My Interview with Malachai

Malachai is an underrated gem of a band I stumbled upon last year with the best of luck.

These boys from Bristol know how to create music that's unusually unique and genre-less, and I urge you to listen to their latest record. (Read my review.)

Here, I catch up with lead singer Gee to discuss how Malachai was created, the issue with the letter K, some sausages and flailing elbows, and the story behind "Warriors."

Side-note from Gee: "I shall type my answers with my other hand as my regular hand has a tendency to lie..."

Side-note from Me: "I'll ask questions with my left brain and right brain... just incase."

How was Malachai created? Where did you get the name....and why did it change from a "K" to a "C"? What are the names of all other members/what instruments are played.

Malachai was formed in 2005 after myself and Scott fell in love at an office party... (Sorry, wrong hand.) The truth is we hooked up after Scott (who never wanted children) asked me to do something over a tune he had, and it went well. So after that we moved in with each other... (Sorry, that's wrong; we've never cohabited...) But we did find, through several tiresome conversations, that we liked a lot of the same obscure music...bands like The Nosehairs, Condensation5 and Well and the Recoveries... so we decided to try a project of our own.

To find a name we opened a book at a random page and saw the name Malakai. We closed it and opened it again and AGAIN it said Malakai. Three or four times we did this and still it said Malakai, until we realized the book only had one page, so we changed the spelling because Scott's allergic to "K"'s; he can't go near them. I brought Bristol legend Krissy Kriss to his house once, and he swelled up right there on the porch...

It's hard to say which instruments either of us play as we generally refuse to be in the same room together.

Well you guys must have had some magic flowing since you produced a wonderful record as a result... I'm allergic to "K"'s as well, although they work for some people...

When did you first decide to make music? Was it something you were born with or something that grew on you over time?

Personally, I've wanted to make music since, well, before I was born... Maybe 2-300 years prior, as a non-tangible spirit, I would freely roam the cosmos looking for inspiration...I'd see all the greats, you know, Schuhorn, Gilb, Frankle (and his famous elbows.) By the time I was born, I'd learned all the tricks, (apart from the elbows thing.) But you should've seen them... Up-down, up-down... Amazing!

"The Flailing Elbows" ... what a superb band name. I'm also an old soul...perhaps our universes crossed paths before...

Do you have anything out right now besides "Ugly Side of Love?" Are you working on new material?

I recently joined the KKK. Don't know what Scott's doing; he hasn't returned my calls.

So I'm guessing you're not allergic to "K"'s... Hmm...

What were some of your inspirations for your first album? Where did you draw ideas?

We generally, as a rule, try not to be influenced by anything around us. We tried to do this whole concept around the sun once, and after a few hours it went dark and we had to start all over again... Stupid sun...

Well, don't make an album about flailing elbows...that could be dangerous.

Who are some of your favorite artists/genres of music today?

We like a lot of what goes on nowadays...Nosebleed Folk does it for me right now, and Gangsta Flute's quite popular isn't it? I used to like church choirs but there's so much swearing in there now... How many F words can you fit into the Lords Prayer? Shocking!

I do dig Gangsta Flute myself. Don't diss.

How did you connect with Geoff Barrow of Portishead? (Who assisted you on the track "Only for You" if I'm not mistaken.)

Oh, him. Yeah, well he would just keep turning up, tapping on the window, flashing his trophies you know...The glass was quite thick so we couldn't really make out what he was saying... Something about Mercury prizes and stuff he'd done with the Coral or the Horrors... We mistakenly left the window open one day while we had a cup of tea in the other room, and when we came back in, there he was: Unshaven, orange peel everywhere... it was more out of pity than anything else that kept him there. He did buy milk once though, to be fair.

Did he have orange pulp in his beard? Or is he just a compulsive orange peeler? I guess we'll have to save that story for another time...

How was it touring with the Doves in 2009? Do you have any upcoming tours/shows planned?

The Doves tour was great! We've never had a crowd react so loudly with "Get off! Where's Doves?"... Jimi (lead singer) did buy milk once though, to be fair.

I don't like doing any Malachai stuff really... There's nothing more vulgar than "blowing ones own trumpet." So no, there won't be any tours as such.

Was Warriors a favorite movie of yours? If not, how did you think to sample it in a song?

We love that film... A group of young guys who love trains so much that they'll fight tooth and nail to get to them... I fell in love with a train once, but it left me. It's probably miles away by now...Stoke maybe.

Apparently it's a cult classic... I'll have to put it on my bucket list of flicks.

Your music seems to embrace several different genres, and that's refreshing. Can you describe the process of putting these beats together? What instruments were used in the process?

I cover my eyes, and Scott touches an instrument. If I guess correctly what it is he touched, then we start all over again. Then we shout out the names and weights of various sausages... We continue this until the police arrive. We sort of stole that process from the government electoral thing.

Cops love sausage. I'm sure they'd understand...

"Another Sun" is one of my favorite tracks...while "Fading World" is a bit more morose than other tracks...Would you say "Ugly Side of Love" has a theme? Or were all of these songs written separately and then put on the album one by one?

We try not to do "themes" as such, not since that whole sun thing, although "Another Sun" survived that session and found its way onto the LP. I've just bought a cushion... maybe we'll do something around that, I really couldn't say right now

A couch cushion? A pin cushion? A whoopee cushion?... The possibilities are endless...

Although you are from Bristol, do you plan on doing any future shows in the states?

We'd really like to come back to the states. I left a book there last time, and if my mate finds out then he'll go mad... If any of you come across it, put it somewhere safe for me, won't you? Thanks.

Is this the one-page mystery book? Surely you don't want your secret of success to be revealed... I'll keep my eyes peeled.

Anything else in the future for Malachai?

Well, I've got a few race hate rallies coming up. There's a few badges I need to get before I get my full membership. Scott's appearing in a forthcoming documentary called "The Trouble with K's," so we're quite busy... So busy in fact that I really have to wrap up this interview... These racial taunts won't learn themselves y'know... One love x.

Check out more from Malachai here.