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Show notes for the 290th Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast featuring music by performers from or in Malta:

Kizum Klof – Nutjeż
This new act with a rather unusual name stands out as much as their decision to spell things backwards. Acoustic guitarists Glenn Paul Pace and Kevin Borg are tapping into a long tradition of Maltese folk music and they not only know it but clearly relish in it. This debut single demonstrates both their virtuosity and promise which I’m quite sure will be greatly welcome on the local scene in ways that many may not expect. I know they have already attracted a relatively large cult following, and this can only grow and grow until they move away from Maltese shores where they will undoubtedly make an indelible mark on a global scene that has lots of room for this sort of ethnic offering that’s not produced exclusively for tourists.

For Strings Inn – Julie July
Not quite as impressive as their earlier work, this new single from For Strings Inn is still surely good enough to get them back on the airwaves of many local stations. The accompanying video will give this song a life beyond the radio and I must say that Nick Morales has really applied some of the more elaborate music video techniques he has learned over the years, as he places himself clearly on the forefront of the Maltese video production scene.

Stolen Creep – Wolves
This band’s sound has matured considerably since their last offering. If they keep going this way, I have a feeling that they will eventually make an indelible mark on the local alternative music scene. They are releasing an EP, from which this song is taken, on Sunday 18 March 2012 at V-Gen in Paceville. At that launch event, they will be supported by Alex Alden and Hey Sus.

Hey Sus – Boo Bay
I thought it would be fitting to end this week’s podcast with a recording from this seemingly fun loving duo who came together as a recording band last year. They have quite a cool looking website too and I’m hoping that they’ll eventually live up to their promise of releasing more recordings. When they do, I’m pretty sure I’ll be playing them again on my podcast…particularly because I never understood why surf pop never achieved greater popularity in the Maltese islands.

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 289th Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast featuring music by performers from or in Malta:

Nicky Bomba – Highgrade
I saw Nicky Bomba live at the Earth Garden Festival last summer and I must say that he is a top class live entertainer. Listening to this song from him I can see that he is very deliberate in setting up the building blocks that make him such an excellent entertainer on stage with a live audience in front of him. The video is also testimony of his respect for the reggae music of Jamaica. I expect that he will eventually demonstrate a similar level of respect to the homeland of his Maltese ancestors, as he has already shown quite a bit of appreciation for his blood roots.

The Sylvan Aaron Massacre – Love This City
Their follow up to the stunning debut Come On (Come On) is a little more radio friendly, and certainly the most likely offering from Sy Borg to receive any significant airtime in Malta. In any case, this duo continues to be championed by my dear friend and colleague Michael Bugeja who is always more than happy to play them on this radio shows. A few days after the podcast this video appeared too.

Freddie Portelli – Doin’ Alright
In a recent email, Freddie Portelli explained to me that he had written this song back in the 1960s, but never recorded it with his then band The Malta Bums or even with The Black Train, with whom he recorded extensively throughout most of the 1970s. He finally recorded it just a few weeks ago, from memory, with a rather recognizable arrangement/style that we’ve come to expect from the man now, as a mature veteran of the local pop rock scene.

Fr Rob Galea – Reach Out
I am always impressed with the elegance in the productions presented by this young Maltese priest based in Australia. He is also very subtle with his religious messages, for the most part. I’m sure he has fans who are not simply followers of Christian pop rock music. Anyway, if you’ve never paid particular attention to his songs before, listen to this one on this week’s podcast and take a look at the video right here.

Brian Vassallo – Embracing Pathway
I’m very appreciative when local artists bother to inform me of their new releases and send them to me to include on my podcast. For the most part, I include (almost) everything that’s sent to me directly but I probably would have gone out to chase after the new one from Brian Vassallo because I find his electronic sounds quite soothing. I’m sure you’ll be hard-pressed to disagree with me.

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 288th Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast featuring music by performers from or in Malta:

Duo Blank – Even
Edwin Balzan and Frank Cachia return with their first radio release for 2012 featuring the vocal stylings of Errol Sammut. Duo Blank is one of the more mature electronic pop offerings from Malta, so they manage to do retro sounds without irony. Anyone who likes this sort of music will certainly think this is a great offering.

