Malinky is a Scottish folk band specialising in Scots song.
Formed in autumn 1998, the original members were Karine Polwart from Banknock, Stirlingshire (vocals, guitar, bouzouki), Steve Byrne from Arbroath (vocals, guitar, bouzouki, mandolin), Mark Dunlop from Garryduff, Co. Antrim (bodhrán, whistles, vocals) and English fiddler Kit Patterson.
First meeting to rehearse in early October 1998, the band was largely formed to help Polwart fulfil a support slot at Edinburgh Folk Club some ten days later, supporting harpist and storyteller Robin Williamson, formerly of the Incredible String Band. The members had previously encountered each other around the lively pub session scene in Edinburgh in venues such as Sandy Bell's and the Royal Oak bars. Polwart was a social worker, Byrne a student of Scottish Studies, Dunlop a town planner with the city council, and Patterson a computer programmer from Plymouth.
Amidst the plethora of good young instrumental bands on the scene, Malinky stood out owing to their almost exclusive concentration on Scots traditional song, as well as Polwart's burgeoning songwriting talent. Within six months the band had won a 'Danny Award' for new talent at Glasgow's Celtic Connections festival and were signed to the leading Scottish independent folk imprint Greentrax Recordings, as well as kicking off their international career with a trip to the Festival Interceltique de Lorient in Brittany.
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