Interview: Chatting With Malcolm Todd at Austin City Limits Music Festival
Afterglow had the opportunity to sit down with R&B-inspired artist Malcolm Todd after his performance at the T-Mobile stage during Weekend Two of the Austin City Limits Music Festival.
Written by Rachel Joy Thomas
Photo courtesy of Colin Tunney and Malcolm Todd
Malcolm Todd may have risen to prominence with the titular track “Roommates,” but his meteoric growth as an artist has been nothing short of adventurous. The famed alternative-R&B artist has made historic strides in his career since his first EP, Demos Before Prom, dropped in May 2022. Since then, Todd has journeyed across the festival circuit, debuted his first album Sweet Boy, and joined Omar Apollo for his ‘God Said No’ tour. On Oct. 13, Todd sat down with Afterglow to discuss his recent track “You Owe Me” from his latest single, Two New Malcolm Todd Songs, and his favorite venue experiences.
Afterglow: I got to see some of your performance at the T-Mobile stage today. You performed quite a few songs from Sweet Boy, as well as other records. You've been all over on the ‘Sweet Boy’ tour: You were here at Emo's in April. How has it been working through your touring schedule?
Malcolm Todd: It's been great. It's been really fun [and] I've gotten used to it. It hasn't been too hard on me, honestly. A couple rough nights of sleep on the bus here and there [but] primarily a lot of fun. [I’m] just living the dream, honestly.
You had a pretty fast rise to fame after you released “Roommates” in June 2023. What was it like for you growing so fast over that course of time?
It was sick. I feel like I've just taken everything one step at a time, and it feels good. It feels good [to] have an honest fanbase and music that's true to me. I'm playing venues that I'm very proud to play, and I just feel like I'm on a path that I'm gonna follow. It's been great. It feels like continuing to not skip steps is a big thing for me. Having a long career [and] a good time has been important to me.
What's been your favorite venue so far?
Red Rocks is [hands down] my favorite venue of all time. I just played there like a month ago with a guy called Omar Apollo, [and] that's the greatest venue ever. Then as far as my headline show, I love Webster Hall. The bond that I have with people [is] great. I have to say Red Rocks is pretty amazing. Unreal. I went to the Hollywood Bowl [and that] was pretty cool, but it's really big. I was a little overwhelmed. Just when I was looking out, I just didn't feel it. There's people all the way back there [looking at you], but it was so fun.
You mentioned that you were opening for Omar Apollo. What was that experience like for you overall?
It was awesome. It was a dream. It's a dream to go out with people I look up to so much. It felt like summer camp. I was out there, I played my 41-minute set, and then I just got to hang out with really cool people. [I got to meet] meet a bunch of awesome musicians, people who work in music, and people who just hang out around the tour. It was just a great group of people [with] a lot of nice fans, and it was great.
You recently released “You Owe Me” as part of a set of singles. Can you tell me a little bit about the sonic direction you went for when releasing those songs and what you were planning with those tracks?
I think it's just fucking around, picking music, trying new things … [I’m] just trying to make music that connects with a lot of people, but the sonic direction wasn't too [different for] the two pretty [new] songs. I just kinda have those songs develop over time. I'm still learning right now, but I'm on the path to evolving and that's one step of [the process].
I think it has a vivacious energy to it that screams, “This is Malcolm Todd,” When it comes to your influences, who do you usually look up to? Did you have any inspiration for that particular track?
I mean for that track exactly, I was just on my timing with that. I wasn't really inspired by any certain track or any certain artist. I think my sound is for sure influenced by a lot of cool artists that are a little older than me like Omar [Apollo] and Steve Lacy — all [of] those alternative R&B people. I like Daniel Caesar and Rex Orange County. Those are for sure influences that got me into making music. As far as “You Owe Me,” I'm just trying to learn for myself from what I've done in the past and evolve and try new things.
Yeah, it definitely creates a unique energy having so many elements going into your music. Your drummer was really going all out during that T-Mobile performance. I noticed the screen said, “My band and I have a sleepover every night.” Is that based off of any sort of true story?
We have sleepovers all the time. I like to do little funny pictures behind us at every festival. I like to surprise them before they get on stage so they don't know what's going to be behind us [onscreen] until we get [onstage]. We've had many sleepovers and we are very open about our feelings. It's very true. Every day is my favorite moment. They're the best guys ever. They're awesome. I love their art. They're absolutely amazing.
Any particular memories with them that sparks a “Rodrick Rules” moment?
Every day we're waxed up. We've had some fun nights going out. We've just had a lot of nights where we're we're just sitting around. Sometimes we just try to say two words that have never been said next to each other before. We'll sit around and talk all night.
To wrap up, you have people in the crowd with signs that say “sign my face,” and people were getting really ecstatic about Sweet Boy. There are audience members who are just so excited to see you. How do you feel seeing those little moments where people at a festival are bringing a sign just for you?
It feels awesome, [and] it feels real. I think that there's just a lot of hardness [with touring], but it doesn't feel real sometimes, just as far as connection and true fandom [goes]. People are really brought [to the band]. People are going around, catching up on the [band’s] Easter eggs … so to have that [connection] feels very special, especially at this time. I'm just very grateful for that.
This interview was edited for clarity and length.
You can follow Malcolm Todd on Instagram and stream his music on Apple Music and Spotify.