Stimulus Timbre – Garden of Rest
Keith Farrugia has been recording as Stimulus Timbre for a while but now we finally get a full album, entitled Euphoria. It was released by Complex Sound Sagacity on Bandcamp on 18 February 2012, following a release gig at Coach & Horses on Valley Road last night. I happen to like this type of music and I’m sure that others like me will appreciate the variety of influences handled with a distinctive twist on this album.

Simon Sammut – Bassic Attitude
About 30 years ago I used to remember a band called Hangover at the Tigne rock village. Soon after that, some of its members formed Rough Trade. Simon Sammut was the bass player for both those bands, but it would be very short sighted to think that he hasn’t progressed since then. In fact, he has gravitated towards playing jazz fusion on a six string bass and last year released an album called Bassic Attitude. It somehow escape,d my attention when it first came out, so I wanted to bring you a track from it now and make sure that information about Simon is entered on the M3P database as soon as possible.

Falcon’s Flying Circus – Sitting Bull (live)
From time to time I like to include live recordings on my weekly podcast. This one comes from a gig at Rookies in Bugibba by this psychadelic band on 24 September 2011. They’re playing there again on the 3rd of March. So, if you like what you hear here make sure you catch them at this next gig. I have a feeling that they sound even better live than this recording has managed to capture.

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 — 14.0MB) | Embed

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Show notes for the 287th Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast featuring music by performers from or in Malta:

Brikkuni – L-Uffiċju
The much awaited second album from the darlings of Malta’s alternative folk/rock scene was released today (Saturday 11 February 2011) with a live concert at the City Theatre in Valletta. Among all the new tracks, Trabokk features a reworking of this song, with which they won the 2009 edition of L-Għanja tal-Poplu festival. To top it all, they’ve also produced a promotional music video for it, shot entirely at the Belt is-Sebħ Public Library and starring the enfant terrible of Maltese pop literature Ġużé Stagno. This will undoubtedly achieve cult status in years to come.

Fastidju – Il-Faħam Qisu Tafal
Nigel Baldacchino’s Sajda is an art exhibition which opened at St. James Cavalier in Valletta on Friday 20 January and remains open until Sunday 26 February 2012. Fastidju is an associated sound/music project in which Baldacchino collaborates with Istishhad Hheva and Mario Sammut (Cygna) to produce a number of unusual a/tonal poems (or at least that’s what I’d call them) such as the one you can hear here. I don’t know much else about this project but I believe the exhibition is worth visiting, even though I’m unable to be in Valletta during the weeks that it’s open.

South Central – Dance of The Skeletons
The Maltese hooded duo from Brighton released an EP entitled Pitfalls and Corridors a few weeks ago and I’ve been wanting to feature a track from it on my podcast ever since. Well, here it is. I’m sure their fans will be delighted with this, particularly because this track features their signature buildup towards a veritable mosh pit frenzy the likes of which I’ve had the pleasure to witness in person more than once.

Mathematikal – That Kind of Girl
Currently enjoying great popularity on some of the commercial radio stations in Malta, Jon & Jay have certainly produced a hit with great potential. The music video they’ve produced to go with it really captures what I see as the spirit of their live acts. I managed to catch them live about 4 or 5 years ago at Poxx Bar (remember that place?) and they rocked the house. This is just an even better version of that.

Frans il-Ħamallu – Online Frans
This guy is arguably the king of the Maltese hip hop scene…well if not that, he’s certainly the undisputed court jester. ACTA is something he released an awareness clip about a couple of weeks ago, in relation the protest that was held today in Valletta. But this week we get a fantastic song, built on the famous White Stripes riff for Seven Nation Army. To my mind, it really doesn’t get much better than this. Fifty years from now, this stuff will be considered the best of the best that’s being produced now. Thankfully, some of us are able to appreciated it like a fresh ġbejna, which is what Frans would have us believe it is.

Mikiel – Diska Vili
Since we’re onto political satire, I think it’s very fitting to end this week’s podcast with a delightful little ditty from Michael Camilleri Haber, who beautifully captured the political climate in Malta during the first few weeks. It’s not really the sort of thing I would normally include in my podcast but it’s quite appropriate to follow MC Frans with this, even though Mikiel doesn’t really hold a candle up to François B.B.

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: 21:33 — 14.9MB) | Embed

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