Stepping out from under the shadow of a great parent is often seen as a formative experience. Franz Xaver, Mozart, Liza Minelli, Sean Lennon. Lily Collins and Barnet’s own multi-talented musician, Malcolm Bruce of High Barnet, who is the son of Cream’s Jack Bruce. 

Malcolm said: “My father was, of course, an early influence and always encouraged me to go in my own direction. As a tribute to him, I was very happy to partake in the Music of Cream project (alongside Eric Clapton’s nephew Will Johns and Ginger Baker’s son, Kofi) for as long as it lasted but I am very self-directed about what I want to achieve. 

“It’s taken decades but I think I’m finally arriving at a point where I have something to say. I’m looking at songs I wrote fifteen years ago which are coming to fruition now.” 

Years spent in America resulted in Malcolm’s first solo album Salvation recorded in Nashville. He’s working on a second album, Fake Humans and Real Dolls. The music will tell the story of robot sex dolls, that, Malcolm fears, have replaced real women for some men. At its heart, this is an album about navigating intimacy in “a post-human world of transhumanism and artificial intelligence.” Despite the dystopian theme, “there’s some joy and humour in the record.” 

Malcolm is constantly pushing his own artistic boundaries in search of new experiences. He’s recently played the piano on a demo jazz recording with Chester Thompson, the American drummer with Frank Zappa and Genesis. Contrasting his rock sound, his “musical hero” … would probably be John Coltrane or Miles Davis”. 

The pandemic has limited a full collaboration with Chester, so Malcolm is planning to record an album with some British jazz musicians. The pandemic had dried up live performances, “over the last two years I’ve only done two or three shows in small venues apart from the Hackney Empire with percussionist Abass Dodoo who runs the One Drum Foundation” 

Beyond rock and jazz, classically-trained pianist Malcolm has also been composing an opera based on the life of an ancient Chinese emperor called King You. 

“King You’s Folly is based on a story from about 900BC and it encompasses love, greed, some cruelty and finally, justice. It was due to be performed at the Sadler’s Wells Theatre next year but that has been put on hold as well.” 

Still, he’s been kept busy with rewrites to reduce the lyrics and with the production of a completely new libretto based on the stone age myth of ‘Doggerland’. 

“I was inspired by an H.G. Wells short story A Story of the Stone Age” The opera concerns the idea of a lost Atlantis under the North Sea connecting Britain to Europe. “People could literally walk across marshlands until they reached (what is now) Amsterdam.” 

Back in the recording studio, Malcolm plays all instruments alongside a drummer suitable for each project. “On Fake Humans and Real Dolls I have the great drummer, Joel Clemson and we also have a string quartet called the United Strings of Europe headed by Julian Azkoul.” 

As a multi-instrumentalist, Malcolm finds it had to choose which instrument he’d favour if stranded on a desert island. But, if pushed, “guitars are more practical than pianos.” 

A lot of his recording takes place in Barnet where he has lived for seven years. “I moved here from Crouch End. It’s the best place to live in London. The people are friendly and there’s a very village-like atmosphere which makes it feel very safe.” 

Malcolm would like to confirm that he is not Liberal Democrat politician Malcolm Grey Bruce, Baron Bruce of Bennachie. 

Fake Humans and Real Dolls will be available sometime in 2022. 

Keep in touch with Malcolm for updates.Visit Malcolm Bruce Music, join him on Facebook and Instagram @malxbruce

Simon Ellinas is a cartoonist, caricaturist and occasional writer living and working in Barnet. Visit Simon Illustrations and join him on Twitter @cartoonelli