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Show notes for the 322nd Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast featuring music by performers from or in Malta:

Lauren Aquilina – Fools
Way back in September my friend Kenneth J. Vella introduced me to the beautiful haunting voice of this British singer of Maltese descent. I immediately declared that this was a star in the making. Time is proving me right. Now that her debut EP is actually out (it was released on 22/10/12) it gives me great pleasure to include it on the 2012 MMI Listeners’ Picks Poll in the Overseas category. She is a great contender on this year’s poll and I think she has a good chance of unseating Joseph Calleja who is currently defending last year’s top pick spot in this category with his cover of the Mario Lanza classic Be My Love.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiOhj4c8fJw

Claire Tonna – Mar
The debut album from one of my personal favourite Maltese singer-songwriters is called The Port. This is one of the tracks from that CD, which is now being released in New Zealand where the artist will be spending the next couple of months promoting this album. This has made me nominate this album in the Overseas category of the 2012 MMI Listeners’ Picks Poll. Having spent so many months away from Maltese shores, I sincerely believe that Claire Tonna deserves to be in this category regardless of the fact that her main musical collaborator is Mario Sammut, better known as Cygna. Although not as high profile a release as the other two I mentioned already mentioned today in this category, I’d be very surprised if this album didn’t manage to end up in the top 5 on this category.

Martin McNeil and the Dissidents – Apothecary
Last week I sat in a radio studio in Malta having a conversation with Alex Alden about alternative guitar tunings. This led me to convince her to break a string on her dad’s Ovation guitar just minutes before she was due to sing live on Michael Bugeja’s Rockna radio show. Luckily Konrad Pule’ came to the rescue with his impressive acoustic Gibson. I was therefore quite pleased to see her again no only backing Stalko at the launch of their album Grandiloquence last Sunday at The Orpheum in Gzira, but also on the video for this song by UK-based band Martin McNeil & the Dissidents. I’m now rather curious to see what comes next from Alex Alden. After all she is nominated in two categories on the 2012 MMI Listeners’ Picks Poll – music video and online release.

The Red Model – (What’s In) Colonel Gaddafi’s Suitcase
Having all but disappeared for the alternative music scene in Malta for the good part of the last 10 years, former Shostakovitch’s Nightmare drummer Bernard Camilleri returns with UK-based band The Red Model, who have just released debut album Taste the Difference. They will be playing a couple of gigs at the Coach & Horses in Malta to launch the album there too on 7 and 8 December 2012. I’m sure that this band will go down well with local alternative rock fans as well as old SN supporters who will be glad to see the old Gringo thumping the skins in his homeland.

Christabelle Curmi – Il-Kappar
While not one of the top songs on this year’s L-Għanja tal-Poplu, I’ve selected this one to remind my faithful podcast listeners that the many titles to chose from on the 2012 MMI Listeners’ Picks Poll include the album for this year’s YTC contest. Christabelle Curmi is one of the more consistent exponents of songs in Maltese and I think that if she’s lucky enough to be given the right song in the (hopefully not too distant) future she could become one of the country’s better known singers of Maltese songs. I believe she has what it takes to join the likes of Mary Spiteri, Maryrose Mallia, Doreen Galea and others like them in time.

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 enjoy listening to the podcast on the player right below this text.

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Show notes for the 321st Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast featuring music by performers from or in Malta:

Stalko – Simone
Alternative folk darlings Stalko are poised to release an album called Grandiloquence. The launch gig will take place at the legenary Orpheum Theatre in Gzira, where Black Sabbath gave their only ever concert in Malta about 15 years ago. I may have the good fortune of attending this show at the Orpheum, and if I do you can rest assured that I’ll be featuring another track from this album in an upcoming edition of the MMI podcast just so I can tell you all about it.

