Extract from Mallavora's biography, written by Emma Wilkes:

The best way Mallavora guitarist Larry Sobieraj knows to articulate his experiences with chronic illness is to translate them into music.

 

“It’s almost like a therapy tool to process these complicated and difficult things that a lot of people don't understand, things that are hard to put into words,” he says. “I want to be able to sit there and listen to the music and feel how I felt while writing it.” 

 

He passes his instrumentals to vocalist Jessica Douek, who uses her emotional response to the music to craft vocals. In essence, it’s a creative dialogue.

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The Concept:

Mallavora's debut album What If Better Never Comes? distills the band's lived experience of difference through the lens of disability, chronic illness, mental health and neurodivergence, and is a raw and unrestrained exploration of the concept of sickness.

 

The album breaks boundaries in its expression of disability and its wider message, holding a mirror up to society and warning of the forces that threaten our collective demise.

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Members' roles and skills:

Mallavora have always been a creative and innovative band, using their skills outside of music to make the project succeed on a limited budget. Instead of avoiding ideas that would usually be considered out of budget, the band finds ways to make them work on their own.

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Ellis - Bassist

• Set design and visuals

• Professional background in event production and design engineering

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Larry - Guitarist

• Demo mixing and music production

• Logistics, planning and operations

• Professional background in computational programming and mechanical engineering

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Jess - Vocalist

• Social media & content creation

• Professional background in accessibility consultancy

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Sam - Drummer​​

• Seasoned touring musician with years of experience playing large stages and international tours

• Professional background in music education