Enlace Funk Magazine Interviewing Malcolm Strachan


What are the roots of the band and how were your first days?

We started out as a horn section doing work with different bands back in '98. We got a weekly residency at a club in Leeds with a different line up from our current band but back then we were doing mostly covers. Round about then we started gigging with 'The New Mastersounds' at another residency at a club and ended up with them for about 3 years and recording on their first album. Our line up changed when we wanted to move on and do more original material after the residency came to an end.


Some people say that you are the new J.B...s for the 21st century. Comments?

Well that’s a nice compliment! I wouldn’t really compare ourselves to the JB’S as they are in a league of their own but I guess they must have influenced us in some way. They are incredible!



How do you like to define Haggis Horns?

 For us, the emphasis is on having a good vibe. A lot of bands take themselves far too seriously and sometimes that can come across  badly to an audience. We like to have as much fun as possible wherever we go and I think that comes across in our music. We love making people dance!


What is, for you, the best horn section of all times? Why?

 I would say 'The Seawind Horns' have to be right up there. They did the horns on Michael Jackson’s ‘Off The Wall’. What an album! (apart from ‘Girlfriend’) Those horns blew me away when I first heard it. There are so many others though. It’s impossible to say which is the best but I love 'The Memphis Horns' for doing all the Aretha Franklin stuff and of course the JB’S and I love bands like ‘Brass Construction' and ‘The Watts 103rd St. Rhythm Band’ for the horns.



Haggis Horns played in the first album of The New Mastersounds. How did this affect your career?

That was a great experience for us doing that band. It kept us on our toes as it was a hard working band. We learnt a lot of tunes in a short space of time and it was quite demanding. It was great for our playing. I guess it also helped establish ourselves as a horn section so fortunately for us we carried on working with other bands. We’ve done a lot of pop stuff since then which has kept us in the game. I guess that is the benefit of sticking together.



The members of H.H. play with others artist like Jamiroquai, Amy, Cinematic,… What is the secret to keeping a band like this together?

 We have all been busy with other bands so it has been quite difficult getting the Haggis band on the road. It was impossible for us to turn down a Mark Ronson tour as the money was good but it meant our own band wasn’t nearly as busy as we could have been. We had to turn down a lot of gigs when we were busy with Ronson but whenever we were free we would always have time for the Haggis. As long as we’re alive I think we’ll always be together. It’s definitely my main priority now rather than the pop stuff. Although I loved doing all the big pop gigs you can’t beat playing your own music. Now we’re working with a singer called Nia Saw so hopefully we’ll take this band to the next level!



After the tragic loss of Jason, He is irreplaceable. How did this affect the band?

It was a terrible year when we lost him. It still is terrible and always will be. We went through so much together both musically and as friends. He was a huge character and was a very interesting clever but complex person. There is no one like him. The first gig after he was gone was really hard. It was at Leeds university supporting Maceo Parker. I thought to myself ‘if we have a bad gig then I’m not doing the band anymore’. It felt so empty on stage without him but the crowd were on our side. We got a lot of love from the audience so the gig turned out great. That was a turning point for us. After that gig I thought ‘we have to carry on. Jase would have wanted that.’ There‘s a couple of different sax players we use on gigs in place of him. They were both great friends of Jase too.


What do you think about the Deep Funk scene? Do you think that this style is already dead?

 To be honest I’ve never really followed the deep funk scene in a big way. A lot of the funk stuff I’m into is from way back. The more modern stuff I like is mainly hip hop so I’m not sure where the deep funk scene is going. I think a lot of the new funk bands that are out are trying to sound old and we’re not really trying to do that. We want to be more forward thinking rather than just churning out 3 minute retro sounding funk tracks. I mean recording techniques have changed since the 70’s!



What are your memories of your concert in Granada (Spain)?

We loved that gig! We were exited because it was our first European gig with this band. We were slightly worried when we first got there as they set the gig out like a jazz gig with tables and chairs in front of us and no room for dancing. We were worried as we thought they were expecting a jazz band but the gig was amazing. It was kind of like a jazz crowd and they were really listening but the atmosphere was incredible. We would love to go back.



In your recent show you play with Dj, dancers,…Could you say something about your next show in “Enclave De Agua Festival” (Soria)?

 Well we’re bringing our new singer Nia Saw with us and that will be her first show so we’re really excited. There’s only so far you can go without a singer so we’re ready to take her on board.



Could you say something about your new songs?

I think we’re a lot more happy with our recent writing. The female vocals are changing our sound and we’re happy with it. I think the tracks sound different to our first album but in a good way and they are pretty diverse in styles. We never want to get tied down to one style as we have a wide range of influences. All we want is for people to like it.