Singing Through The Pain; How Mariano Mallia beat the odds to continue his musical dream
On January 6 2023, Mariano Mallia released his single ‘Don’t Change’ onto streaming platforms. A beautiful and tender piano ballad examining topics like overcoming life’s setbacks, chasing dreams, and the pressure to conform to societal norms. A new music release is an exciting time in any musician's life but for Mariano it meant returning to a dream that he thought he would never be able to revisit. Alongside the Covid-19 pandemic putting a hard stop to any performing musician's plan, he was struck with a severe and debilitating injury that left him unable to sing….but not for long. We reached out to chat with him about his challenging and difficult journey and to celebrate his triumphant return to the local music scene.
Name, where you’re from, and where you currently live
My name is Mariano Mallia and I am a singer/songwriter born in Philadelphia and raised in Wilmington, Delaware, where I currently reside.
How did you get into music
My earliest musical memories date back to around 6 years old when my family would go to Italy to visit relatives. In the town of Monacilioni, my uncle was an orchestra conductor and music teacher. I still remember watching him play the piano. He owned every instrument under the sun. From that early experience, I developed a deep appreciation for music. Growing up, I played the piano and trumpet, but didn't get into singing, songwriting, and music production until I was 18 years old. It was on my brother's hand-me-down laptop that I started recording music when I discovered that he had downloaded a music making software called FL(Fruity Loops) studio on that computer.
What was the vocal injury that kept you from your passion? What was recovery like?
The vocal injury that threatened to end my singing career is called vocal paresis, which is a type of partial paralysis of the vocal cords. Additionally, a combination of excessive singing and acid reflux had caused damage to my vocal cords. In the span of just a few weeks in 2022, I went from being a full-time musician to being an Uber driver. The recovery was a long four year process of vocal therapy, speech therapy, vocal surgery, and most importantly, patience. My voice went through many changes over the course of those years. At some points, it was difficult to even talk to people sitting right next to me. Aside from just the vocal injury, I had to recover from the stress and anxiety that came with losing my voice, my passion, and my career.
What motivated you to get back to singing and recording?
Overcoming the despair that I felt when I initially lost my voice was instrumental to my ultimate recovery. What I learned in that period is that sometimes it takes hitting a low to gain the strength to get back up and go even further than you did last time. Something told me that I had come too far to give up, and that I was put on this earth for a reason.
What do you hope people get from your song and story?
I hope that this song and my story inspires others to have faith and never quit in the face of adversity. I believe in the power of love, faith, humanity, and self-belief, and those are the core values that I write music about.
Listen to ‘Don’t Change’ by Mariano Mallia here.
