Malvika Sheth releases ‘Online/irl’, a concept EP exploring identity, visibility and the return to self

Mumbai, 21^st February 202: After introducing listeners to her evolving sonic universe with the single ICONIC, Malvika Sheth now unveils her deeply introspective EP, Online/irl, a concept-driven body of work that interrogates duality, digital visibility, ambition, and self-authorship in the age of constant exposure.

Born and raised in Los Angeles with Indian roots, Malvika’s creative life has long existed at the crossroads of culture, performance, and public presence. Initially gaining global recognition through fashion and social media, amassing over 200,000 followers and hundreds of millions of views across platforms, technology became both catalyst and crucible. It opened doors while subtly reshaping identity. With Online/irl, Malvika transforms that lived tension into narrative art.

“I grew up online,” Malvika reflects. “I genuinely love technology — those platforms gave me a career. But somewhere along the way, visibility stopped feeling like expression and started feeling like obligation. I realized I was making choices based on what traveled faster, not what felt true. Online/irl came from that reckoning: the moment I understood that staying visible was costing me authorship, and that returning to myself would require choosing presence even when it meant being seen less.”

The EP opens with the atmospheric intro Be or Be Seen?, a meditative prologue that frames the project’s central tension. It poses a question that resonates deeply in the creator economy: is visibility the goal, or is truth the goal? From there, the narrative unfolds with emotional precision.

Love Is a Game explores vulnerability and emotional illusion, capturing the subtle erosion of self that can occur in romantic entanglements. High Note shifts focus toward achievement culture, unpacking the pressure of success shaped by growing up in an immigrant household where accomplishment often equated to security. The sonically charged Spiraling documents burnout and internal unravelling, the psychological cost of perpetual output and public scrutiny. The project culminates with ICONIC, inspired by time spent around Paris Fashion Week, marking a return to self-authorship, a declaration that conviction outweighs approval.

Stream the EP here:

Sonically, Online/irl reflects the layered identity Malvika inhabits. A third-generation Bharatanatyam dancer, she learned emotional articulation through rhythm, gesture, and timing long before stepping into the digital spotlight. Her academic background as a college writing consultant sharpened her narrative clarity, informing a songwriting style that is both structured and vulnerable. The result is a genre-blending palette where contemporary pop, R&B, and hip-hop coexist organically with Indian instrumentation and storytelling traditions.

With Online/irl, Malvika Sheth steps into her most self-aware artistic chapter yet, positioning herself as a narrative-driven voice in global pop who understands that true visibility begins inward.

Online/irl is out now on all major streaming platforms.