Mala

Producer, DJ, label owner, and Londoner Mala spent the early 2000s spinning dubstep before hooking up with DJ Coki and forming Digital Mystikz. After the addition of two more friends, Loefah and Sgt. Pokes, the quartet formed the dubstep-focused DMZ club night, which evolved into a label. Throughout the 2000s and beyond, Digital Mystikz and DMZ proved to be pillars of the underground dubstep scene. Peterson became close friends with Mala, signed him to his Brownswood Recordings label, and accompanied Mala on a rhythm-finding trip to Cuba. After recording some Cuban musicians, Mala added his touch and released the results as Mala in Cuba (2012). ~ David Jeffries