Americana musician Malcolm MacWatt pays tribute to Speyfest for sparking his passion for playing and performing
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A MUSICIAN who grew up in Moray and is now making a name for himself on both sides of the Atlantic has paid tribute to the Speyfest music festival as his latest album is released to widespread critical acclaim.
Malcolm MacWatt, a former journalist with The Northern Scot, said reporting on the early years of Speyfest re-ignited his interest in traditional music and encouraged him to pick up the fiddle again after 30 years.
“I played the violin for about five years and took part in the Moray Music Festival but aged 12 I gave up the violin for the electric guitar, which seemed cooler at the time,” he said.
“After that I played in a succession of local rock bands and to this day I’m still passionate about the guitar.”
He added that reporting on Speyfest introduced him to an exciting new world of Celtic-influenced music and he was especially taken by musicians visiting from across the Atlantic.
“I think that’s where the first seeds of my own brand of folk and Americana were sown and to now be working with wonderful artists like Gretchen Peters, Eliza Carthy and Kris Drever is a direct result of that early exposure.”
“In fact I got so involved with the fiddle I wanted to learn how to make them and I attended the superb instrument making class at Moray College which in turn led me to study guitar making in London where I now live.”
At the end of 2020 Malcolm signed a publishing deal with respected US label Need To Know Music who have produced his new album Settler.
Much of his work, described by BBC Radio Scotland broadcaster Iain Anderson as “exceptional Scottish storytelling”, revolves around links between Scotland, America and Canada.
Three years after the release of his debut album “Anywhere But Here” Scottish songwriter Malcolm MacWatt steps into 2022 with a major new album behind him.
It is testament to his songwriting that Americana icons Gretchen Peters, Laura Cantrell and Jaimee Harris feature on his latest work, together with British folk big guns Eliza Carthy and Kris Drever as he expands on the Trans-Atlantic themes he began with 2020’s warmly-received Skail EP.
Settler was conceived in Scotland; written, recorded and mixed in London; produced by Brian Brinkerhoff of Santa Cruz-based Need To Know Music; and mastered at True East Nashville.
“I’ve had a lifelong love of American music and culture”, explained MacWatt who grew up in Moray.
“At the same time as those American influences were coming through the TV and radio I was also being steeped in Scottish folklore and traditional music. So I’ve always been fascinated by music with Trans-Atlantic connections.”
Paying tribute to his stellar guests the multi-instrumentalist who plays guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, dobro and bodhran on the album said: “Having Gretchen, Laura, Jaimee, Eliza and Kris onboard was a dream come true for me. These are all musicians I greatly admire and they all brought their own personalities to the songs.”
