I don’t really have much more to add about the songs I’ve selected for this week’s podcast other than what I’ve already said during the podcast itself. Below you’ll find M3P links for all the musicians and singers, along with videos for all but one of the tracks you can hear on this edition of the MMI podcast.
Tenishia feat. Ivan Grech – Ghost of Love
There’s no video for this single lifted off last year’s album by Tenishia In any case, it is nominated along with all the tracks played during this week’s podcast for the MMI 2013 Listeners’ Picks Poll, which opens up for voting via Facebook very soon.
Cryptic Street – Retrospect
I really enjoyed Indecisive when it came out a little while ago. I’m am therefore glad that the band have produced a worthy follow-up. The music video directed by Mauro D’Amato will go a long way to attract attention for this cool new track from what is fast becoming one of Malta’s better known new bands.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QumZQaCrhv4
nosnow/noalps – N.E.W.
It’s not everyday that Rolling Stone picks a Maltese band to include on their website, even if it is the Italian edition. Well, that’s exactly where most people will be watching the video for this new release nosnow/noalps. The band has gone through some interesting and exciting changes over the past year or so, but it remains fairly clear that Nick Morales is the leading light for this band.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfeSnECIUbE
TroffaHamra y los Mechones – I Hate You For That
Ruth Abela always has a place on the MMI podcast. I’ve included her band from Barcelona at least one other time (if not twice) and I was delighted to discover that there’s even a video for this song. As you would expect I’m also nominating ToffaHamra Y Los Mechones for the MMI 2013 Listener’s Picks Poll in the overseas category.
Hunters Palace – Saturated Arab
I have a feeling that I may have missed note somewhere telling me that Hunters Palace have recorded some new tracks this year. I’m not even sure how I found out about these 2013 tracks just now to include them on this edition of the MMI podcast. In any case, I’m really pleased to be able to nominate this stuff for the MMI 2013 Listener’s Picks Poll top online releases category.
Luke Azzopardi – Seeds
I find that there some sort of similarity in my mind’s ear between the music of Luke Azzopardi and the output of Hunters Palace. It therefore comes as an easy segue to include his music on this week’s podcast immediately after that of Hunters Palace. In truth, there’s probably no real relationship between the two, and he has a more varied style because his experimentation is mainly with genre rather than tone, noise, form, and so on.
Monroe – Go Home
I been waiting for a music video to go with this song all year. I now see that there’s a new song from Monroe called We Will Rise. So, while I could be wrong, I think they’ve moved on. I’m rather disappointed by this but I still like the song enough to include it on the MMI podcasts and nominating it for the MMI 2013 Listener’s Picks Poll.
Mistura – Kollox L-Istess
The shorter version of the 9-minute epic song by duo Mistura opens this week’s podcast. I’d have loved to play the full version, but since my podcasts are normally about 20 minutes long, that would have meant that I wouldn’t have included two of the other tracks I’ve selected for this edition. In any case, it’s the full version that’s nominated for the upcoming MMI 2013 Listeners’ Picks Poll.
Winter Moods – Days of My Life
Malta’s most popular pop rock bank is preparing to release their sixth album in early 2014. This is the first track off that upcoming release. It’s also featured on the soundtrack of Mark Doneo’s recently released Maltese film Silhouette. I think it’s a fitting tribute to a band for which Doneo was once the lead singer.
Julie Zahra – Take Me Away
Julie Zahra has come a along way since she represented Malta at the Eurovision Song Contest. She is now poised to release an EP (although since it contains 7 tracks it’s really closer to an album) featuring song written and produced by Owen Caruana. The EP is called No Loving, and as you’d expect it too is nominated for the upcoming MMI 2013 Listeners’ Picks Poll.
Mama Kin – The River As She Runs
Danielle Caruana, better known as Mama Kin, is perhaps not as known to Maltese listeners as her brothers Michael and Nicky, and certainly nowhere near a household name as her cousins Ivan Grech, Josette Grech Hamilton, and Peppi Azzopardi. She has appeared on previous editions of the MMI podcast, particularly when she released her debut album The Magician’s Daughter a little while ago. Earlier this year she was reported to be working on a new album and this song is from the material she has written for that album. This performance was recorded live in Perth, Australia on 30 January 2013.
The Manuel Pulis Project – Green n’ Yellow
I was very pleased to find recordings from this new Maltese jazz combo on Soundcloud recently. This tune is apparently their second fully mixed recording. It’s written by bassist Alan Portelli and mixed By Daniel Buttigieg. In case you’re wondering, Manuel Pulis is a student at Siena jazz university and drummer/percussionist with a number of popular bands in Malta, including Brikkuni, Kantilena, Yew, Stalko, nosnow/noalps.
Second Pass – Confession
Ritchie Rizzo was one of the rock drummers we knew in Malta back in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Eventually he moved to Canada and has now come brought to my attention this band with which he’s drumming. I like the sound of this band quite a bit and I think I’d listen to them even it wasn’t for the fact that I knew Ritchie back when we both still lived in Malta.
Demis Fenech – From Above
It looks like Maltese rock guitarist Demis Fenech has recently acquired some new gear. I love the fact that he’s sharing his joy of owning new instruments with his YouTube followers. Here’s the video of him playing one of his own instrumental compositions featuring the newly acquired way to play music just as he likes it. This a demo of his custom-made Mayones Setius using low to medium crunch tones, and the guitar sound is processed through a Digitech RP20 Valve and Randall Amplification. Check out the fretboard inlay too: it’s Knights of St John’s Maltese Cross.
Blind Saviour – The Episode
This is one of those Maltese metal bands that has featured on a previous edition of the MMI podcast but I’ve actually lost track of for reasons that I’m not sure I can explain. They’ve been waiting on my playlist of forthcoming inclusions for some time and this wasn’t necessarily the track I wanted to play from them. In any case, here they are playing a song from their long awaited debut album The Master Plan.
Abysmal Torment – Amidst Your Scorched Barren Shrine
It’s always a joy to include this band on my podcast. I don’t know how they come up with the titles to their songs or where they really get their inspiration from. They stand out to me as masters of the type of metal they play. This type of music will always hold a very special place in my heart, for very personal reasons. I’m sure others like it for their own reason. Ultimately, I suppose no one really cares, just as long as we’re able to give it a good airing from time to time. There’s even a lyrics video for this one:
