Cowboy Malfoy is introducing themself to the world with an intricate and immersive soundscape that colourfully captures the spectrum of their artistry. From “Notice” to “Precious To Me”, “Want It Bad”, “How I’d Kill” and “Head Start”, they’ve highlighted strong songwriting and an impressive exploration of production that builds a unique world for every song. The Sydney-via-New York musician is ready to have you immediately mesmerised. 

I recently sat down with Cowboy Malfoy ahead of their debut headline shows in Sydney and Melbourne to discuss the immersive world they’ve created with just 5 songs, explored the intricate production, and reflected on preparing for their first ever headline shows. Check out the full chat BELOW;

THOMAS BLEACH: Currently you only have 5 songs out in the world, and what’s so impressive is that these five songs immediately welcome the listener into a theatrical leaning and very visual world sonically that feels cohesive and exciting. When you look at these five songs together, how would you personally describe the world you are creating to someone who is about to listen for the first time?

COWBOY MALFOY: I’m always worried that there’s not enough through line to what I’m creating. I’m worried that it’s a little too chaotic. Obviously it’s a reflection of who I am at every moment in time and what I’m listening to, and then I kind of just create whatever is inspiring me in the moment. But from a listener’s perspective, and something I’ve learned just by engaging and talking with fans, is that they can hear a through line more than I can.

Now that I’ve been building an audience I feel like I can now move with more intention and create a project and a more solid identity that is a part of that project.  And I’ve got lots of ideas floating in my head about what I want to create Next. But, as for right now, I like to call this universe the MCU, the Malfoy Cinematic Universe. 

TB: Looking at each track briefly, what would you say is something people would learn about you from each track when listening? Let’s start with “Notice”.

CM: “Notice” is a song about unrequited love. This is going to be actually a big reveal right now as I haven’t spoken about this before, but it’s about a love, a queer love between a girl and her best friend. And it’s a love that she doesn’t profess because she’s worried that the friendship will end.

It’s actually a lot about the emotions I was going through with my roommate. On a deeper level,  it’s about my own queerness. I was exploring my own gender, and I was writing this song from the perspective of a woman because that’s when I started looking into myself in that way. 

TB: “Precious To Me”

CM: This one is also about that person. People have read it in a different way that I intended it. The lyrics are like, “you’re precious to me, you see right through me”, and how I intended it to mean was like “I’m invisible to you”, but it can also be taken as, “you see through the facade I’m projecting, and see my true self”.  So, that’s a really interesting thing about that song.

TB: “Want It Bad”

CM: I swear all these songs I write are about unrequited love *laughs*. I hate this word, but it’s about a situationship that took place in New York. There was a sexual tension between us, that saw us wanting it and simultaneously knowing that it was hurting our friendship together. 

TB: “How I’d Kill”

CM: I guess this song is a departure from all that, in the sense that it’s not something I’ve written about myself, at all. It is really something I just had a lot of fun with, and something I never intended to write a song about because I just put a video of myself online that happened to blow up. I was like, “oh crap, now I actually have to finish this song”. I kind of built this following during the writing of this song and built up anticipation for it.  And it kind of became something that I didn’t want it to be originally because people grew expectations and built their own world around this song from a 22 second clip. And I guess I felt like I sort of lost agency with my own songwriter. 

TB: “Head Start”

CM: This was kind of me engaging with the aftermath of that song and the emotion associated with a hobby turning into a career and kind of losing that magic. It’s difficult to separate those two worlds, but it’s something that I’ve been learning to do. I mean, it’s so hard, because when you make your passion your work, it becomes work, and your mindset isn’t as excited to do it sometimes.

TB: Well let me dive into “Head Start” as it is this dreamy and expansive alt-pop song that pulls you in with its natural charm. The song has all of these different production and vocal quirks intertwined. How many versions did this song go through to get it where it is now?

CM: Oh my gosh.  If we’re just talking mixes or exports of the song, then it could be like 50 I’ve done on different dates just trying to find the right mix. I guess the difficult thing about being a writer and a producer, it’s that you’re given the freedom to change and alter at any point in time, right until the release of the song. So I was changing the lyrics right up until the end. 

TB: Are there any lyrics you wish that you didn’t change, or you wish that you did change? 

