For the last 20 years Scottish folk band, Malinky, has made a name for itself as one of the great champions of traditional Scots song. As the band prepares to launch its 20th anniversary album, Handsel, I caught up with two of its founder members, Steve Byrne and Mark Dunlop. They start by telling me a bit about the early days - the line-up back then consisted of Steve, Mark, Karine Polwart and Kit Patterson. Mark begins: “As I recall, the scene at the time comprised either instrumental bands who did the odd song (e.g. Deaf Shepherd), or purely instrumental acts."
“I agree,” Steve continues. “We were definitely in a period where the sound of the classic instrumental bands was starting to come back into vogue, and I’d felt personally the need for a mainly song-based band to counter that to an extent. I’d been in Edinburgh studying at the School of Scottish Studies for about two years when I met Karine at sessions and I think our first kind of ‘arrangement’ together was a version of The Bonnie Lass O’ Fyvie downstairs in the Oak. Karine got a floor spot at Edinburgh Folk Club in the autumn of 1998 and she was keen to do it with a band, so called on a few people like me who she had encountered in sessions, we met for rehearsal and whoosh, we had a gig 10 days later supporting Robin Williamson. At that time, we were all otherwise engaged – Mark as a town planner, I think Karine was still working with Women’s Aid, I was a student and Kit was a computer programmer.” “Initially, I think expectations were limited to auditioning for the newly-announced Danny Awards at Celtic Connections, in memory of Danny Kyle,” says Mark. “The fact that we won a ‘Danny’ within three months of getting together meant things gathered momentum quicker than they would have otherwise done. There’s no denying that Karine’s voice was what made us stand out – that, and being a young band pushing a song-based sound. I think it’s fair to say we were rather unique at that time, so the scene seemed keen to hear us and give us a fair crack of the whip. There was a certain element of being swept up in the first year - winning the Danny, getting bookings including Lorient, getting a deal with Greentrax, and planning and recording the first CD, getting to know Davy Steele, releasing Last Leaves. It all just fell into place, really. I’ve always felt grateful that the first band I played with worked out so well – that’s been down to the people who’ve been in the band. We’re at a stage now where we’ve gelled in terms of personalities and we don’t have to get to know one another because we’ve been all over the world together, slept in dodgy accommodation together, seen the best and worst of each other...”
“That’s right,” says Steve. “I guess I’ve always been an admirer of the longevity of certain bands and acts. I’ll be honest, there have been a few times where I’ve wondered about the sense in continuing the band, as the scene has changed and we’ve hit a few hurdles on the way. But by doing a few simple things like learning (although it may have taken a while) that it’s nice to be nice, to follow up with people and organisers later on, to take some elements of direct control, and also trying to get some of the organising right, like maintaining a good mailing list and fan base. Some of those basics can make a huge difference in your ability to sustain a band for a good while.”
Mark continues: “By the time we hit the first big bump in the road, which was Karine and Leo (McCann – who joined the band in 2001 for a few years) leaving, the remainder of us believed in the band enough to keep on doing it. Eventually the band had enough presence and creative momentum to keep sustaining itself.”
Over the years there have been several changes in personnel, but the current line-up of Steve, Mark, Fiona Hunter and Mile Vass seems fairly stable, with the four having worked together for a long time, and having a fairly distinctive Malinky sound. From: https://www.livingtradition.co.uk/articles/malinky
