KiNG MALA’s Possession: The Alt-Pop Princess Unleashes a Horror-Inspired Debut Album

Best known for her cheeky unabashed confidence, witty songwriting, and ability to effortlessly weave masculine tropes into her music and visuals, alt-pop princess KiNG MALA – born Areli Castro – is gearing up to release her debut album in 2025. The 12-song conceptual album was heavily inspired by Areli’s love for horror movies – think The Exorcist, Blair Witch Project, Midsommar.

Since the release of 2021’s viral sensation “she calls me daddy”, KiNG MALA has been quietly plotting a take-over… In 2022, she released honey catching season EP, which featured her viral hit  “cult leader.”She then followed it up with 2023’s critically acclaimed SPILT MILK EP and embarked on her first-ever sold-out U.S. headline tour.  2025 is already filled with confirmed festival dates and the release of her debut album, with so much more in store.

Your debut album, “And You Who Drowned in the Grief of a Golden Thing,” is described as a possession story wrapped in a Brutalist-Baroque nightmare. Can you take us inside the world you’ve created? 

I wanted to make a world that felt like it existed somewhere between fear and exaltation. This is a story of giving your soul to get everything you want, in our universe danger and desire are one and the same. 

If this album were a film, who would direct it, and who would star? 

Ari Aster, Mia Goth

FUN! is dropping February 21st, with a found-footage horror-inspired video. What can we expect from the visuals and the track itself? 

This is the climax of our story, it’s fast paced and unhinged and terrifying and SO FUN !!

Your music is deeply conceptual – do you see yourself as more of a storyteller, a musician, or something else entirely? 

I think I’m a storyteller trying to be a musician 

Your description of the album is laced with bold imagery. How does fashion play a role in your artistic identity? 

I love playing a character, writing as a character, even my artist name is meant to induce an alter ego. The fashion of this project is a huge part of making the characters come to life, giving them iconic silhouettes and colors and motifs makes them real. 

Who are your current style icons, and how do they influence the way you present yourself in your music and visuals? 

Julia Fox, Lady Gaga, Vivianne Westwood, Robert Wun, Alexander McQueen, Edward Scissorhands, every Robert Eggers character, and honestly anyone that’s doing a THING and leaning into it. I just think the cuntier and scarier the vibe the better. 

The album explores the price of desire – what’s a personal experience where you had to confront that theme in real life? 

Every time I fall in love it steals something from me. I’ve never known how to love and not lose myself. 

If you could manifest your dream project after this album – whether in music, film, or fashion – what would it be?

I’m already scheming on album 2 :)))))) and I also can’t wait to tour this album and bring this freaky shit to life live

What’s next after the album release? Are there any live performances or visual projects we should be looking forward to?

Tour tour tour!! And then some fun things I am announcing soon 🙂