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Show notes for the 273rd Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast featuring music by performers from or in Malta:

Lumière – The Fox & the Weasel
One of the alternative Maltese music scene’s favourite bands from the turn of the century returned yesterday (14/10/11) for a one-off reunion gig at V-Gen. Apparently the show, which also featured Skimmed as a support act, went down really well with the band’s old fans. To mark the occasion I thought it would be appropriate to play a track from their album It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time.  Others who are not used hearing Mario Vella sing in English may find this stuff quite amusing for a totally different reason.

Dolls For Idols – Rave ‘n Roll
Gearing up for the launch for their album Cut ‘n Paste on the 17th of November 2011, Dolls For Idols have released this song along with a promotional video you can watch here. This another great track from this young band. I still can’t get their Dance The Dance out of my head since I saw them live (twice in the same week!) a couple of years ago.  They’re really an entertaining band both live and on record.

Mathematikal – Far Into The Night (remix)
I’ve been meaning to play Mathematikal’s remix of nosnow/noalps hit from earlier this year for some time and I finally found the time to do it.  There are other remixes like this one in my pending folder, so I’ll probably be including these in the coming weeks as we get ready for the MMI Listeners’ Picks poll for 2011, which will certainly feature both this and the original track among the various nominations.  More about all that soon enough, and certainly before the awards season kicks into gear.

Vandroo feat. Chess – Relentless
Andrew Mizzi (aka Vandroo) is a newcomer to the local electronic dance scene. This is his debut release and it comes complete with a vocal track from Chess, who we heard in a rather different groove in the most recent edition of the MMI podcast. This brand of radio-friendly dance music can easily blend into the background unless it has something outstanding to draw attention to it. In the case of this track that attractive feature is undoubtedly Chess’ voice. All in all, however, Relentless is a good power-pop dance tune with very interesting vocal and production elements that indicate a promising artist in the making.

Aaron Benjamin – Let’s Dance
Keeping the dance beat going, this week’s final track on the podcast is the new single from singer Aaron Benjamin. The song was written and produced with elements based in both Sweden and Malta. The writers are Peter Wennerberg, Mathias Venge and Gaby Jangfeldt, while production and arrangments are by Peter Wennerberg with vocal arrangements by Boris Cezek at Doyaya Studio in Malta.

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 272nd Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast featuring music by performers from or in Malta:

Mystic Diversions – Qawsalla
Although it’s technically an Italian band, we like to claim Mystic Diversions as one of our own on account of Aidan Zammit (Lupi) being not only Maltese but also an artist who explores his ethic routes from time to time. We’ve had occasion to hear such works on previous edition of the MMI podcast but this track from the band’s 2002 album Beneath Another Sky is possibly one of the best hidden gems in his entire back catalog.

Melchior Sultana – It’s Raining Outside
It was a joy playing Melchior Sultana’s music on my podcast several years ago, when I first discovered is recordings online. He has matured considerably since then, even though he is (regrettably) of the radar from most people, even ardent fans of the alternative music scene in Malta. He released an album entitled World Is History just a few weeks ago and apparently he’s also gigging with a band these days. I’m particularly pleased to discover that this track from the new album comes with a promotional music video too. Perhaps he’ll finally get the broader audience attention he so truly deserves.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WD2lYcmU150

Chess – Somebody Else
Fran Galea is better known as Chess. We’ve heard her voice on the MMI podcast in previous editions but never have I been struck by its rich tonal qualities as I was on even the first listen of this track. As you can see from the video I’ve embedded her, the song is a collaboration between Chess and Yulia Hauer. I hope there’s more of this sort of thing in the pipeline because it certainly would make for a better use of this young singer’s voice, at least for my taste.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Qmwash-i2Y

Relikc – Nothin’ On My Mind
The fourth single by Relikc was recorded and produced by Niki Gravino, and mastered at the Exchange Mastering Studios in London. This young band fronted by Keith Zammit has come a long way since their debut a couple of years ago, but that’s to be somewhat expected since they’ve always enjoyed a relatively large following. I expect that this song will be among the high-flyers come the end of year MMI Listeners’ Picks poll. I wouldn’t be too surprised if we saw a music video for this song in the coming weeks either.

Norm Rejection – Belligerent
To mark the first anniversary since the launch of the M3P during Notte Bianca 2010, I thought it would be most appropriate to play something from one of the acts we presented that night as part of our inaugural celebrations. It’s no secret that Norm Rejection is one of my favourite Maltese hard rock bands of all time. It’s therefore quite serendipitous that they’ve issued the title track from their Belligerent CD as the second single from this 2011 release, following the earlier release of Kemm Hawn Dwejjaq fil-Pajjiż.

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 270th Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast featuring music by performers from or in Malta:

Bridget Bone – Jackie the Stripper
One of the current contenders for the top pop rock band from Malta returns with a catchy ditty, complete with a music video that will certainly capture the imagination of many a teenager. It looks like they’re set to be the next big thing on the pop rock music scene in Malta and at this rate they may very well stand on the shoulders of the local giants that have come before them in recent years.

Big Band Brothers – Rain or Shine
Although they’ve been around for about 5 years this big band led by Daniel Cauchi has only now released their first original single.  It was well worth waiting for. This release coincides with the launch of their new website that provides quite good online corporate branding for them, making them stand out above most other bands that now simply rely on Facebook and Reverbnation for their online presence. Something tells me that a proper music video will soon follow for this punchy song.

Brendan Jackson & Claire Galea – All Because Of You
An unusual duet featuring Eve Ransom’s main man singing along with Claire Galea from Glass House. This marks a change in direction for both singers and it seems to have been received well by mainstream radio listeners in Malta.  Perhaps it’s the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Of The Owl – I Mean It…I Want It
An even more unusual duet sees Nick Morales (most recently from nosnow/noalps) and Daniel Genuis (ex-Bitterside), who have actually known each other for many years and even played together in a short-lived band about 10 years ago. This sound moves away from the styles they been working in separately and shows that perhaps there’s something here that can indeed be developed further. I, for one, look forward to that.

Plato’s Dream Machine – Fabbrika fuq L-Għolja
A couple of well know Maltese entertainment personalities have been scheming on a new major project that made me want to close this week’s podcast with this song from one of Malta’s experimental pop folk combos. PDM have come a long way since their first Dylanesque knock offs a couple of years back and they are now undoubtedly a watch-this-space sort of band, featuring some of the freshest sounds on the local live circuit.

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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