It would of course be impossible to go back and track all of the developments of mk music since it’s inception in 2000 on this blog, but I did think it would be worth mentioning my motivations for starting mk music in the first place.
I would certainly never have come to be a musical instrument maker had it not been for the musical hertitage of the place where I grew up in the Highlands of Scotland, which remains strong to this day. As kids we were encouaged to play music by our parents – Dave and Helena – and the community at large, where music intertwinded with rag-tag characters, wild nights and the local culture. As well as myself, music still forms a large part of both my brother and sister’s life – John and Mary. After short spells trying to play various instruments – the piano, guitar and mandolin – it was the whistle which had been sitting on top of the piano, a generation high D costing probably something like two pounds, which caught my imagination. There was no decision involved, it was just something that happened.
Perhaps by a stroke of good luck, our teenage years conicided with a resurgence in Scottish Music – bands who were pushing the boundaries in creating new sounds which took in elements of Funk, Rock, Techno and D&B amongst other things. Bands and musicians like Wolfstone, Shooglenifty, The Peatbog Faeries, Capercaillie, Rock, Salt & Nails, Bongshang, Mystery Juice, Mouth Music, Salsa celtica, Burach, The Iron Horse,The old blind dogs and Martyn Bennett, formed a cultural movement which had few equals in terms in quality. Our contribution to this, Croft No. Five, started out as a school band, and ended up touring through Europe and North America. But even so it was returning to the Village Halls in Scotland, which had been well oiled by the likes of Wolfstone and Shooglenifty which made for the wildest nights.
