Ike Malinki

Bass Guitarist

Style: Think “John McVie“

Interview

Ike Malinki Interview 05/05/2021 17:00

K: Can you tell me a bit about your history?  When we spoke earlier, you said your Dad worked in a Copper mining company?

 I: Yes, in the early 70's, he worked as Director of Public relations for Anglo American Corporation who at the time were holders of the majority share stake in the Zambian copper mines and the biggest export earner for the whole Nation.  Shortly after the Government took over as majority shareholder, Dad took early retirement to start his own haulage transport business.

 K: So, you are in Glasgow now and have been here for some time.  What has your journey been, both geographically and musically to get here?

 I:  Well the very first music to filter through my tiny ears would have been Jazz, as Mum and Dad loved Jazz music and Dad had an extensive Jazz record collection, therefore I've always considered myself to have been born and brought up in a Jazz house.   However, being a kid born towards the very tail end of the swinging sixties, my initial musical palette began to really form and develop from early to mid-70's, when one would mostly see and hear lots of British music played over the airwaves and T.V. This a result of the British musical influence that was left behind, after Zambia was granted her Independence not long ago.   

  There was lots of American and other music being played as well.   I vividly remember listening to songs by bands such as The Hollies, Gerry and the Pacemakers, Petula Clark, The Kinks, The Seekers, Dusty Springfield, The Shadows, Procol Harum and one cannot forget The Beatles and The Rolling stones.  I still have fond memories whenever I hear these old songs played today.   

 My musical journey further evolved after, in his efforts to promote an indigenous cultural and musical identity, first President Kenneth Kaunda decreed that all radio stations going forward were to play 90% local music.  To get around this some live acts, who at the time survived by playing their own interpretations and covers of Western Bands’ hits, decided to simply infuse local polyrhythmic beats and vocals onto what they were already doing and as a result a new hybrid music form called "Zamrock" was born. 

Here is a link to an interesting 15 min documentary about ZAMROCK

 This music became huge and remains very interesting to date and easily accessible via YouTube, as it's recently seen a revival amongst some Western musical enthusiasts, some even declaring Zamrock the original "Stoner Rock" music.  It’s worth checking out. 

 My very first experience playing anything I'd term barely musical was as a young 12 or 13-year-old kid, after someone made me what we called a Banjo.  This instrument was really a 3 stringed contraption made from an old oil can and a piece of wood as the neck.  With this "Banjo" I would strum away creating interesting sounds, rather than any constructive music, and my love for playing music took off from there.  At the time, showing any interest in playing music /guitars was frowned upon in some quarters and there was even one Aunt warning the parents not to encourage such an interest as it usually led to a child becoming wild, even an addict.  However, Dad never showed any apprehension, having come from a musical family himself.  Much later I began to appreciate and listen to local Kalindula and Zairean Soukous music.  Kalindula is the local traditional music, more like the Blues of Zambia and was always associated with the Farm, Domestic and Mineworkers who mostly listened to this music.  It is extremely difficult to play.  I couldn't get my head round the complicated basslines until very recently. 

 Earlier I briefly touched on my initial exposure to Jazz music.  I must confess I really hated Jazz with a passion and only when I came to Britain to visit my Sister, did I notice her having a collection of Jazz on cassette.  I remember asking her “Why do you listen to this?”… and before I knew it, I was enjoying playing the Jazz tapes coz it kinda reminded me of home and my past childhood which was always a happy time.  This further led to my love of the Blues which are really intertwined with Jazz.

 K: What was the thing that drew you to the Bass as an instrument?

 I: I've always loved the Bass.  I love the look, feel and sound it makes.  I also modify most of my basses making them into my own Boutique machine, it’s a labour of love really!  For example, the Bass in this photo shoot I modified myself and it's been used in roughly 85% of recordings I've made with Blue Milk and other Bands in the past. 

 K: What changes did you make?

 I: Initially it was a Thunderbird Bass, I dismantled it, cut and reshaped the body to imitate an old classic Bass design, cut and modified the scratch plate out of a blank plastic mirror plate, upgraded the pickups, potentiometers, wiring, sanded the back of the body and neck to bare wood, dyed and coated the exposed dyed wood.  Also coated the fretboard with Danish oil which preserves and makes the fretboard harder and brightens the sound better than that of a Rosewood fretboard which is more mellow. 

 For that unique look design, I cut some pieces of car reflector tape and placed them as fret markers.  The idea came from back home.  Whenever a car is scrapped and dumped in the scrapyard or by the roadside, the whole thing will rust under the baking African sky.  However, bizarrely, it’s usually the reflectors that degenerate last, therefore I kinda worked out this reflector tape must be durable for the fretboard. 

 I:  (Laughs) that's just something I love doing, putting all sorts of cool and crazy stickers on my Guitars.  That sticker actually came from a pack of medicines that should be stored in cool temperatures, so removed the sticker and placed it on the Bass.  Did you also notice the Bunnahabhain sticker?

 K: Is that your favourite tipple?

 I:  No, the story behind that sticker is…

 Zambia had never won the Continental Africa Cup football trophy, despite having very strong teams and getting so close in the past.  In 2012, Zambia went to the games with an average squad and were underdogs.  I placed a bet at the start of the Tournament for them to lift the Trophy but was just doing it out of a sense of patriotism, as I never believed they'd go past the group stages.  They reached the finals.  I had booked a weekend away a while ago with Paula, my girlfriend, to Cameron House in Loch Lomond, therefore we watched the Final there.  Miraculously Zambia won and I got a tidy sum from my bet and with the excitement, I asked the Barman to give me a different quality whisky each time I went back to the Bar.  He poured me some Bunnahabhain and I liked it, so when I returned home, I got myself a bottle, peeled off the label and stuck it onto the Bass as it evokes some good memories.

