As a well-rounded individual not only in music, but also in art, fashion, and wellness, Malin Linnéa is prepared to reveal her creative productions this year and not hold anything back starting with her latest track, Haze. The curious DJ, producer, and vocalist grew up as an artsy kid in Stockholm and was obsessed with music, listening to everything from pop and R’n’B to ’60’s/’70’s psychedelic rock. In this upcoming year, she aims to collaborate with more artists, release more tracks, and perhaps stay in Berlin this summer to work with other producers.

Malin started her music career in London where she lived for 10 years before moving to Mexico City, where she’s primarily based most of the year now apart from the summers. The Swede reflects on how spending so many years in London was crucial to shaping her sound as a DJ and describes how the scene in the UK is still very house-focused. “You can feel the legacy of drum and bass and garage more than in other places. It might be the most international city in the world in terms of really having people from every possible corner of the globe.” At the beginning of her career, she played for a lot of fashion and art events in London and Paris but grew a bit tired of it after a while as she felt that most wanted more commercial music. “I would play happy funky house and perhaps some cool disco but guests at, for example, Dior would still come up and request Top 40 tracks. I think that has changed a lot lately, and now more fashion people are also becoming a bit like music connoisseurs. Social media has made it possible for everyone to see what is going on at all times everywhere. This has both pros and cons, but people are definitely more aware of even musical trends now.”

Her current hometown of Mexico City is “a very vibrant city in terms of art, food, wellness, and music.” One of her favorite parties there is a daytime affair called Sunday Sunday, which reminds her a little bit of DC10 in Ibiza, not only in terms of music but also in the sense that it feels very inclusive. Despite being a Scandinavian, the warm, cosmopolitan character always felt more at home in Latin cultures, for she’s spent time living in both Rio de Janeiro and Madrid as a student and absolutely loved it. “Scandinavians can be seen as a bit rigid and stiff, but one thing I do appreciate a lot about Swedish people is that we are very practical. We like to question things and make it better and easier, whereas, in Latin and Mediterranean cultures, there are a lot of bureaucracies and things that just don’t make sense.” Overall, Scandinavians are also more honest, which can sometimes come out as quite blunt to those who are not used to it, though she doesn’t see herself moving back to live in Sweden.

Malin has a profound interest in sound healing, meditation, and wellness, for she’s been doing transcendental meditation for a few years now and even did a 10-day vipassana silent retreat last year. She also took a unique course called iDiscover that focuses on developing self-awareness and personal growth and greatly recommends it for both personal and professional purposes. Invested in a holistic lifestyle, she uses yoga, meditation, and other forms of movement as a form of catharsis and self-love. “It’s a total must and it always makes me feel so much better. I think most people need these tools, but as a touring DJ, you definitely need it more as it can be very taxing on the body.” The sentimental soul also recommends taking a course in Vedic meditation, which helps a lot with stress, anxiety, and creativity.

Hypercritical about her work, the devoted female has completed a lot of tracks over the years but couldn’t find the confidence to send them to labels, and despite finishing so many, Haze is only her third release. “In the past year, I’ve spent more and more time with Gen Z people, and I’ve noticed that they are way more confident than all of us who were born in the ’80s. They don’t hold back or procrastinate because they think that something might not be good enough.” Nevertheless, she’s learning to be less self-critical and not overthink things. “As an artist, you have to accept that no matter what you do, there will always be people that don’t like it.”

From what she’s seen and experienced, the music scene is overall getting better but still lacks balanced lineups. “Dance music has always had a lot of black pioneers from Larry Levan to Carl Cox, but I still see so many lineups with all white men, which is pretty wild. In a time with lots of great female artists, I’m also surprised to see festival lineups with 30 names and only two of them being females. Obviously, people should be booked for their talent and nothing else, but it is definitely possible to have more diverse lineups without losing quality.” Nevertheless, Malin hopes to be remembered in this profession for “making great music and always creating a happy vibe on the dance floor.” Check out her latest track Haze, which will be out March 17th on Amaya Records, and support the lovely, eclectic artist now on Soundcloud and Instagram.