CM: No, but the alternative opening line would’ve been really cool. But honestly, both are so great. The first line is, “So you’re looking for a head start,  but there’s a piece of you that you forgot at the starting line”. That’s about the magic you left behind, or that you sort of lost. But the original line was, “So you’re looking for a head start, what happened to the people you forgot at the starting line?”. And that’s about me moving to the U.S and moving forward with my career. So they’re both deeply personal, but it’s kind of me focusing on the aspect of my relationship with music rather than the relationship with the people around me.

TB: Are there any little vocal adlib parts or production elements that you are personally obsessed with on this track?

CM: I’m such a fiend for like vocal runs. I’m never repeating anything. I’m really maximalist in my production.I try to make everything sound really clear, so you can hear all these little bits of magic I’m throwing in everywhere. And so I guess like the one that catches on to everyone, and also to me, is that meditation line. I want every part of the song to be the hook. And that’s kind of how I go about my writing. 

TB: “How I’d Kill” is a song that has had a little life of itself. With now over 8.6 million streams on Spotify alone, where is the weirdest or funniest place you’ve heard it, or seen it added in a playlist?

CM: Oh my gosh! I love that people don’t realize I can see all the names of their playlists. Like I know exactly what they’re used for. But the most exciting moment, and like the first moment I ever heard it in public, was when I went to my friend Jiraiya’s show. We have a similar fan base just based on the worlds that are created off the back of our songs, like OCs and animations. I’m in the same sphere in that sense. And I went to his show and “How I’d Kill” came on the playlist before he came on stage. It was such an overwhelming moment, but like, in the best way possible. 

TB: What’s a fun fact or anecdote from the creative process of this track that people might not know?

CM: I would say the fact that I worked on it actively for like eight months. It’s gone through so many variations, even more than “Head Start”. For example, that last section where it goes back into a waltz, I had like four variations of where I wanted the song to go. And the longer I let a song sit in my mind, the more indecisive I get because I just come up with more and more ideas of how and where it could go. I gave myself the freedom to just have fun on that song, and allow myself to try so many different versions. At one point I wanted it to become like a Studio Ghibli soundtrack, then I also wanted to make it more of a tango. But in the end I decided to make it loop back to how it felt in the beginning.

TB: “Want It Bad” is a lo-fi track that has this irresistible dance element to it. What were your sonical references on this track?

CM: I haven’t listened to dance music much recently, but during “Want It Bad” I was such a huge fan of Toro Y Moi, Disclosure, and Kaytranada. I felt like this song was very lo-fi dance, so it’s a homage to all that, and I guess it’s kind of an RNB house track. And in particular, I have three songs which it was inspired by. It was “Ordinary Pleasure’ by Toro Y Moi, “Intimidated’ by Kaytranada, and “Who Knew” by Disclosure. 

When it comes to my music I have such specific references. Like every lick, or bassline, or chord progression I can identify where it comes from.  That’s just a fun thing for me. So I really love paying it back to all those people.

TB: “Precious To Me”, and “Notice” had definitely more lo-fi dance influenced productions, is this something we continue hearing in future music, or would you say your sound is evolving into a more “Head Start” space?

CM: What I like about what I’ve done, and even though from a branding and PR perspective it’s a nightmare to distill what Cowboy Malfoy is.  But it’s kind of given me a foundation and a freedom to return to anything I want to at any point. People can’t try to bottle me or expect me to do one thing. I’ve kind of already demonstrated that this is my authentic self. 

TB: You are performing your first ever headline shows this weekend in Melbourne and Sydney. What’s something you’ve already learnt about yourself as a performer from rehearsing and putting this show together? 

CM: Growing up, performance and playing music is kind of where you first ignite a passion for music.  As I dropped out of Architecture to Pursue Music, I kind of went full into production, with closed curtains, sitting in the dark, producing on my computer. And I kind of just hadn’t engaged with the original thing that made me love music, which is performance. So it was kind of my mission to do that with this show. Basically, I started to realise just how much fun it was to perform and honestly I’m not nervous at all for these shows. I’m just so excited to be able to stand on stage and give it my all.

TB: Is there a moment in the set that you’re most excited for, and one you’re most nervous for?

CM: I’ve got to say, if I’m nervous about one thing, it’s definitely about “How I’d Kill”. Obviously that’s the biggest song, and people have listened to it so much that there is a very concrete version of the song that lives in their head, and it has to meet that level. So I’ve really tried to make it a moment in the show. It’s the encore, and I’m gonna get changed into a vampire outfit and have a whole choreographed dance to it. 

“Head Start” is out now!