In the past few years, Australia’s music scene has bore witness to breakout artists, spawning fresh sounds and capturing the hearts of fans worldwide. One of these up-and-coming stars is Grace Shaw, better known as Mallrat, a Brisbane-born sensation whose signature blend of dreamy electronic pop and introspective lyricism has catapulted her to the forefront of the pop peripheral. She has effortlessly strutted the line between indie-alt and mainstream appeal, working with artists like BENEE and Azealia Banks, having her song “Wish on an Eyelash” reach international audiences on TikTok with more than 617,000 views.

Inspired by musical pioneers such as SOPHIE, Mallrat is a singer, producer and songwriter who has crafted an original sound combining the folky sounds of contemporary girl in red and the heavy synths of Maggie Rogers. Ahead of her next U.S.-Canadian tour date at the Troubadour on Sept. 11 — her first since 2019 — Mallrat sat down with the Daily Trojan to talk about embracing femininity, taking space as a multi-hyphenate artist and writing the official song of the FIFA Women’s World Cup — “Do It Again.”

Daily Trojan: Congratulations on having the official song of the FIFA Women’s World Cup! How do you feel?

Grace Shaw: It was so cool to perform it. But it’s been extra special to watch the Cup play out. And back home in Australia, it’s been really exciting what the Matildas have been up to. It’s had this unprecedented effect, and Australians have really rallied behind it. And it’s a very special cultural moment. So it feels nice to be involved in some way.

DT: How did it happen?

GS: It was one of those magical emails that you get, where you’re like, “Yeah, of course!” BENEE started the song, sent it to me, and I finished off my verse. And then, a few months later, it was time for the opening ceremony. There were a few days of rehearsals with dancers and everything, which is so cool. I’ve never done anything with dancers before. I loved it.

DT: You once said that your song “When I Get Braces Off” came from a process of realizing that “teenage girls only have dainty, cliché songs and that you wanted to make one that’s just about being rough like the ones male demographics often have.” How do you think these pursuits of a new idea of femininity influence you?

GS: I think that in everyday life, I see how varied life as a girl can be can look like, and it’s just portrayed in quite narrow ways. Which is sometimes really fun and cool, and I’m obsessed with, but with that particular song, I wanted to write a song that I could imagine my sister listening to and resonating with. She’s a tough cookie.

I feel like the media is constantly trying to capture the attention of the teenage girl, but then at the same time, it’s the least valued, least respected opinion. So it’s a really interesting contradiction.

DT: What key takeaways would you like your audience, especially young demographics, to take away from your music?

GS: I don’t really think about things in terms of a message or a moral blueprint. But I do think that my audience is really cool and sweet and funny. I feel very flattered that they get around my music, even though I’m obsessed with my music — anyone with taste will like it. It’s really cool to see the people that come to shows and be like, “Oh my god, I want to be your friend.” I don’t know if I have a key takeaway or anything like that, [but] I think they have it figured out.

DT: Why “Mallrat?”

GS: First of all, Grace was taken — there were a lot of Graces. And secondly, I wanted to play a trick on people. I wanted to choose something that sounded like a band of guys. I think it sounds like a surfy-punky-indie-rock band, and all the guys have mullets, and they drink beer. And I wanted to catch people off guard.

DT: Going back to the topic of collaborations, you’ve been interacting with different industry titans, with a feature from Azealia Banks and Mark Ronson admitting to being a fan. Do you have any dream collaborations you’d like to pursue?

GS: I really want to do something with Charli XCX one day. I mean, my dream person to work with for a long time was SOPHIE, but she passed away, which is very, very sad.

Also, I’m going to write and produce for other artists. When I think about artists I would like to produce for, I think of a lot of rappers like Vince Staples. I think he has such a cool beat selection. And I would love to write for some cool pop girls.

DT: You had a tweet that read: “Hmm yes actually it does piss me off that Australian artists think they’re sooo progressive and yet I look around backstage at festivals and everybody else’s crew is just Dave Dave Craig Mike.” I was wondering if you could tell us more about experiences like this?

GS: The music industry, like a lot of other industries, is male-dominated, but not necessarily because there’s some magical skill that men have. Some of the biggest songs in the world are sung by female artists, but they’re written by six men. And it’s not because they write better songs. 

Being a woman in music is constantly feeling underestimated and not taken seriously. As someone who has started to embrace outward femininity, I feel like I was taken a lot more seriously when I was a teenager who was really self-conscious about my body and wore oversized t-shirts all the time. It’s an interesting trade-off because I’m not looking for boring grown men’s validation; I would much rather have girls and queer people at my shows. I make a real effort to bring women and nonbinary and queer people up with me.

DT: Are there any upcoming things you’d like to clue us into?

GS: Well, I am working on my next album, and it’s really fucking good. It’s gonna take a little while to finish it, but that’s what I’m doing.