MALIQ & D'Essentials was conceived on May 15, 2002 with 8 personnels under a genre they call Organic Music. The name MALIQ itself is an acronym from Music And Live Instrument Quality as the brainchild of brothers Angga & Widi Puradiredja (the group’s vocalist and drummer, respectively; as well as producer, composer and arranger for the group). The completion of the band became full circle with the presence of Indah & Dimi (vocals), Ifa (keys), Jawa (bass), Satrio (guitars) and Amar (horns). Later on, the group went through another change in their core personnel. After Dimi’s departure around 2006; Satrio, the group’s guitarist decided to leave and was quickly replaced by Arya Aditya Ramadhya, more widely known as “Lale”. Then on 2010, Ifa, the group’s keyboardist decided to leave and was replaced by Ilman Ibrahim Isa, more widely known as "Ilman". The group started out performing soul and soul-inspired music at different lounges and cafes in Jakarta. The first two years they went through was a solidification process for the group; as well as a way to introduce soul and/or soulful-inspired music to the Indonesian public; as it is yet to be widely known at the time of the group’s establishment.