Malinky
Item Posted: Wednesday 28th March , 2007
Malinky, November 2004
We were fortunate to have one of the last concerts by this band before Karin Polwart’s departure to pursue her solo career. This article appeared in Scottish Fiddler Magazine.
Loch Goil, in Argyll, may turn out to have been a very fortunate community. They caught the present line up of Malinky before their changes and reformation. If any of you get the chance to see their final gigs- do so! Although a new lineup is sure to be good, and Karine Polwart’s song writing career flourish, the band who did “Three Ravens” and “ Last Leaves” will be no more, and we will just have our memories and cds to keep us happy.
Malinky are an extraordinary band. The range of their varied talents was shown at its best at their recent concert for Lochgoilhead Fiddle Workshop.
To find a band with one good voice is unusual, two is exceptional, and three is as rare as a phoenix! Malinky are such a group. Although Mark Dunlop’s voice was out of action through flu, Karine Polwart and Steve Byrne sang superbly. Missing member, Leo McCann, was absent through imminent fatherhood, but was ably replaced on the box by Ian Stevenson from Yorkshire. The band played, despite these problems, with a zest and enthusiasm which matched that of the audience.
Lochgoilhead is now used to quality traditional music concerts, and responded well to the band’s tunes and songs. The range of poignant and often sad songs counterpointed with exciting and driving tunes, the banter and humour of the group, gave the programme an unusually powerful cohesion and fullness.
Whilst there are many outstanding instrumental groups on the Scottish traditional music scene, and some whose vocal renditions of traditional song set them apart, there are few that have both the sensitivity for playing a range of old songs and the talent for writing outstanding new lyrics.
Karine Polwart writes and sings many of Malinky’s numbers. Themes of violence, defiance and betrayal recur in her songwriting. Her song “ Whaur Dae Ye Lie ”, about the Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia, is the most powerful and moving anti-war protest song since the 60’s, with lyrics such as:
“I hae dreaam’d o’ yer breath upon me
I dream’d o’ yer yellow hair
I hae dreamed o’ the sounds o’ yer dying love
Whaur dae ye lie my dear?”
These lyrics are of particular poignancy to this reviewer.
A more recent, and cheerier, lyric accompanies “Follow the heron”, with an evocation of the dawning of spring in northern islands:
“The back of the winter is broken
And light lingers long by the door
The seeds of the summer have spoken
In gowans that bloom on the shore”
Karine’s instinctive poetry therefore informs her songwriting. But if that is not enough, Steve Byrne, a finalist in the Young Traditional Musician of the year competition (bouzoukie and guitar), adds an East coast distinctiveness to his own lyrics, a male view of the world to counterbalance Karine’s specifically female take on past and current events. It is an embarrassment of riches to add Mark Dunlop (bodhran, whistles and vocals), renowned as a sensitive singer and interpreter of Irish song. John Bews complements the other players with a swinging fiddle style and a dash of mandoline. Normally Leo McCann, renowned for his inventiveness and energy on button box and whistle, completes the lineup.
Malinky’s latest CD “Three Ravens” was heralded by Christian Moll of Folkworld :“ It's always great to find young musicians playing acoustic folk music. Malinky are one of the best in Scotland. Scottish traditional music will be kept alive by great bands such as Malinky.”
Given the depth of talent in the band, Karine Polwart’s imminent departure will cause changes, but not, we feel, irretrievable damage. However, it would be pleasant to see the female contribution continued, if at all possible, even though Karine is a daunting act to follow.
Most of the traditional music concerts over the last 18 months in Loch Goil have focussed on fiddle playing, (understandable as they are arranged by the Fiddle Workshop there!). Thanks to generous sponsorship from Fyne Ales and the Scottish Forestry Commission, Loch Goil were able to attract a band as famous for their vocals as for their multi-instrument talent.