Blog

Show notes for the 315th Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast featuring music by performers from or in Malta:

Corinna – Battle of Wills
I’m not particularly a fan of this sort of formulaic dance music, but Corinna has a decent voice and this song has attracted considerable airplay on several radio stations in Malta. I’m sure there’s a following for this type of music, so I see no reason why I shouldn’t include it on my podcast. Other than this, I’d also like to have a proper cross-section of styles across the MMI Listeners’ Picks poll, which is coming up in a few weeks time.

Aaron Benjamin – Live Forever
Much of what I said about the opening song on this week’s podcast goes for this new track from Aaron Benjamin. Not sure what else I can add other than the fact that this one was written by D. Sherman and A. Gilbert, UK-based writers for X Factor finalists, it was produced by The Flames at Aerostorm Studios in London, but the vocals were recorded, produced and mastered by Peter Borg at his Railway Studios in Malta.

Melchior Sultana – Holding On
A couple of weeks ago I featured a track by Hadrian Mansueto that had a guitar track by Melchior Sultana. It is therefore very fitting that this week I’m playing a new track by Sultana himself. This is taken from a netlabel called Batti Batti Music, which has released a number of works by Maltese electronica musicians other than Sultana. This track is taken from an EP that came out a few weeks ago featuring various artists, called simply EP 3. It’s also BB11, which means it’s the eleventh release from this label…but there have already been more releases since this came out.

Joseph Portelli – How the Times Have Changed
This Maltese-Australian singer-songwriter has already appeared on the MMI series of podcast in a previous edition under the name Jay P, which is how he was known until a little while ago. Currently back in the Maltese Islands he has just released an EP under his real name, featuring this song and a couple of other released on 10 September 2012 via iTunes and a couple of other digital download sites. All net funds raised from the sales of his EP are being donated to support Alzheimer’s Disease International. Quite a laudable cause, I’d say.

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: 20:12 — 18.6MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS | More

Show notes for the 314th Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast featuring music by performers from or in Malta:

Planet Seed – It’s Gonna Be OK
This is the debut release from a relatively new band with a front man who is no stranger to the local music scene. The singer is Klinsmann Coleiro and by the sound of things he really has finally grown up into a relatively bona fide pop rock star for the local scene. This song is receiving, and will undoubtedly continue to receive, relatively heavy radio airplay in Malta. At this rate, 2013 may indeed turn into Klinsmann’s best year in a decade. At least now he has a solid band backing him, so much so that this really sounds like a band rather than another KC vehicle.

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

KOI feat. Indi Loveless – Away
KOI is slowly but surely turning into a Finnish band. Wayne Camilleri remains the lead guitarist in the band, but Errol Sammut has been replaced with Indi Loveless and a host of other musicians from Finland. To my ears, the band has a new sound and I’m not sure why it’s still called KOI; then again, it’s as good a name as any for a rock band.

Footprints – So Long
Following on from last year’s 777 album, one of Malta’s longest standing Christian rock bands returns with a new single, which was released tonight during this year’s Notte Bianca, with a show at the Upper Barrakka Gardens in Valletta. They will be appearing again at St. Lawrence Collegiate Church in Vittoriosa during Birgufest on 20 October 2012.

APOLOGY: I’m very sorry to have referred to this band as Footsteps rather than Footprints during this week’s podcast. It’s just one of those things that make me feel stupid sometimes. I should really know better!

Adie – Kiss and Tell Me Goodbye
Following on from last year’s Reaction, the video of which was picked by the MMI podcast listeners as the top video for 2011, Adie returns with this new single produced by Elton Zarb. The song is written by songwriters Gosta Hulden and Jan Lochel from Sweden and New Yorker Charles Mason. I think the country tinge fits Adie’s pop stylings well. Perhaps she’ll see that this is a good direction for her in the coming years and turns out to be the strongest female country pop artist to emanate from the Maltese Islands – a sort of more local radio friendly version of Marty Rivers, perhaps. There’s certainly a gap there in the local music scene.

Janvil – Make My Day
Ian J. Vella is better known in Malta as J.Anvil, but he rebranded himself as Janvil earlier this year. So this is Janvil’s first ever non-Eurovision what’s it release. It’s a catchy song written by Melanie Georgiou, which he recorded at G.G Studios in London last July. I sincerely hope that he continues to entertain Maltese pop audiences as he is someone whose smile I have admired for many years, even if his musical choices aren’t necessarily always to my personal taste.

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: 20:21 — 18.7MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS | More

Show notes for the 313th Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast featuring music by performers from or in Malta:

Julie Pomorski – Għidli Int
I don’t really follow the annual Konkors Kanzunetta Indipendenza. Most of the songs are rather poor and I feel bad for any performers with good voices and/or a decent stage presence. I also cringe at some of the partisan lyrics, which make the socialist counterpart WardaKanta from the 1980s seem tame in comparison. Luckily, from time to time we get a song like this one, written by Augusto Cardinale and Giovann Attard. Faux rock theatrics aside, this is a really decent song…possibly the best one at KKI 2012, and certainly one that deserved much better than 10th place.

