From oil rigs to folk gigs multi-instrumentalist in Newbury
Some musicians take a very direct route, studying music at university and on to attempting to making a living from performing, others take a much more indirect route.
It was the indirect route that the musician opening the next ACE Space gig has taken. Malcom MacWatt hails from Morayshire with the Highlands and North Sea as a constant backdrop.
Malcolm was raised listening to the folklore and music of Scotland. His love for the outdoors saw him spending much of his life as a keen hillwalker, snowboarder and surfer; learning first hand that the Highlands are beautiful and uplifting but unforgivingly harsh if taken for granted.
Malcolm spent nearly 10 years working in the North Sea on oil rigs as a roustabout. When he got married, he quit the offshore industry retrained as a newspaper journalist and reported on local topics including the criminal courts and social issues, but music was never far away. He explained “I was obsessed by Django Reinhardt and playing gypsy jazz and was regularly flying down to London to do guitar workshops with some of the top players. My wife and I felt we were in a bit of a rut and just wanted a change and an adventure so we sold up and moved down to London in 2010 so that I could study musical instrument making at university and she walked into a job as a schoolteacher.”
Malcolm plays guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, dobro, bodhran and is teaching himself to play the whistle. He mainly performs on the London Folk & Americana circuit.
His latest album ‘Settler’ was released in November and has been receiving widespread critical acclaim, including being one of the “Shire Folk Best Of 2021” programme on Kennet Radio. The album includes contributions from some of the finest American singers (Gretchen Peters, Laura Cantrell, Jaimee Harris) and also top UK folk musicians (Eliza Carthy and Kris Drever).
When asked how he managed to enlist such well-known musicians Malcom said “ I have an incredibly supportive record label who signed me on the back of a load of great reviews in the US for my SKAIL EP. ‘Need To Know Music’ is a boutique label with a lot of respect in the industry and a load of great contacts so they asked if there was anyone I'd consider as a guest artist. I sent a wish list, hoping someone might be up for it, and was blown away that everyone said yes!”.
Malcolm will be opening the evening for the Jackie Oates gig at Ace Space tomorrow (Saturday). Tickets are available online at www.WeGotTickets.com or direct by calling 078911 76940 or emailing events@AceSpace.org.uk