 K:  When we were talking earlier you were saying that you were a bit of a hippy and that you had loved playing the Eden Festival.  Can you tell me a bit about that?

I:  The first time I played the Eden Festival was with JB.

K:  J.B. Taton?

I:  Yes.

K:  Ah cool, I’ve interviewed him.  I’ll put a link in here to his page. Go on…

I:  Yes, I don’t know how he managed to wrangle that one.  I was very surprised, but I was delighted.  It was amazing.  At the time I had already been to the Kelburn Festival…just in the audience, not playing, but it gave me an idea of what to expect and boy was it amazing, it was so good.  We played in Rabbie’s Tent at the festival.

The next time I played there was with Blue Milk and we had been asked to play again but then the Covid scuppered that.

K:  Is that your kind of ideal gig?

I:  Yes.  A festival that is very laid back.  These festivals maybe have one policeman for the whole gig, and I have never seen a fight.  In the times I have been at Kelburn and Eden I have never seen one bit of trouble.  Everyone is just there to have a nice time.

K:  With regards to musicians and bands that influence you, you have mentioned the African influences from your early days.  Who are the bands and musicians that continue to motivate you now?

I:  Do you mean Blues?

K: No, anything at all.  All music is connected, and all influences combine so I’m interested in everything that inspires you.

I:  My favourite bassist is a guy called Norman Watt-Roy who was the bassist for Iain Dury and the Blockheads.  That guy is the bass man for me.  He is just so amazing.  He used to session for all kinds of bands.  Do you remember Frankie Goes To Hollywood?

K:  Sure.

I:  There was that bassline in one of their songs Two Tribes, honestly I always assumed that bassline was machine programmed, but it was actually played by Norman Watt -Roy. The original Bass player for the band struggled to play that bassline all the way through, so the recording engineer said, "Look, I know a guy that can do this, but you'll have to pay him”. They brought Norman in and he basically did it in one take after having a listen. They paid something, I believe about £80, so he never got any writing credit, though he did that bassline

He’s an amazing player to watch.  He wears it really high but what a player!  That is my man when it comes to bass.

Another one is John McVie from Fleetwood Mac.  You know how musicians like to say they sound like someone?  I like to think that I sound like John McVie.

There is another guy called Tiran Porter, who was the bassist for The Doobie Brothers.  He was very melodic, and he sang as well.

And of course, John Paul Jones from Led Zeppelin.  Who could miss him out?  And I’ll throw in a spin here…Kim Deal from the Pixies.

K:  So, moving onto Blues influences?

 I:  I will put a disclaimer now, as there’s so many great Blues artists who've influenced me but unfortunately cannot fit them in this interview, so I will try my best and start with my very favourite Blues artist of all time, the Great Mississippi Fred McDowell.  I still cannot believe the sound he made with the Guitar and slide.  His singing is amazing as well.  I will mention Freddie King, as he bridged the Blues to Soul music.  One should listen to Freddie King's album "Burglar" to understand what I'm trying to put across.  What a Titan he was.  How would I forget The Great Howling Wolf?  His booming voice and great persona and Mr Albert King for me the Sharp dressed Man of the Blues.  He played a flying V guitar and made it look as cool as "F"!  He also had this cool velvety laid-back voice, wow, just oozed class! Also liked John Lee Hooker and Johnny Winter.  Johnny had a beautiful unique style as well.  I will also mention a great influence on my Blues playing style and my all-time favourite British Bluesman Mr Peter Green.  He was indeed "The Man of the World"

I’m also big into the more modern Mississippi Hillcountry Bluesmen like Junior Kimbrough, R.L Burnside, Jimmy Duck Holmes, Kenny Brown, R.L Boyce and T -Model Ford.  I actually met T Model Ford in Glasgow King Tuts years ago when he was headlining the night.  Walked in early on my own, someone whistles and gestures his hand.  I move close and this Man goes "Hey do you know who I am?”, smiling of course, and I realised it was T -Model Ford.  We got chatting for a short while, I could not really understand most of what he was saying as he spoke with this thick Mississippi drawl as he sipped from a metal hip flask.  I was in awe Man, true story! After his gig I got a photo with him and he autographed his C.D for me. 

 I just love playing the Hillcountry style of Blues.

 Zambian Bands that influenced me, are Witch, Paul Ngozi and the Ngozi family, The Peace, Amanaz, Rikki Illilonga, Keith Mlevhu, Blackfoot, The 5 revolutions.  Most stuff is on the Zamrock pages and documentaries

 K: As far as gigs go, I know that these are slowly coming back after Covid.  Have you got any gigs coming up in the near future?

 I: We have been had events organisers getting in touch and offering possible gigs, though not much is set in stone really as no one is sure when this whole Covid issue will finally resolve.  However as soon as we have something definite confirmed, we shall let everyone know.  We are definitely looking forward, but for now we shall just sit and wait with our fingers crossed.

 K:  Do you have any plans to record new material this year?

I:  Yes, we have the studio booked for August to go in and record some new tunes. 

K:  I’ll look forward to hearing that when it comes out.  Thanks for your time Ike, it’s been a pleasure. Oh, one more thing, why did you choose The Clyde as your location for the photo shoot?

I: Wanted the River as it has a Mississippi feel. Also Water being part of the elements, I'm Aquarius (the water bearer).

Date: 04/05/2021

Location

The River Clyde, The Broomielaw, Glasgow

Camera info

Camera: Sony A7R3
Lens: Sony 85mm f1.8, 24-105mm f4.0
Lighting: Natural light and Godox AD200 (unmodified due to windy conditions and no assistant :-) )