REVIEW: Kali Malone & Drew McDowall - Magnetism

Imagine the life of a 13th Century monk, channelling his spirituality in a draughty stone cell, candle flickering in permanent semi-shadow, the unearthly howling of wind through the cloisters. He’s probably been there for decades, living with his oath of silent communion. And then, what if, on returning to his cell one day, he finds an unusual object, it says ‘Korg’ on it, and by the same freakish act of the divine, it's somehow plugged in! Hark, a miracle! With no fear and his faith to guide him, he starts to play. How would this new spiritual connection sound, transmuted via a multi-channel signal, resonating around his stone cell? It's gonna be deep, gotta be something profound. Our guess is, it’ll sound something along the lines of Magnetism. Hallelujah!

Magnetism was begat as a quick creative release by KALI MALONE and DREW MCDOWALL. Recorded in DREW’s New York apartment, they left it to mature for a year before they returned to it. Finding it ripening nicely, the textures and timbres cured, they were encouraged to finalise, and release it. In an era of lightning quick content reels and doom scrolling, this record is a careful and purposeful meander.

The opening bars of the first track, Nothing Here Is Lost, fills the air with this electronic medieval hymn. The sound easily slips off the headphones and into your ears, a paired back richness and warmth achieved by the gentle meeting of artistry and experience. The electronic dissonance as we drift along into The Secret of Magnetism encapsulates MCDOWALL's mastery over electronics. Pitching a sound that confidently rides the line between harsh and cathartic, it pierces the plodding synth in the background with a velvety burr. Using delay and distortion with Karplus–Strong synthesis (that's the synthesized ‘plucking’ sound to the rest of us), they restricted their fields purposefully and kept the tonal range fairly neat and compact. The record takes KALI's hauntingly ethereal organ compositions, to deftly provide a utilitarianly ambient melody.

It’s hard not to get carried away with your imagination listening to this record, in part because it's soaked in heavy atmospheric shifts and in part because there's so much space to do so. As we reach The Sound In My Mind and A Sound That Is Alive, the austerity of the cell starts to transform into a heatwave rippling over a dusty road, less spiritual wondering and more pilgrim wandering. Worthy of a cinematic backdrop, it’s VANGELIS on Ket, scoring a resolute, bitter-sweet ending. The subtlety of the track is reinforced with the reverb, warbles and resonance from the synths. The clarity and depth of the recording is what brings it to life, and you get the impression the devil was definitely in the detail.

Researching for this review was as much fun as listening to the record. Both artists CV’s are awash with fascinating sub-cultural touch points and ‘did that really happen’ anecdotes. Both have clearly perfected their sounds and how they want to deliver them. Cutting her teeth on the DIY noise scenes around Denver, KALI MALONE went on to study electroacoustic music in Sweden, studying with exquisite detail the intricacies of a lost art in organ music. Considered a wunderkind of experimental drone, she has gained a solid reputation for producing otherworldly music that connects with the soul.  

DREW MCDOWALL began life on the outskirts of 1960s Glasgow, contributing personally to its status as one of the most dangerous cities in the world as a member of one of its notorious gangs. He found his exit strategy via the early punk scene and then on, into the burgeoning scene of Industrial music evolving from the post industrial British landscape. Helping establish and push forward this latest vanguard of musical reinterpretation, working with groups like PSYCHIC TV and later becoming part of COIL, he was already cultivating his signature sound. By the time he got to NYC in the late 90s, his musicianship was in full swing and he has since become a stalwart of its experimental music scene. Highly influential, with infamously transcendent live shows, he has simultaneously gained a reputation as being the most genuine and supportive mascot for the entire scene.

We recommend, whilst enjoying this thoughtful and reflective album, finding DREW's SKREWDRIVER anecdote to read alongside it. This man truly needs an autobiography out asap.

MAGNETISM will be released on the 7th November 2025 on Ideologic Organ.

Score: 8/10

Words: Alana Madden

Photos: Ryan Foerster