schedule, appearing on some of the continent's most important stages.