Artist

Mall Grab

Newcastle, Australia • b. 1994

Mall Grab is a musician from Newcastle, Australia, active since 1994. Their discography on Gatefold includes 9 records.

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Photo of Mall Grab

9

Albums tracked

5

In collections

1994

Since

Biography

Mall Grab is the artist name of Jordon Alexander, a 31 year-old producer and DJ originally from Newcastle, Australia, now based in London, England. Heavily influenced by the working-class steelworks of his hometown, his music explores the roots of house and techno - keeping things stripped back and minimal, yet atmospheric. He also releases music under his real name Jordon Alexander which is more lofi house than techno.

The Arc of Mall Grab

The pivots — what forced Mall Grab to reinvent.

  1. The Tape Hiss Era

    From 2015 to 2017, Alexander rode the wave of the internet-fueled lo-fi house boom alongside artists like DJ Seinfeld and Ross from Friends. Tracks like 'Feel U' and 'I Just Wanna' were built on heavily compressed vocal chops, warm synthesizer pads, and intentionally degraded drum machine patterns that sounded like they were recorded onto a dusty cassette tape. The music was casual, soulful, and deeply nostalgic. It defined the sound of early platforms like the Hurydance YouTube channel before the aesthetic became totally oversaturated by imitators.

  2. The UK Hardcore Shift

    Moving to London changed everything. He founded Looking For Trouble and Steel City Dance Discs, pivot points that saw him abandon the hazy house textures for the frantic energy of UK garage, techno, and breakbeat hardcore. You can hear the change on 2018's 'How The Dogs Chill, Vol.1' and 2020's 'Take Down Enemies' where the tempo spikes and the drums get menacing. He stopped aiming for the bedroom listener and started writing tracks explicitly meant to shake the walls of massive warehouses.

  3. The Collaborative Expansion

    By the time he cut his debut album 'What I Breathe' in 2022, Alexander had moved far beyond simple club loops to embrace full songwriting. He brought in diverse vocalists like London indie-outfit Real Lies, Baltimore hardcore punk band Turnstile, and electronic artist Yaeji to flesh out his production. The tracks balanced massive, main-room festival energy with genuine pop sensibilities and breakbeat poetry. It was a polished, widescreen realization of his club roots that proved he could command a festival stage without losing his underground credibility.

Influences

  • The Other People Place — James Stinson's legendary solo project laid the blueprint for deep, emotional electronic music built on minimal gear. Alexander has explicitly cited Stinson's work as a major influence on his melodic sensibilities. You can hear that distinct, melancholic electro warmth buried under the tape hiss of early Mall Grab tracks like 'Alone'.
  • Moodymann — Kenny Dixon Jr. defined the art of the raw, unpolished house groove by sampling black music history without asking for permission. Alexander adopted this exact philosophy for his early material, utilizing dusty soul loops and off-kilter vocal chops. The loose, swinging percussion on 'Feel U' is a direct descendant of the Detroit style Moodymann spent decades perfecting.
  • Omar-S — Alex Omar Smith is the king of no-nonsense, hardware-driven Detroit house that ignores industry trends. Alexander has frequently praised his raw, uncompromising production style in interviews. That same stripped-back, repetitive, and heavy-hitting drum programming is what drives Mall Grab's 'Menace II Society'.
  • DJ Rashad — The late footwork pioneer showed the world how to chop up soul samples at hyper-speed over frantic, syncopated drum patterns. Alexander has paid tribute to Rashad's influence on his work, particularly in how he handles vocal repetition. You can hear that frantic, repetitive sample-chopping technique acting as the rhythmic engine on tracks like 'Let U Kno'.
  • The Prodigy — Liam Howlett's fusion of punk attitude, heavy breakbeats, and rave synthesizers laid the groundwork for the aggressive British dance music that Alexander fell in love with after moving to the UK. The raw energy and distorted synth lines on Mall Grab's 'Take Down Enemies' are a direct nod to the high-octane rave sound of 1990s England.

Discography

Their records — most-collected first.

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