IN CONVERSATION WITH MALL GRAB

interview by THORE DAMWERTH

Mall Grab, the moniker of Australian DJ and producer Jordon Alexander, has become synonymous with raw, electrifying energy in the electronic music world. Known for his distinctive style, he has evolved from crafting lo-fi house tracks to commanding worldwide festival and club stages with a blend of techno, house, and influences spanning punk, electro, and drum’n’bass. It is his relentless passion for music that makes Mall Grab continue to innovate and evolve while keeping his heart in the underground scene.

full look DIOR
jewellery Talent’s own

From your debut EP Feel U to your full-length album What I Breathe and many other releases, how has your approach to music production evolved over the years?



It hasn’t changed much really. I’ve learned a lot of things over the years, but my music still tries to just invoke an emotion of some sort. Whatever I was trying to convey through my music then, I try to do now... It’s nice to now have the resources to work with vocalists and other artists I admire to help create something. 

When I first started, everything was quite rudimentary—and in some ways it still is. I try not to overthink anything when it comes to actually making music and just make what I want to make, or whatever seems to come out when I’m writing. 

I write a lot on the road in headphones, so a lot of the time it can be just looking out a train window and thinking.



Your sound has matured and diversified over time. What influences have played a role in shaping your current musical direction?



I think just life experience really. In Australia, we’re quite closed off from the world, a little behind, especially when it comes to music. I really only knew music from the internet and from going record shopping, etc. There wasn’t really a local electronic scene that influenced me around the time I was trying to write dance music. 

When I moved to London in 2016, I was exposed to a world I’d only really read about and dreamed of experiencing.
 From then to now, I’ve had a lot of life experiences, good and bad, that have shaped my life, worldview, and the music I try to write. I’ve always tried to show my heart in the music I make, but sometimes it’s also nice to just write something fun and uplifting that is happy for the sake of being happy. Now that I’ve been doing it for about 10 years, I mainly just write whatever comes to mind and about whatever I’m thinking about at the time. I’m the happiest I’ve ever been now, my life feels like it actually has some stability at 30, and I think a lot of my new music reflects that. Meeting people at shows and seeing familiar faces and people in different cities when I play now is my biggest inspiration. Being in love is a huge inspiration.



Your live sets are known for their raw energy and uniqueness. What do you usually focus on, such as at the Numéro NL launch party, 909 Festival, or Lowlands?

If it’s a Mall Grab show, I play 100% original productions, so everything is a little more considered. I’ll try to make a setlist of greatest hits and mix it with a healthy amount of new material and a few things I don’t often play to make it somewhat of a journey. 

For a festival or something else, I try to play a few of my own tracks mixed with other tracks I just love to play. They are always a bit more carefree and spontaneous. I love throwing a curveball in here or there. Like a Lucki or Veeze tune. I closed on Tonight, Tonight by Smashing Pumpkins a month or two ago. I just want my sets to be a window into my personality and what I like to listen to.



full look BALENCIAGA
socks DIOR
sunglasses PRADA
jewellery Talent’s own

Can you tell us more about the concepts and visions behind your labels, Looking For Trouble and Fragrance? And how do they differ?

Looking For Trouble was started to self-release my own music on my own terms along with collaborations with friends. It’s all pretty DIY—a lot of stuff comes out at the last minute, and I like to drop lots of stuff just for free download as I make it. It’s a fun project, and the name Looking For Trouble sort of means mischief. Good, fun mischief. 

Fragrance was started by myself and Effy because we would always get sent great music and we wanted an outlet that suited both of our tastes and helped to grow artists. We want it to be like a family, so there won’t be a lot of releases—maybe three to four records a year. We just did our first free pop-up party in Dublin (one of both of our favourite places to play) at the Wigwam basement, and it was truly special. We’re going to try and do more of these free parties whenever we’re in a city we love.

The name comes from a skateboarding term. How did you decide on this moniker, and what influence does skateboarding have on your music and lifestyle to this day?



When I was going through the process of thinking of a name, the bold words MALL GRAB stuck out to me because to the average person, they are just two random words… It sounds a little like a smash and grab or like shoplifting. 
I thought it sounded cool together. I’ve basically skated my whole life—skate culture influenced me so much, whether it be style or music. I grew up reading Big Brother magazine, so a lot came from there. I don’t do it as much as I’d like anymore, but I feel like you never really stop. I want to make the time way more because I still love it. I’d love to skate with my kid or kids one day. 


blazer LOEWE
hat EMPORIO ARMANI

How do you perceive the electronic music scene in Australia, and how has it shaped you as an artist?



Australia is just its own world. It feels like people get behind each other way more there now, which has been so sick to see over the past few years. So much music, especially electronic music, has come from worldwide scenes and made its way to Australia. Now the younger generation there is putting their touch on it. 
I’m really lucky in that the people who come to my shows and listen to my music are special and loyal—I love chatting after the shows and seeing familiar faces around the world again, especially in Australia, now that I’ve been away for the last eight years or so. I’m looking forward to moving back there in a couple of years. I’d love to open a venue there. My fiancée and I are hoping to do that when we make the move.


You mentioned that you've dealt with the pressures of success and the party lifestyle in the music industry. How did you find a healthy balance?



For me, it doesn’t work. I have ADHD, which I go to therapy for (and just for general mental well-being), which doesn’t really bode well with anything addictive. I also got diagnosed quite late, but when I did, it explained a lot of things I felt and the way I acted. I’ve always felt misunderstood my whole life, and when I finally found something I thought I was good at and could express myself through, the pressure seemed to get to me a bit. It warped the way I thought for a while. 


People don’t realise how they are when they aren’t in the right frame of mind, myself included. I used alcohol and partying to cope with mental health issues, among other things, for a long time, and when that is a part of my life, everything else just suffers—especially the music. I used to be surrounded by peer pressure, and it was everywhere constantly. I think now more people are seeing the benefits of not going down that road, and it’s so nice to see. These days, I like to try and set an example for people younger than me. 
I’ve been completely sober for about two and a half years now and would never go back. Life is too good without it. 
I want to prioritise health and music more than anything, and going through that stuff and reflecting on the past makes you not take anything for granted and realise what is really important.



full look JIL SANDER
bag BALENCIAGA
jewellery Talent’s own

How do you stay inspired and continuously innovate within your music?



I rarely listen to other electronic music, besides what’s being made by my friends. I think trying not to focus on what everyone else is doing allows you to just create music based on how you’re feeling—not worrying so much about whether a record is going to do well or if it’s the current sound, but more about if you like it and if it’s something you want to put out. To me, genres are pointless, and boxing anything in is the antithesis of creativity, so I try everything. 

My travels inspire me a lot, so I like to write when I’m travelling. Whenever I get the time, my fiancée and I will spend an extra couple of days in whatever city one of us is playing in, and getting to explore, eat food, and take in nature around the world really inspires me. 


Looking ahead, what projects or directions are you most excited about for the future of Mall Grab and your other musical ventures?



I’m working on a new MG album about changing relationships and growing up. It’s about 80% done. I’m going to close out 2024 with some nice shows and then have a few months off to write music and rest. I’m just about to move to the English countryside and build my first studio, so I’m excited to get my guitar out again and write some more songs under my real name, Jordon Alexander. 
I love DJing, so I’m always excited to play. It’s been an insane year, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds.

TEAM CREDITS:
talent MALL GRAB
photography JAANE JAIN
styling & interview THORE DAMWERTH
makeup & hair IRA HUTTER
photography assistant MATTHEE VAN DER PLAS
editor TIMI LETONJA
location W AMSTERDAM