Hands Up for Trad’s Trad Music Spotlight is a monthly feature on a band or solo artist. It was first launched in February 2015 and features musicians who are working in the trad scene – both in Scotland and around the world. We asked Malinky a few questions.
What’s happening?
Our new album “Far Better Days” has recently been released and is receiving great reviews! It’s our first album since 2008 – we took a break in 2011 after 3 years of intensive touring in the US, Canada and Germany to do family things and other projects. The new album was recorded in 2014 with Donald Shaw in the producer’s chair, and it’s our first independent release, with some financial support from Creative Scotland.
When was the band formed?
The band started in September 1998! Our original singer Karine Polwart had been offered a floor spot at Edinburgh Folk Club and decided she wanted to do it with a band and sought out the rest of us, whom she had been singing and playing with in sessions in Edinburgh over the previous wee while. So Malinky was born, and we had our first gig in October 1998 as support for Robin Williamson at Edinburgh Folk Club.
www.facebook.com/malinkyfolk
What excites you about performing Scottish music?
We have always specialised in concentrating on promoting Scots song, and it’s what marked us out as different when we first started amongst many mainly instrumental bands. It’s still something that we think makes Malinky unique as a band. We believe over the years and 5 albums we’ve made a strong contribution to promoting Scots-language song at home and abroad, and especially songs about where we all come from.
What’s next for you?
We have a few gigs over the summer coming up – Portsoy Traditional Boat Festival on 3rd July being one – and we’re booking for 2016. Everybody has lots going on with work and family (including some very new small people!), so Malinky’s not planning to tour as intensively as we did with the last album. But we do hope to get to Ireland and Germany in 2016 and just this week we took a booking for one of the Scottish summer festivals next year. Otherwise we’re concentrating on getting the new album out there!
http://malinky.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/FBD-review-quotes.pdf
Read more about Malinky at their website http://www.malinky.com