Blog

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

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS | More

Show notes for the 286th Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast featuring music by performers from or in Malta:

Natalie Gauci – Ha Ha Ha
Former Australia Pop Idol Natalie Gauci has toured Europe last summer and has now relocated to Cologne, Germany where she has been recording, writing and producing new tunes set for release 2012. This is the first of those tracks for the album that’s going to be called U. I really like the new direction she has taken, and I’m a great sucker for anything with a tuba.

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

Kantilena – X’Ubidù?!
Several months ago I heard snippets from this new band on one of their social media pages (probably Reverbnation) and I really wanted to wrap my ears around full tracks and finally here we are with their debut release, which was launched on their Facebook page 31 January 2012. They are not only remarkable because their songs are in Maltese but they also have a refreshing approach to folk music, which I’d really like to hear more of in the coming months and years.

Jesper Ejrup – Holding On To You
This Danish singer-songwriter is slowly but surely becoming a permanent feature of the local music scene. The video for his new song was not only produced by Maltese production company No Sweat Productions with HeartBeat Productions, but it is also shot in Malta and features some very uniquely Maltese elements. I also like this song particularly because, to my mind, it echoes some of the traditional guitar licks at the heart of Maltese għana, without overdoing it.

Ħolma Qattusa – Eyalura
Martha Vassallo is a new performer to me, but somehow I feel like I’m already familiar with her work; it’s an eerie feeling. I’m delighted that she is now collaborating with Antoine Vella (of Particle Blue fame) on this new project, which has already yielded several tracks available on YouTube and Soundcloud. I’m sure I’ll be playing another track from them in an upcoming edition of the MMI podcast, especially if they keep producing new tracks too.

Stefanos – Rescue Me
Guitarist Stefanos is working on another album, called Still Waters Run Deep, which he plans to release around September 2012. It’s likely that he will release at least one other track from it between now and the official launch. I prefer his acoustic tracks, but I must say that this one is among the best electric tunes that he has ever produced.

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: 20:22 — 14.0MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS | More

Show notes for the 284th Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast featuring music by performers from or in Malta:

Jane Doe – Shivery
Introducing the first of new female-fronted band for 2012 in the guise of Margherita Bonello, I’m sure this band will be on high rotation on some of the local radio stations, but only time will tell whether they’re here to stay.  I like their softer moments and the singer has hints of great potential.  It’s definitely a watch-this-space scenario as far as I’m concerned.

Athelstone – Jaaz
Another new band features Funk Initiative guitarist Daniel Cassar (yes, there’s another one by that name on the local scene) who has released an impressive album called The Quiet Before the Storm, which is available as a digital download here. This particular track (from this 3-track album) features the vocal presence of Dana McKeon. It’s quite lovely and I dare say very good too.

Mimi Paris – Bittersweet Goodbye
Michelle Paris is well-known in certain musical circles as a harp player, but she has also been performing less traditional music in recent months as this recording demonstrates. Mimi Paris was brought to my attention by a fan of hers late last year and I had hoped to include her music on a 2011 MMI podcast, but as it happens I’ve finally managed to get a copy of this demo recording, which is hopefully a mere harbinger of things to come.

Martina Borg feat. William Thorne – Dear Mother
I had never heard of William Thorne until a few days ago, but Martin Borg is one of the few Maltese pop singers who stands out as much more than a Eurovision wannabe, which she isn’t. Music is in her (paternal) genes and it would seem that with this song she’s giving a reverential nod to her mother. Not sure about the full provenance of this song, but I’d be surprised if it didn’t receive some serious radio airplay in Malta…and hopefully elsewhere too.

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: 19:44 — 13.6MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS | More