After a two-year hiatus, MALIA is reemerging in full force with the release of her highly anticipated album titled Back in My Body. The album encompasses a slow melodic feel accompanied by her silky airy vocals, leaving the listener entranced with each song. She described the album as “a timestamp for me of a really big life transition,” reflecting the major changes she experienced and what she learned as a default. Exuding 'soft-girl' energy, MALIA heals her traumas, her relationship with love, and her relationships with the Divine throughout the album.

In songs like "Cruise Control, Feels So Good," and "Jasmine in Bloom," she serenades the listener through her healing journey. Music has always been a significant part of MALIA’ s life, whether she knew it or not. She dates her earliest memory of music to her adolescence during pre-kindergarten, when she learned songs from The Sound of Music. There was a sense of weight and seriousness she brought to her school performances, that she felt the other kids didn’t care much about.

She hopes this album supports people through hardships like the ones she encountered before creating this body of work. When describing how she wants it to be received, she said, “It’s a blueprint in some ways for building a new home within the walls of self.” Resonating in the tune of reflection, MALIA speaks to Alicia Key’s request to cover, "How Come You Don’t Call Me," during the 20th Anniversary of Songs in a Minor. 'A full circle moment,' was how she described it, being a fan of her's for so long that brought a sense of gratitude and excitement to the occasion.

Now MALIA gives us a peak into the creative process of the album, with a few questions.

What's the earliest memory of music?

My earliest and most vivid memory of music, is being in pre-kindergarten and learning songs from the Sound of Music. We had a performance we were preparing for at the end of the year and I remember during all of our practices I seemed to be taking it a lot more seriously than the other kids lol.

Going into your album, Back in My Body, what was the creative process like?

‍Going into the creative process for my album took a while. I had taken a break from music for almost two years prior because there were a lot of major shifts going on in my life and I wasn’t able to focus and be creative when I wasn’t feeling grounded. I was going through a healing process that was leading me to the creation of this album. For a minute, it felt like such a distant goal that it was tough to conceptualize and bring to life, but slowly step-by-step, the work came together.

Are you more of a structured person with studio time? Do ideas come to you at random, or is it a mix of both?

‍As far as studio time, I do enjoy structure in terms of having a schedule and knowing which days I’ll be working with someone. But ideas are always flowing to me, I’m often writing in my notebooks or humming melodies into my voice memos. A lot of the songs were born from thoughts taken directly from my notebook. And then I take those memos and concepts to work on them when I get to see my producer.

What does this album mean to you? How is it a reflection of you and your story?
This album is a timestamp for me of a really big life transition. After I went through heartbreak, it was like having an epiphany while I was experiencing all those feelings. A realization that I needed to look at why I attracted that situation and what I needed to learn from it. As I did that, I was able to heal and tend to my inner child, change my attachment style, balance my feminine and masculine energies, rekindle my relationship with the Divine, get sober, and create a sense of safety for myself. And this album sort of walks the listener through that process I went through of reclaiming my life and becoming the best version of myself yet.

What is one thing you hope people will pull and understand from this album?

My hope is that this music can inspire anybody going through something difficult like heartbreak, to allow themselves to feel it fully and then use that emotional alchemy to become fully embodied. It’s a blueprint in some ways for building a new home within the walls of self.

Describe what it's like to have Alicia Keys personally ask you to cover a song for the 20th Anniversary of Songs in a Minor. Was she an inspiration growing up? What was the pressure of taking that responsibility like?

To have Alicia ask me to do that was very surreal. I have so many memories of singing along to her songs and feeling so inspired by her. I’ve been a fan for a long time so the fact that she knew about me and then wanted me to cover her music was an honor and a full circle moment. Songs in A Minor was one of my favorite projects in high school so I didn’t necessarily feel pressure as much as I did excitement. Of course I wanted to do a good job and there were some elements of pressure felt, but really it was more fun than heavy. I’m so grateful for that experience for sure.