Joseph Malik - Proxima Ebony (Album)
Scotland’s premiere soulful artist, Joseph Malik, reveals his highly anticipated fifth artist album, ‘Proxima Ebony’, on Ramrock Red Records, which hails the beginning of an exciting new era of music from Edinburgh’s internationally acclaimed and inspirational talent.
'Proxima Ebony' was created in Edinburgh by Joseph Malik and Daniel Walls and recorded, produced and arranged by Darren Morris and Jo Wallace at North Street West studio, St Leonards on Sea. The album, which will be released both on vinyl and digitally, comes loaded with an exciting array of brilliantly penned songs with profound, intimate stories and impactful lyrics, all dressed with Joseph’s intoxicating emotive vocals. Journeying between Soul, R&B, Disco, Afro Boogie and old skool Hip Hop, ‘Proxima Ebony’ is fused with a cross pollination of cultures from Joseph’s Nigerian and Scottish heritage. Joining Joseph on the album are an array of homegrown and international artists including; San Francisco rapper, Capital A; Philadelphia spoken word artist, Kameelah Waheed; Shuya Okino (Kyoto Jazz Massive); world renowned Jazz harpist, Alina Bzhezhinska; and Edinburgh Hip Hop legend, DJ Nasty P. The album also features world-class musicians such as North Street West, Daniel Walls, Otti Albiez, Digital Liquid, Chris Franck and David Donnelly, who all contribute to a stunning set of genre-crossing productions that perfectly flow with Joseph’s impeccable songs on this must-listen album.
Joseph Malik has crafted a fantastic catalogue of music over the decades and is highly respected for his distinctively soulful voice and on point song writing skills. After his first release, ‘Miles Out Of Time’ In 1994 with Calvin Nuttal as MF Outa National, he launched his award winning Café Graffiti club night ,’Lizard Lounge’, with performers including Gil Scott Heron, Rueben Wilson, The Blackbyrds and the Last Poets. Joseph then signed to Compost Records and together with co-producer, David Donnelly, he released his first album, ‘Diverse Part 1’, in 2002. This was followed by ‘Aquarius Songs’ album (2004), and ‘Diverse Part 2’ album (2018) on Ramrock Records, which was awarded ‘Album of the Month’ on Gilles Peterson’s BBC 6Music show, along with support from Craig Charles’ 6Music Funk and Soul show.
2019 saw the formation of Out Of The Ordinary – a collective of the best Scottish musicians including Malcolm Ross (Orange Juice/Aztec Camera), Steven Christie (The Proclaimers), David Donnelly, and Chris Greive (SNJO), on the album, ‘Stranger Things Have Happened’, the ‘Meadows’ EP and ‘Kind Of Strange’ EP in 2020. Joseph’s ‘Diverse Part 3’ album in 2018 (Craig Charles BBC 6Music ‘Album of the Year’), tackled powerful issues including Joseph’s personal involvement in the #BLM movement. Joseph released ‘Diverse Part 3 Variant Issue’, the remix album (2022) and he received the ‘One to Watch’ award from 2022 Boisdale Awards and performed alongside the Jools Holland Band. He also performed on Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood Basement Session on Worldwide FM.