Joseph Malik has a music career going back to the early 90ies as a DJ and club promoter and producer in Scotland. With fellow DJs Sace and Easi, he organised various club-nights and parties in Glasgow and Edinburgh, slowly building a rep as a DJ in the scene.
But in 1993 Malik moved to Edinburgh to check out the International Arts Festival. There he hooked up with an old friend from back in the early 80's Hip Hop scene: AJ who had his own studio and was already producing music for various rappers and singers.
So he was looking for some fresh beats and ideas for tracks. The results were amazing and the duo had their first release under the name of MF' Outa National on the ground breaking "Mo' Wax Headz" album Vol.
1 with the track "Miles Out Of Time".1994 brought Malik and AJ to the Stereo Mc's label "Response" home of fellow DJs Sace and Easi now recording under the name of NT and Mc Mello with a new production name "Black Anized", taken from an old Hank Ballard record.
They released a series of killer EPs and album projects on the Response label.In 1996 Black Anized set up a home grown label in Edinburgh called Yush Records. With a host of musicians and visitors from around the world to their Bedroom beats studio's they released various EPs, albums blending musical vibrations of Hip Hop, Reggae, Latin, Jazz, R&B, Breaks and Beats, African Asian Chinese experimental music styles.
In 1997 Malik left Black Anized and Yush Records to turn his thoughts to the Club scene with partner Tobey Shippy ‘Salsa Celtica' and Simon Hodge ‘Big Beat'. They launched a new club night called "The Lizard Lounge".
Based in an old church run by hippies and called Cafe Graffiti the club night was a development in mixing DJs and live bands from around the world.After three wonderful years, in which they won Club Of The Year Award 2 years running, sadly the club came to an end, because the venue was sold to a new owner who was not a music lover.
But Malik moved on to a new project called Futuristica pushing the new wave UK and euro NuJazz scene with the help of record collector and DJ Daryl Gannon. The club gained a grassroots support and brought Malik into contact with Rainer Trüby, who asked Malik to sing again after hearing a track he recorded with Drum & Bass producer Grand Unifiy "Music Makes Me Feel This Way" on London Elektricity's Hospital Records "Out Patients Vol.
1". The track Rainer had in mind was called "High Jazz" and they recorded it with the rest of the Trüby Trio in Munich at Fauna Flash studios.While being in Germany, Malik met with Michael Reinboth, label boss at Compost Records.
Malik signed a new recording deal for a singer song writer project that Malik was working on in secret with studio Maverick producer David Donnelly, a diverse multi talented musician whose complex arrangements Malik first heard on David's Demusphere project on Parallax Records in Edinburgh.
Together their diverse musical influences focused on Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye, John Lennon, Shuggy Otis, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Ritchie Havens, Joyce, Terry Callier, D'Angelo, Radiohead, Jimi Hendrix, Dr.
John, Fela Kuti.
