Dark electronica and classic indie combine in Carla Malrowe’s magnetic debut EP

This November sees the release of The Petals and Sand, the debut EP from Carla Malrowe that combines dark electronica and classic indie to tell stories about the complex experience of grief.

Now based in the Netherlands, the South African born-and-raised singer and songwriter offers up five tracks on her first release that are as magnetic as they are cinematic. Alongside first two singles - ‘Dear Host” (released 23 June) and “The Spin Astride” (released 11 August) - the November 10th release of The Petals and Sand sees Malrowe offer up three new tracks including the acutely direct “Interlude”,  the intriguing “Missing Circus Freak” and the strikingly melodic “In Rome”.

It was, in fact, a song by Rome - “We who fell in love with the ocean” - that inspired the lyrical theme of Malrowe’s EP.

“What binds us to our grief,

Binds the sculptor to his clay.”

“Those lyrics changed the way I perceived and understood art, and how it cannot be separated from my fascination with loss,” explains Malrowe. “I began seeing the concept as sacred and, over nearly a decade the EP began slowly taking shape. My attraction to loss became a romance with grief - as if the song by Rome had predicted it.”

In this way, The Petals and Sand is an indietronic ode to loss. Its widescreen storytelling deals with a complex experience of grief in which contradicting emotions coexist and love and nihilism intertwine. 

Sonically, the lyrics are elevated by juxtapositions of dark electronica and classic indie that feature majestic flowing violins, simple yet melancholic chord progressions and easily digestible structures. Marlowe’s deep love for electronics is also easily apparent in the drum beats, synth bass and electronic organs that are layered within the songs.

The demos for the EP were initially created at her own home studio while she was still living in Johannesburg. Later, she worked with producer Barry Berk at The Bass Station in Johannesburg. Berk recorded and mixed the EP and Malrowe describes his creative contribution to the sonic quality as “exponential”.The violin and violas on The Petals and Sand are courtesy of the talented Waldo Luc Alexander while acclaimed South African producer Matthew Fink brought his impeccable gifts to the mastering of the final product.