Meike: How and when did you come to work with Jamiroquai? Do you want to tell us the story?
Malcolm: It sort of came out of the blue really. I've been in lots of bands with my long time friend and fellow sax player Jim Corry over the years. I did an album with my horn section The Haggis Horns back in 2001 entitled 'Keb Darge presents The New Mastersounds'. It was a horn heavy old school funk thing. Jim joined the band soon after so we were touring with that along with with fellow haggis horn sax player Jason Rae. Jason's wife shot to fame in 2006 with her debut album 'Corinne Baily Rae'. It was quite surreal for us really as she is just a friend who was married to my best mate Jason. For the next 2 years we were on the road with her band with Me, Jim and Jase as the horn section. It was our first time playing to huge audiences so was a great expierience.
When that came to an end we got a call to do the Mark Ronson tour with the haggis horns. It was an amazing expierience for us and things seemed like they couldn't possibly get any better. Then Jason tragically died out of the blue in 2008. It blew our world apart and we're only just starting to come to terms with it now. He was a huge personality, an amazing person and was very influentual to a lot of people and musicians. Jim Corry took over Jason's place in the band for the next 6 months or so. Jim's good friend and fellow musician James Russell who's brother produced Rock Dust Light Star got in touch with Jim saying that Jay was after a horn section for his new album. I didn't really know James that well at the time but have since become great friends. We had done a couple of Jazz gigs together along with Jim and he is a fine player. They discussed who they should get on trumpet for the gig so having done so much work previously together with Jim they got me involved. I was so over the moon to be asked as I was a huge fan of the band since I was 16 and they were a massive influence on me. It was like a dream come true to be asked.
Meike: Please tell us a bit about your experience of the recording of RDLS. When did you come in to give your input - when the songs where nearly finished, or earlier - during the writing process?
And how do we have to imagine your work with Jay - does he really sing all arrangements and you have to play them, or do you have the chance to include your own ideas?
Malcolm: I remember feeling really nervous about arriving at the studio but also totally excited. I met Jim and James in a nice quiet country pub near Jay's house before we got there. I think we needed a pint to calm our nerves! As we entered the gate leading to his huge house I remember just being amazed and overwhelmed by the sheer size of the house and the beautiful grounds full of fancy cars. As soon as we got there Jay was in the middle of recording on some track in his amazing looking studio. All I could see as I walked in was the huge collection of gold records on the walls which was kind of mind blowing.
Jay was just so welcoming and made us feel so relaxed. He couldn't have been nicer. First thing he did was take us straight to the pub. I guess it was the best way to get to know us a bit and talk over the tunes with us before we started recording. The tunes were mostly in the later stages of developenent when we came to putting down the horn parts. Over the next few days we finished about 8 or 9 tunes which involved a lot of writing and arranging on the spot and sometimes included Jay singing ideas at us randomly so we had to be on the ball with remembering stuff and getting it recorded. Sometimes the ideas would evolve or gradually change direction and sometimes ideas would be dropped altogether. The end product was a mixture of our ideas along with Jay's. Sometimes purely our own and vice versa. It felt like high pressure at times and was challenging but was also a very natural and organic process of recording. It was definitely worth the effort and stress! For me it was an amazing experience that I learned so much from.
Meike: How do you feel playing new and old Jamiroquai tracks - which are your favourites?
Malcolm: On the first tour we did so many old school horn heavy classics such as Revolution 1993, Hooked up, Too young to die etc. I don't really get nervous any more but the first time I played those classics I really felt the pressure. I mean they are such famous tunes and they meant so much to me from a young age. There was nothing finer than being in a wicked club and the dj pumping out classic Jamiroquai tracks and singing along with your mates.
Most of my mates were musicians so we were all equally passionate about the music so to actually be on stage with him and to be playing in the actual band was just mental. A bit of a head fuck actually. I couldn't believe it was happening at times. My top 5 tunes to play from the early period would be something along the lines of Blow your Mind, Revolution, Return of the space cowboy, Hooked up and Virtual Insanity but there are so many others that I love like High Times, Just another story and Light Years. The early band sounds quite different from the later period as the band line up had changed a lot over the years but for me, all periods of Jamiroquai has produced great tunes.
Meike: How do you compare the vibe at a Jamiroquai gig with that of other artists you have worked with (for example Jay-z, Amy Winehouse, and Stuart Zender)?
Malcolm: One of the best things about touring is the standard of musicianship you are playing with. The musicians in Jamiroquai are flawless so it just makes life easier. Working with Amy Winehouse and Stuart Zender in the Ronson thing was amazing although Amy only did the early gigs at the start. Stuart Zender was one of my hero's as a youngster so it was incredible to meet and work with the guy.
Every band I've done has been different though and some better than others in terms of the vibe but every band also has it's ups and downs. It's almost pointless to compare them. People can get very uptight in a band situation whether it's a clash of ego's or just a personality clash but the fact is when people are on tour together and in each others faces for long periods of time, it is inevitable that there will be fall outs from time to time. It's a bit like being in big brother. I've seen countless arguements and fall outs over the years and even fisical fights but often it's alcohol related. It's not easy staying sober when there is constant free booze and aftershow parties.