Big Band Brothers – Sieħbi fil-Cupboard tal-Kċina
Of all the songs by Walter Micallef, this one has never been one that I’ve enjoyed listening. It wears its social message on its sleeve and the prolific singer-songwriter has many better songs anyway. BBB have made it their own in this well-crafted recording, and if it wasn’t for the hard-to-digest lyrics, this new arrangement would have been a pleasant song to play over and over. The video is somewhat inappropriate but rather well produced, so I can understand why this release has provoked a minor discussion about its worth on Facebook this past week.

Mistura – L-Apoloġija
Following up on their debut at the most recent edition of L-Għanja tal-Poplu, Antonio Olivari and Malcolm Bonnici return with a heavy blues ballad that sound like a good outtake from an early Pink Floyd blues session. The lyrics deal with the shallowness of Maltese politics and make this song worth listening to more than once. I doubt any of the local radio stations will be playing this on heavy rotation, especially since it’s fair game to think that a General Election is just around the corner.

Hooligan – Nilqak F’Malta
Malta’s hip hop pioneer Hooligan released his third album a few weeks ago and I’ve finally managed to get my hands on the CD version. It features many of the tracks he has released over the last couple of years; including collaborations with pop singers Fabrizio Faniello, Adie, Janvil and La Barokka. I particularly like the opening track, which serves as a prelude to the tune I’ve picked for this week’s podcast. Hooligan has retained his edge and remains on the forefront of the local hip hop scene, in spite of the fact that he is rather old school and several other, more prolific, rappers have graced the Maltese scene since he first appeared. In any case, Triloġinali is well worth a listen, and will certainly stand as one of local hip hop scene’s high watermarks for years to come.

Mister Herbal – Politikantanti
Mister Herbal is also known as Stoner Danny, the producer of the animated cartoons featuring the delightful Frans il-Ħamallu. Regular MMI listeners will recognize the name for the various songs the duo have regaled us with over the past few years. Now a track without Frans, or rather a video mix, playing with a number of clips starring some of Malta’s foremost political figures. The video is a must see, even though the soundtrack is all you can really hear during this week’s podcast.

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: 21:16 — 19.6MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS | More

Show notes for the 312th Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast featuring music by performers from or in Malta:

Red Electrick – Make Up Your Mind
Red Electrick have done an excellent job with their Unplugged Sessions film. It’s stylish, moody and quite sophisticated. Just look at the video and make up your own mind, but even if you hear the recording featured on this week’s MMI podcast you’ll see that it sounds quite good. However, I’m always amused by unplugged sessions that featured plugged guitars, like the one featured from the skillful Peter Borg in the extended 70s-style solo at the end of this song. Well, Dorothy Bezzina’s backing vocals more than make up for that.

Yews – Traveller
I’m not sure that Yasmin Kuymizakis is intentionally enigmatic, but she certainly comes across unclearly – but in a good way. The video for this song was made by four students from the MCAST Institute of Art and Design: Nadine Falzon, Jorje Bosios, Giovan Baldacchino, Francesca Mercieca. I’ve featured her on a previous edition of the MMI podcast and have been waiting for another opportunity to do so. Well, here it is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=083xOJHRn_8

Hadrian Mansueto – Illusion
One of Malta’s electronica veterans now, has been featured on the MMI podcast since the first 50 editions. I’ve always enjoyed his cool acid jazz infused tracks. Here he even enlists the guitar sounds from another Maltese electronica veteran: Melchior Sultana. The combination is very pleasant to the ear, possibly even for people who are not particularly fond of this type of music. Well, at least I seem to think so.

Midnight Train – Drummer Boy
Alex Cutajar was one of the mainstays in Malta’s 1980s rock scene. He was always an alternative sort and many people have probably sadly forgotten him by now. His Korg MS20 synthesizer was one of the very first to be played with a band on the islands. His first band was one of the Tigne Rokarja creations called Shaktonix. He eventually join his brother Chalky playing for about five years with the Subverts, where he graduated to a Roland Juno 60. His musical days seemed behind him by the early 1990s, but he has now returned with a number of home made track available on his Reverbnation page. Well, I’m sure some people will be as pleased as I am to hear this stuff.

Nicholas Aquilina – Life
From time to time I like to feature oddities on my podcast. This one, along with the video for it, certainly falls in that category. I’m not sure what to make of it, but it reminds me of some of the earlier stuff released by Pink Pube, which reminds me to make sure I get back to that netlabel’s catalog in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, enjoy Nicholas Aquilina’s track, which I think works better if you watch the video rather than just hear it on the podcast. Well, this edition of the podcast has to end and this as good a place as any to end it.

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: 20:00 — 18.4MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS | More