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Saturday, October 24, 2009

Once More

From time to time I feel I've reached a state of calm. This is a good thing. It means that the excitement and energy driving me to do something or other has subsided, but it also means that there's something else coming up just around the corner. Unfortunately my periods of calm rarely last more than a couple of weeks. If you don't believe me just browse through my blog.

One way to gauge these how calm these calm periods really are is through my weekly Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast. This regular appointment I've made with Maltese music for each weekend really serves for much more than is clearly evident to any listener. Right now the series is settling into the fact that it is sponsored by Vodafone and gearing up for the 2009 MMI Listeners' Picks poll on Facebook. I equate a time like this to being between waves, but it doesn't feel like the analogy is quite right.

Cover versions are rare on the MMI podcast. The occasional exception makes it to the show simply because it's a stand-out case. And so it is for 8 Ugly's version of Lady Let It Lie by Fish. Apparently, clearing the mechanical rights for this song to appear on 8 Ugly's long anticipated Sleeper album has delayed the release of that CD. If every other Maltese act was so scrupulous about these things I honestly believe that even fewer covers would be recorded. 8 Ugly give the song their own twist, which actually makes it sound as if it was one of their songs rather than a minor hit by the ex-Marillion singer who has visited Malta more than once.

Beige is one of those bands that appeared in the last couple of years that I wish we'd hear more of and more often. A few weeks ago they released a single entitled Feels Good, which makes me want even more from this band. Claire Galea (I think I got her name right this time!) has an unusual voice for a Maltese pop rock singer. It pleasant without being obvious and compliments the slick guitar work by Eric Santucci quite beautifully. It feels good indeed.

The local metal scene has good reason to rejoice today. Twenty-Six Other-Worlds are officially launching their CD album Manipulated with a live gig. Metal fans are very loyal to the bands they like. Most fans like more than one band, of course, so I believe that this release will attract many new followers for this band. Not only can you purchase the CD through the band's website but you can also buy the album from iTunes if you prefer a download rather than a shiny plastic disc. The track they've released as a radio edit from Manipulated is called When Beauty Danced.

All three songs I've already mentioned for this week's podcast will join the rest on my list of nominations for the 2009 MMI Listeners' Picks poll. I'm still collecting names for that list, so I was very pleased when Alex Vella Gera contacted me to point out that Hunters Palace released a live album of a show they gave at Chiaroscuro in Valletta on the 30 December 2008. The album was released as a limited online download only under the name 30/12/08. The band have been gigging and recording in London this month, so I'm sure we'll be hearing more from them again soon enough. Until then I've picked After The Dream to bring this week's podcast to a calm close.

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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Blogger Erezija said...

The Hunters Palace live d'load is available for free here: http://rapidshare.com/files/285789923/hunters_palace_30_12_08.rar 

12:48 PM, October 25, 2009
Anonymous Maltada Egitim said...

Hurray Maltese Music. 

3:23 PM, November 10, 2009

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