Also there is a lot of spare time on tour with nothing much to do but drink alcohol! It's a way of killing the boredom for some people. When I come home from tour I often see it as my drying out period. The current Jamiroquai band is a lot more professional in terms of good behaviour than some of the bands I've done. Although the Ronson band was an amazing expierience there were times when it was utter carnage. There were a lot of strong personalities in the band and combined with lots of alcohol sometimes it got way out of control. Myself included! Sometimes you are too busy having a great time to realize the destruction you are causing to yourself or others around you so it's kind of a relief that it's a lot more sensible in the Jamiroquai band!
Meike: Do you see yourself as a Jamiroquai-member or is it "just a job" as session musician?
Malcolm: It's kind of both. I do sort of see myself as a band member but at the end of the day it pays my bills like any other job. It's not my band so my opinions only go so far. There are a lot of people with different ideas about how things should go sometimes but you just get on with it.
Meike: What are your future plans after the RDLS tour? More recordings with Jamiroquai or will you concentrate on your other projects like your band "The Haggis Horns"?
Malcolm: It's been difficult keeping my own band together whilst doing pop gigs. We decided to take a temporary break this year from doing gigs. The band was too big and difficult to manage being a 9 piece and also I've just been too busy doing Jamiroquai. While I was on the road the guys formed a new smaller version of the band and doing some new material so when I have the time I'll be doing gigs with that. I see it as a new band but we're keeping the same name as we have a name for ourselves. We've done 2 album's with the haggis horns and we're just starting to work on the 3rd album so we're trying to keep the ball rolling. It's just hard finding the time sometimes now that we all have families but as far as I'm concerned I'm in this game till the end. Music's my passion and always will be.
Meike: Thanks so much for your time, Malcolm! Keep up the great work and have fun at the coming gigs!! And send our love and respect to your brass fellows!
Malcolm: It was a pleasure answering your questions,
Take care,
Malc
Meike: The pleasure is all mine.  Thanks, on behalf of all Jamirotalkers!
Some more infos about Malcolm Strachan - taken from his MySpace site http://www.myspace.com/malcolmstrachan
Bio:
My dad bought me a trumpet when I was 7 and from the start we had regular jam sessions with him on piano. From an early age I started doing jazz gigs with my dad's band whilst also playing principle tpt for the Highland Region Youth Orchestra and doing jazz summer schools in scotland. I went to Leeds college of music in '93 after leaving my hometown of Inverness and soon got myself on the local music scene playing in various bands. I dropped out of college as the course I was on was a waste of time but I met tons of great musicians there and this is where I met fellow scots musicians Jason Rae and Atholl Ransome and together we formed The Haggis Horns. We quickly started doing sessions as a horn section and also forming our own band under the same name. Pretty soon we were doing our own residencys in different clubs in Leeds and as a horn section we started working with Leeds funk outfit 'The New Mastersounds' and did the horns on their debut album 'Keb Darge Presents The New Mastersounds'. This opened the door to working with many other artists doing recordings and tours and for 2 and a half years we were busy with 'Mark Ronson and the Version Players' playing all over the world doing countless tv appearences and featuring in the video for 'Valerie'. (…)
Artists I have performed with:
Amy Winehouse, Mark Ronson, Jamiroquai, Adele, Daniel Merriweather, Robbie Williams, Stuart Zender, Corinne Baily Rae, Duran Duran, Snowboy, The New Mastersounds, Tim Burgess, Lou Donaldson, Jay Z, Nightmares on Wax, Northern Uproar, Martina Topley Bird, KT Tunstall, Odyssy
Influences:
Trumpets - Lee Morgan, Donald Byrd, Freddie Hubbard, Nat Adderley, Blue Mitchell, Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong, Bix Biderbeck, Clifford Brown, Kenny Dorham, Eddie Henderson, Charles Tolliver. Saxes - Lou Donaldson, Hank Crawford, Cannonball Adderley, Stanley Turrentine, King Curtis, Maceo Parker, Gary Bartz, Eddie Harris, John Handy, Rusty Bryant, Eddie 'Lockjaw' Davis, David 'Fathead' Newman, Roland Kirk.
Bands - Kool and the Gang, Brass Construction, Isley Bros, The Fatback Band, The Blackbyrds, The JB'S, Dyke and the Blazers, The Crusaders, Funk Inc, Pleasure, A Tribe Called Quest, Wu-Tang Clan, Black Moon, Dialated Peoples, Digable Planets, The B.T. Express, The Watts 103rd St. Rhythm Band, Slave, Black Heat, Young-Holt Unlimited, Clarence Wheeler And The Enforcers
CREDITS:
Photos: David Rowe
Interview Questions: Winterkat, Dye, CosmicMouse
Interview and Design: CosmicMouse (Meike Melanšek)
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