Don Blackman, Prince Buster, Dwele: these are just a few of the artists shaping the listening habits of one of London’s most versatile DJs.

Mali Larrington-Nelson, aka Shy One, has long been woven into the fabric of London’s underground music scene. Born and raised on the city’s outskirts, the DJ, producer and broadcaster has spent two decades gliding through its many sonic worlds, from pirate radio and grime crews to the soulful, genre-blurring sets she’s now known for across clubs, studios and airwaves. She’s rightfully earned her spot as a staple on the UK music and club circuit scene, cementing herself as one of its top DJs. 

With shows on NTS Radio and Balamii Radio, releases on labels like DVA Music and Eglo Records, her impact on the culture doesn’t go amiss. With deep roots in the city’s nightlife, her musical palette is well seasoned. Raised by a raver mum and in a family where CDs and records were shared like plates of food, Larrington-Nelson was DJing grime by the age of 13. That musical curiosity still defines her approach today, allowing her to move seamlessly between sounds and scenes behind the decks.

Now, with her new self-titled album Mali, we’re hearing the London-based producer and DJ at a fine-tuned point of clarity. With this project, she captures a period of personal and sonic decluttering, leaning into a sound that, in her own words, “feels more like me.” Released via South London label and community hub Touching Bass, the record arrives following a run of well-received singles including “Moonlight”, “Nort Wess”, and “I Can Tell”, featuring collaborators including Private Joy and George Riley. 

A standout moment from the focus track, “Driving On Sand,” featuring the legendary Steve Spacek, shows his unmistakable, airy vocal slide over Shy One’s syncopated percussion and atmospheric production. Blending house, techno, broken beat, dub, and rap across ten tracks, Mali reflects the full spectrum of sounds that have moulded Shy One’s career, bridging generations of Black British electronic music. 

To celebrate the release, she was joined by friends, collaborators and Touching Bass founder Errol as she headlined her biggest show to date at Village Underground. But for now, she shares the tracks that she’s currently got On Repeat…

Listen to the album…

Shy One Is On Repeat…

Dwele – “Flywun”

Dwele is one of the artists responsible for my love of the Rhodes piano. I’ve listened to Rize countless times since my teens and have no doubt his stripped-back, soulful production contributed largely to my preference for that style. 

Silhouette Brown – “Whose In Charge”

Another of my most-played albums in life. This track, in particular, I especially love the filtered bass, sounds like something you’d hear in UKG or Grime, but they’ve used it with Neo-soul and nu-jazz instrumentation and vocals. I fell in love with this kind of broken beat so easily, whilst actively being obsessed with Grime, it sounded to me like Grime and UKG’s older, chilled-out cousin who studied Jazz. 

Joe Gibbs Allstars – “Lover’s Serenade”

Whilst finishing the album, I read a couple of books on the history of the Jamaican recording industry and spent a lot of my downtime and travels listening to the producers mentioned. Lover’s Serenade was a standout of that Dub period and another reason I knew I needed a little guitar on the project. 

Prince Buster – “It’s Burke’s Law”

I’ve loved the guitar skank of ska since a toddler due to my great-grandfather playing records like Burke’s Law. I’ve tried to imitate it in some beats in the past, but after discovering what the source of that sound actually is, I had Simeon Jones record some guitar for me to use in a dub-inspired track on the album.

King Jammy – “Stormy Weather Dub”

Jammy (and Tubby’s) use of effects on this track and many others inspired me to combine guitar pedals and other effects processors to have fun and do ‘lil rough dub-like attempts of my own.

Mark de Clive-Lowe – “Slide”

Another tune and album that had a big impact on me as a child, and is the root of my love for certain types of sounds that I’ve gone on to use in my own productions. 

Rhian Benson – “Say How I Feel (Bugz In the Attic Remix)”

Bugz’s use of tremolo and panning on this track used to gas me up so much, definitely another core memory and reason I’m fond of that effect. 

Wookie – “VCF” 

This track (and Lady Saw’s ‘Hice it Up’) are partly the reason I bought a Roland JV1080 synth, however many years ago. Wookie’s one of my biggest influences; he’s given us some of the greatest electronic tracks to come out of Britain, in my opinion. 

Don Blackman – “Holding you, loving you” 

This 1982 album is not a ‘piano album’, but it’s probably one of my favourite albums because of the Piano in it. 

Jay Daniel – “brainz” 

I’ll never tire of this track or feel guilty for still playing it in my sets year after year after year after year. Some of the sickest ‘n’ roughest drums. Gritty drums are always the one for me.