How to Handle Press, Promo, and Building Buzz as an Indie Artist w/ Ciao Malz

On this episode of The J-Card Podcast, we sit down with Malia Delacruz — the artist behind Ciao Malz — to talk about what really happens after you release your first big project.

Following the buzz of her Safe Then Sorry EP, Malia walks us through her first real press cycle: DIY promo, working with a label, running live sessions, and dealing with the chaos of social media. We talk about the weird emotional math of streaming numbers, the cringe task of self-promotion, and why seeing Dead & CO at The Sphere was such a life-changing moment for her.

The J-Card is presented by Rue Defense Tape Club, a quarterly, mail-order cassette compilation and DIY audio project. Hosted by Alexei Shishkin, each episode is part music discovery, part oral history, part hangout show. We ask artists, musicians, filmmakers, and other music-minded folks to build us their own personal mixtape and talk about the moments and memories that inspired it.

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⏱️ Chapters:

00:00 – Intro

02:08 – What’s Been Stuck In Your Head?

05:02 – Behind-the-scenes of doing DIY press/promo

09:08 – Social media can feel “gross”

11:10 – Recording remote sessions

15:26 – Metrics, streams, and how to determine success

21:20 – Mixtape intro: theme and vibe

22:25 – “Bittersweet Symphony” – The Verve

24:54 – “Atlantic City” – Bruce Springsteen

28:02 – “Fancy” – Bobbie Gentry

30:00 – “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia” – Reba McEntire

32:23 – “Maria” – Greg Mendez

34:45 – “Hello, It’s Me” – Todd Rundgren

37:43 – “Joker Lips” – MJ Lenderman

40:38 – “The Gambler” – Kenny Rogers

42:22 – Nashville retrospective

45:04 – FIRSTS & LASTS

45:28 – First & Last Show You Played

47:30 – First & Last Instruments

50:13 – First & Last Concerts

54:15 – First & Last Artist Obsessions

58:02 – First & Last Albums

1:00:26 – Wrap-up & where to find Ciao Malz

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