Chess – Storm
This young Maltese singer’s star has been on the ascent ever for a good couple of years. She has come a long way since leaving Malta and taking up residence in the UK. She has just released an EP called Babygirl, which captures where she has managed to get in the brief period since she set out to make a name for herself. The songs on Babygirl are an excellent showcase for her vocal range and while good in its own right serves as a mere indication of the heights she may still get to in the coming years. As you would expect, the EP is among my nominations for the MMI 2012 Listeners’ Picks poll, which is now open for your votes via Facebook.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrtK7-eE4do

The Suburbanite – Monsters
I never really expected Robert Pisani to sing but he has just recorded an album of short songs he has co-written with Ian Schranz and Lincoln Spiteri where he does just that. The Field Guide to The Suburbanite is set to be officially launched in 2013 so it has not been included in the MMI 2012 Listeners’ Picks poll.

Aces Shade – Rise
Following up hot on the heels of the their debut release The Story in My Mind Billy Lee returns with Aces Shade and this song that seems to be the typical sound they have selected for themselves. I must say that this type of raw rock has become rather rare these days, especially with all the advances of home recording. However, there’s something appealing to old time rock lovers in the sound of Aces Shade. It’s not for everyone, of course, but if they go on this way they will undoubtedly attract a core base of loyal fans, even if not necessarily a very large one. They will certainly be lining up to vote for them on the MMI 2012 Listeners’ Picks poll, as their debut single is among the songs nominated this year.

Husko – Smash
Karl Tabone is better known on the DJ circuit as Husko. The EP Banger is his debut release. I’m please to say that I have included it on the MMI 2012 Listeners’ Picks poll. So, if techno is the sort of thing you like perhaps you’ll consider voting for him this year. Voting is open until the end of the year.

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 enjoy listening to the podcast on the player right below this text.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 20:05 — 18.5MB) | Embed

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Show notes for the 320th Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast featuring music by performers from or in Malta:

Bridget Bone – Dealer of Love
After what can only really be described as a brief period of activity, Bridget Bone are to be no more. This is their final release. It finds them in top form as they prepare to break up. I’d love to hear more but since Maltese bands rarely have publicists they’re rather cryptic in their communications. My only hope is that the Bridget Bone story, from beginning to end, will eventually be revealed in its entirety on the Malta Music Memory Project pages. I will miss their fresh and clean sound, but I’m sure that some of the members will individually go on to do even greater things in years to come.

Negative Spaces – Standing
This is only the second offering from this new band and I’d say they’re a rather heavy weight challenger for this year’s newcomer accolades on the alternative local rock scene. This song packs a mighty punch and has a very catchy tune that may very well end up making them radio darlings on certain radio stations that play only a relatively narrow spectrum of music from Malta. Meanwhile you can most certainly vote for them, along with all the other songs featured on this week’s podcast and many more on the 2012 MMI Listners’ Picks poll on Facebook, which will be open until the end of 2012.

Mark Micallef & Simone Gauci – Destiny’s Call (Sarah’s Song)
Mark Micallef plays keyboards with Negative Spaces so it’s fitting to follow up their song with this one he released a few weeks earlier. Simone Gauci provides an apt female counterpoint to his raspy voice, while Peter Borg not only recorded and produced this recording but provides a scorching guitar solo. This song was created in memory of Sarah Agius shuffled off this mortal coil during a trip to Valencia, Spain with her parents last year. She was only 18. That’s sad.

Annalisa Psaila – Melodija ta’ Ħajti
I first heard this song on YouTube by accident several weeks ago and since then it’s just stuck in my head. I really like Annalisa’s voice but there’s probably something haunting in Ray Agius’ music. In any case, here’s one earwig I’ll be glad to shake out but pleased to have come across this song. I feel that my life has been enriched knowing about the D.R.E.A.M.S. TV series. I’ve caught a good glimpse of it on YouTube, and I have to say that things have come a long way at the Sant Agatha Auditorium since my days as a student there over 30 years ago. I like this so much that I’ve even nominated the video on the 2012 MMI Listners’ Picks poll, and you can now vote for it on Facebook.

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 enjoy listening to the podcast on the player right below this text.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 19:42 — 18.2MB) | Embed

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