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Saturday, October 31, 2009

No Hassle Night

From time to time, when I sit down to blog about my podcast there's little else to say except what's in that particular week's edition and a few related bits and bobs. As you read on it'll become very apparent that this is one of those occasions.

There are a couple of interesting picks on this week's Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast, which is the 186th in the series, now sponsored by Vodafone. All the tracks you can hear on this podcast will be added to the list of nominations for the 2009 Listeners' Picks poll we're planning to launch on Facebook in about 3 or 4 weeks time.

The last time I played something by Chasing Pandora on the MMI podcast, which was only a few weeks ago, I mentioned that they had just released a new single from their upcoming album. That single is called Running in Circles and it was issued as a CD that you could describe more as an EP than a single since the disc also contains three tracks from the duo's Mock the Mocking Bird album from 2007.

The delicate tones of Chasing Pandora are always welcome by MMI listeners. So I'm pretty sure that the second track on this week's podcast will also go down well with listeners. Keith Anthony, who makes up the half of Chasing Pandora that's not singer Mel Portelli, has been recording separately at his Noise Studio with Julian Calabrese. The first release is a music video entitled Coffee, Kisses and Cigarette. This duo has produced this debut release under the seemingly tentative name of Anthony & Calabrese.

Regular MMI podcast listeners will know that one of the things I enjoy most about this show is discovering new material by new acts. The remaining tracks on this week's podcast fall precisely in that category. The first comes from Andrew Ward. I discovered his music by accident. Cinematic is probably a good way to describe it as it conjures up some amazing images. Godess seems to have some Bulgarian elements in it, even if Ward is firmly based in Santa Venera. Quite an unusual offering from Malta but one I believe will be most welcome by anyone who appreciates beautiful sounds.

If you wanted to get as far away as possible from the sounds of Andrew Ward, one place you'd run to would be the hip-hop scene. There seems to be a sense of critical mass in this genre in Malta this year. Gilbert Camilleri a.k.a. GetFunky has produced his third music video on YouTube. This one has a fairly strong Maltese lyric that clearly comes from hurt caused by a female companion referred to simply as Qaħba. While potentially controversial, this song lacks the misogynistic tendencies associated with some American aspects of this genre. Considering resources available the video is quite well made, or rather it fits the song perfectly. I have a higher appreciation for this production as a whole rather than a stand alone sound recording, particularly because the video soundtrack is somewhat over-modulated. Nevertheless, GetFunky is undoubtedly, as they say, pushing the envelope.

The RSS feed for the Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast is available here or you can simply click here to subscribe directly with iTunes. You can also follow each new episode through the MMI Podcast: Facebook Fan Page or on MySpace. If you have no idea what any of this means, just click here or listen to the podcast on the player right below this text.

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