KiNG MALA (Areli Castro), the artist giving alt-pop a much-needed injection of raw honesty and cinematic grit. Her music isn’t about fitting in—it’s about excavating the messy, complicated realities of desire, power, and the violence women navigate daily. From her unsettling visuals to her sharp lyrical concepts, KiNG MALA translates deep, philosophical conversations into an immersive universe. We sat down with her to discuss the origin story of her record, why she loves being an interrogator, and the trap of seeking perfection in art.

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On the single ‘Eat the Spoon’, it feels cinematic and unsettling. What sparked the idea of exploring the bottomless pit of desire through this track?

“So, when we wrote all of the deluxe songs for the deluxe album, it was after we had already put out the record, so it felt like we were continuing the vibe of the album. And we decided we wanted to take sort of moments from the record and, because it’s two perspectives, take one song and look at it from the other perspective. And so ‘Eat the Spoon’ for me is like the origin story of this record, the entire plot centers around our main character, sort of like begging God for unlimited power and greatness. And when we wrote the album, I felt like we never really had that song of hers, like asking for it. It sort of starts with the response to that request. And so this song for us was like the question, the ask, the desire, the thing that starts the whole record, which is her desire for everything. And to eat the world. So, it’s just sort of like the beginning for me.”

The visualizer for ‘Eat the Spoon’ is pretty haunting. What emotions or story beats were the most important for you to capture visually?

“I feel like I just wanted to capture the feeling of that desire and also the like grotesqueness of what it would mean to like really, actually eat everything. Um, and we had the like bitten spoon from the ‘Little Death’ music video, and so we took that, and I was like, I just want it to be like a slow motion shot of me pulling the spoon out of my mouth. And so we took that, and my good friend Libby Larken went and edited it and made it sort of like a little… had it sort of match the beats of the song, and grow in intensity. But, yeah, it was just like a simple little one-day thing for us. I just wanted something that could accompany the song.”

‘Eat the Spoon’ is your first new release after your debut album. What made it the right piece to extend to the world after this album?

“Yeah, I think because it is like a new beginning of the record, it felt like a good place to start. It’s also, I think, when we started the album, like even just the beginning of the album, like ‘Possession’ versus the last song, ‘Filthy in the Bone,’ it feels like it starts in this like more accessible, pop place and then it ends in this like strange and cinematic, unsettling world. And the deluxe singles are going to follow that method, like that model as well. So, we’re starting in like a more pop bad bitch era, and then it’ll end in a really weird place. So, everyone has that to look forward to.”

The album revolves around questions like, “What would you trade for power? What would you lose?” What answers did you discover about yourself while making it?

“I think for me, it became apparent that when you get everything you want, you’re often left with a shell of what you were once. And I think the end of the record sort of answers that question of like, oh, if you were to get everything you desired, what would you be left with? And I think when someone offers you the world, they’re often really just asking you to give them access to yourself. And yeah, I think the answer was that it’s never what you wanted to be, and that sort of pit of desire exists whether you get what you want or not.”

You and your producer, Dan, spent a week talking before even creating. What emerged in those conversations that became the backbone of the album?

“Well, it was… I sort of went into this process being like, I know like the shape of the thing I want to make, but I don’t know what it is yet.” And those conversations were super important because it was just me talking to Dan, and he had his laptop out and he was just taking notes. And I talked to him about what it felt like to be a woman and to desire greatness and how it felt like I was sacrificing my greatness for my desire to be loved and to experience partnership and comfort and pleasure. And it felt like I was giving up so much while also getting everything I ever wanted and it felt like I couldn’t exist in a place between my humanity and my desire for greatness and success. And we just spent a long time talking about that and what that meant for the project. And one of his first questions was like, ‘Who is King Malla to you and what is this project? And who do you think she is and what do you think she has to say and wants to explore?’ And I think his first question, which my favorite thing ever, was, ‘What are you interrogating?’ And I was like, ‘Damn, no one has ever asked me that before!’ I feel like I’m interrogating a lot actually. And so it felt like a super, super broad exploration of just what, you know, what existential place I was in at that moment. And we ended up sort of dissecting it into this very clear power struggle between like the two things I want, which is like success and and a career and travel and excitement and and to make my music and this like beautiful home life that I crave as well, to like be in love and be loved and have my friendships and my partner and like my family and be able to like live in that soft place as well. So, it just feels like they’re at odds with each other, and that’s sort of the like crux of the story.”

“Garden” is a pretty emotional centerpiece. What did that track teach you about vulnerability?

“I think that was probably the first time that I had written more honestly about the things I desired, and it’s a very hopeful moment in the album. Like it’s between when things start to get really dark and when there’s still this sort of hope that is fulfilling, and it feels like that is the moment right before you sort of fall off the cliff, where you’re like, well, like there’s still a chance I could get everything I wanted. But, I don’t know, it feels like there’s this desperation in it that I’d never really captured before. And I’d never really like spoken into existence that like desperation for something greater than what I have, you know. But, yeah, that’s one of my favorite moments on the album, honestly.”

You’ve said the entity isn’t evil, just a consequence of the world women live in. How do you see that reflected in real life?

“I think violence begets violence, and when you experience a life that is filled with violence, violence sort of surrounds you no matter what, whether it’s coming from you or you seek out or attract like violent natures. I don’t know if you’ve heard the saying, like, ‘If you grow up with an angry man in your house, there will always be an angry man in your house, and if there’s not an angry man in your house, you are the angry man.’ Like, it’s sort of that idea of like, if you’re surrounded by violence and you’ve been exploited your whole life, there is this trap you fall into where you surround yourself with violence because it’s comfortable, or you enact violence because it is cathartic. And I think for me the entity felt like an expression of like the anger and vitriol that grows inside you when you’ve experienced so much disappointment and exploitation and harm from those around you. Like for me, she’s just an encapsulation of the anger I have towards men and the violence they enact upon us from the time we’re sentient to when we’re no longer fuckable or desirable to them. It’s so infuriating, and I feel like I live with this rage about it constantly.”

Is there a part of the KiNG MALA universe that you haven’t yet revealed but are excited to?

“Yeah, I think there… like for me this project was sort of a storytelling moment for me and it felt like a universe I was able to create and I sort of removed my own sort of my own personal experience from it, and wanted to sort of like go into these topics and things I was interrogating through the lens of these characters. And I think there is a place for me to do that in a more personal sense that I haven’t quite expressed yet, and haven’t experienced. And so I think there is a more personal side to this project and these characters that I’m excited to explore in future projects, and we’re already scheming on album two, and I’m very excited for the things that we’re planning on exploring with that.”

What advice would you give to anyone starting in music right now?

“I think I would just encourage everyone to write a bunch of bad songs. Write constantly, make as much art as you can, even if it’s terrible, even if it’s lazy and shitty and just like, I don’t know. It feels like the only way to get to the good stuff is to, like, run the tap until it’s clear. And I think constantly creating brings you closer to like the muse of it all. So, my advice is just to keep making stuff, not be embarrassed, and don’t give a fuck what people think. I think waiting for things to be perfect or waiting till you feel good about people perceiving you and your art is a trap, and you’ll end up living in that space forever. So, make stuff, put it out, move on.”