Before October half term, Greenhead College had the overwhelming privilege of a visit from Lee Malia, guitarist of the hit rock band, Bring Me The Horizon. The band has garnered 13.7 million monthly listeners on Spotify and several awards, including a BRIT this year in Best Alternative/Rock Act. Speaking to all varieties of music students, he shared valuable insight on the music industry and how he came to fame.
The quartet’s Yorkshire genesis emerged from frequent local mic nights, producing music revolving around the sole motive of getting their friends to ‘mosh’ along, until they eventually were picked up by a label. Malia attributes much of their success to streaming services and social media platforms. However, he references that their rise was somewhat obscure compared to other bands, stating that while some performers are seemingly ‘one-hit wonders’, the popularity of the band’s albums seem to be growing with each new release. Despite forming in 2004, the likes of ‘TikTok sounds’ have bolstered eyes on the group, opening doors even 20 years later. For example, Malia has seemingly picked up entirely new projects, helping compose a score for Canadian thriller Out Come The Wolves, while also being on a global tour and releasing Post Human: Nex Gen’, their freshest album release.
Conducted in a ‘Q&A’ style, Malia’s presentation allowed for any range of question to be answered, regardless of direct relevance to the band itself. He provided answers modestly and fairly, giving the students a clear idea of his success story and how much things had changed since his origins as a teenager, with the help of social media. ‘MySpace’ has afforded Bring Me The Horizon a multinational audience, at one stage placing their band on the site just second to Coldplay. Malia emphasised the difference in funding and attention from the outset of the band’s career, initially performing wherever they could for free, driving, in Malia’s words, “….the car from The Inbetweeners’ and touring in a small van.” And now? A luxury coach, headlining in Japan and Malaysia, allowing their global online presence to flourish in a live setting.
Prevailing through it all, however, is Malia’s continued preference for British crowds. Expressing admiration for the energy the crowd brings, unparalleled to any other nation. Addressing the responsibilities of a family and his band in recent years, Malia expressed a feeling of common misconception towards the workload in making music, describing it as a significantly more peaceful process than assumed, making work and family a much smoother experience, with little actual contention.
Overall, it was once again an honour for Greenhead College to host and hear about Malia’s wide-ranging advice on professions in the music industry, alongside the more professional side of album making and publishing.
Lila Sturdy
Resident Student Journalist
