KALI Releases New EP ‘Maltman And Effie’ + Shares Music Video For “Insomnia”  

17-year-old singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer KALI releases their EP Maltman and Effie via Nettwerk. Across the project’s 6 songs, KALI adds to their already-expansive palette of sounds that they first showed with their debut EP CIRCLES released last year. Maltman and Effie draws its name from the Los Angeles intersection where many of the memories that formed the project took place, unfurling six cinematic stories of the teenage intensity of relationship highs and lows. KALI will be performing in LA at the Moroccan Lounge on August 11th and tickets are available HERE.
Coupled with the EP’s release, KALI shares the video for the standout track “Insomnia,” which once again finds the artist sharing the screen with a character wearing the slug mask, an item that has become a defining element of symbolism throughout KALI’s recent releases. Watch the video HERE.
Speaking about the new EP and the meaning behind the slug mask, KALI says: “I bought the slug mask on a whim about a month prior to me making the songs which turned into ‘Maltman and Effie.’ It was the kind of item that I saw and knew that I had to have it. I started wearing it as a party trick because I suffer from social anxiety like everyone else my age. After I finished demoing the EP, I began to realize that the songs were more about myself, and my insecurities than they were about the physical circumstances that allowed me to reach this point of introspection. Along with the title, ‘Maltman and Effie’ the slug represents my cynical but monstrous conscience, blending both my light and darkness, which is also correlated with my gender identity being ambiguous. The title comes from a street in Silverlake, but in my head, it sounds like ‘Maltman’ is my deviant and negative self-perception whereas ‘Effie’ is my lighthearted stability. The slug mask represents the unity in opposites.”
Maltman and Effie alsofeatures previously released singles “Addicted” and “Anybody Else,” and opens the next chapter of KALI’s emotionally-charged songwriting. Each track tells a new story of love found and lost with unflinching honesty and finds them exploring new ground with their production alongside Tony Berg (Lorde, Phoebe Bridgers, Taylor Swift).
Listen to Maltman and Effie and watch “Insomnia” above, check out more details on the EP below and stay tuned for more from KALI coming soon.

More About KALI: A prodigy of sorts, KALI, grew up playing recitals and covering Beatles songs, taking private lessons with music teachers, going to after-school music programs, and even taking songwriting masterclasses to nourish their passion. Intuitive and eager, they taught themself how to use Garageband and began writing and demoing songs that they would later teach their first band for their shows. Their relatable and honest indie-surf arrangements drew sweaty, teenage crowds to local venues like The Smell and The Viper Room and would lead them to their now solo work as KALI, whose second project is coming soon via Nettwerk.
Their debut, CIRCLES, was described by V Magazine as “one of the most remarkable debuts you will hear all year” and introduced KALI with the tracks “Someone to Hold,” “I Just Wanna,” “Lucy,” and “Back to the Start.” A recognized musical talent from a young age, they play a majority of the instruments on the project themselves, with additional production from Miro Mackie (The Neighbourhood, St. Vincent, Wallows) and Daniel Chae (of Run River North). The EP synthesized KALI’s own experiences as a teenager, and those of their friends via stories and recorded voicemails, into a cohesive body of work centered around their self-discovery.