Shy One

London-born DJ/producer Mali Larrington-Nelson (aka Shy One) is influenced by a broad variety of styles and genres, stemming from London's pirate radio culture, including U.K. garage, hip-hop, and jazz. She forged a name for herself with a regular show on London's NTS radio and playing clubs throughout the city. She began DJ'ing in her teenage years, managing to land spots on community and pirate radio stations. At the same time she was starting to learn how to make beats, predominantly using free software and shopping it around to local MCs. Her debut EP, 2011's The Decaffeinated Love, put her on the map for two-step and U.K. funky. A debut album, Bedknobs & Boomkicks, followed in 2012. Over the next four years her status as a genre-defying DJ strengthened significantly, landing her radio shows on Rinse FM and NTS, the latter of which would morph into a regular residency as host of the show Soup to Nuts. She would eventually land a residency at BBC Radio 1. By the early 2020s she had become a figurehead in the London music scene, being featured on the cover of magazines and releasing ambitious mixes and productions, such as 2024's Gyallis Spiral EP for Scottish label Numbers. A second full-length album, 2026's Mali, saw her reconnecting with both her personal music history and the history of black music in the U.K. ~ Liam Martin