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I’m in Malta right now working on a new major project to be launched after this summer. During the last couple of days, various conversations I’ve had with people who follow the weekly Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast have prompted me to repeat the release of one of my previous podcasts from the series every now and then. So, I’ve picked the first non-seasonal edition from 2010 to repeat this week.

Show notes for the 196th Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast featuring music by performers in or from Malta:

Cable 35 – Harry
The first music video released in the Maltese music scene for 2010. This is a song from the EP Hygene. This band’s youthful energy is infections and if they keep this up I believe that they will strengthen their fan-base considerably this year. While I imagine they have aspirations to reach new followers outside the Maltese Islands, I would love to see them somehow embrace their national identity. That would give them the edge of difference that can make them stand out from the plethora of other guitar-driven bands like them.

Tea – Guilded Cage
One of the few Malta-related releases from 2009 that almost passed me by comes all the way from Switzerland. Marc Storace’s old band have released a compilation album of their best loved songs. Guilded Cage, originally off the band’s third album Tax Exile from 1976, is possibly one of Marc’s most heart-felt belters with an autobiographic bent. The 13 tracks on Reloaded show that this Swiss band should have done even better then they did in their day. In my opinion, the reason they’re not better known is not because they weren’t any good (quite the contrary, of course!) but because they didn’t play up their difference in a rock scene where being different was greatly appreciated. Almost 35 years after they stopped recording and touring, this compilation will undoubtedly introduce them to new fans who will appreciate what was one of Europe’s better rock bands in the seventies.

Skambomambo – Banana Cake
Speaking of Maltese connections to European bands makes me want to play something by these Polish ska masters. Regular listeners of the MMI podcast will remember that Skambomambo’s singer is Mario Cordina, who was first featured in a special edition in the series in 2007. It would be wonderful to see them live, not only because they sound like a fun band to watch but also seeing Mario sing live would certainly be an opportunity I wouldn’t want to pass up.

Sylvan Borg – Soft as Stone
Sylvan recorded this new song to promote his first gig for the year; appearing ahead of Stalko and British singer Adema the MITP in February 2010. I happen to like his songs, possibly for the same reason that drives radio stations to stay away from them: they sound quite different from anything else on the airwaves these days.

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 click here or listen to the podcast on the player right below this text.

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Show notes for the 218th Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast featuring music by performers in or from Malta:

V.S.O.P. – Take Control
Vince Leguesse is the man behind Vinnie Skillz Original Production. Those who keep close tabs on the local music scene will undoubtedly know him as part of Sixth Simfoni. This experimental trip hop & electronic fusion is not a great departure for him, but it does showcase his musical skills without having to share the limelight with some crafty words, giving the tunes and beats a whole different shade and meaning. Vinnie is one of the most underrated musicians in Malta. My hope is that more people will take a closer listen to more tracks from V.S.O.P. and come to appreciate him more.

Nath Inder – Metropolis
It’s been a while since I last played something by Nathan Inder on my podcast. He made a comment about Stalko on my Facebook wall last week and that triggered my move towards playing this new track from him on this week’s MMI podcast. I really like the cool laid back electronic grooves that he produces. Whenever I listen to a short burst such as the one you can hear here, I gladly dive into one of his longer mixes, which he has now also released via SoundCloud.

Spriggan Mist – Dragut’s Eye
Whenever I say the words Spriggan Mist at home, my wife starts singing Indigo Child by this band. They have now released a CD album called Caught in A Spell featuring that song and others they had uploaded to the MySpace page earlier, along with some new tracks that we had never heard before. Dragut’s Eye features the Marsa parish church bells, the legendary 17th century character from the failed Ottoman invasion of Malta, and a casual phone conversation between Baz Cilia and his mate Anglu Fenech. Spriggan Mist is essentially a British band, but these elements make it more than worthy of inclusion on the MMI podcast whenever possible.

Malcolm Pisani – Gone Again
When I introduced this song on this 218th MMI podcast I mistakenly said that I hadn’t played anything else by Malcolm Pisani on the series before. I actually played a song called Press Play in the 129th MMI podcast. This new song is nowhere near as good as that other one, so this is probably why I had forgotten the initial inclusion in the series. Then again, you can’t really expect me to remember every single track I’ve played since 2005 now do you? Still, Pisani can’t go unnoticed since he has managed to attract considerable mainstream media attention to the video, which is the second one he has independently produced in as many years.

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 click here or listen to the podcast on the player right below this text.

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Show notes for the 217th Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast featuring music by performers in or from Malta:

Manwel T feat. Mind’s Eye Dub – Umtha Welanga (Vuvuzelas Mix)
Following on from last week’s nod at the 2010 FIFA World Cup on the MMI podcast, this week I’m opening the show with the sound that is dominating this summer: the vuvuzelas. Life millions of others, at first I found the sound of these plastic horns to be very obnoxious but like so many people around the world I have grown accustomed to it. It has undoubtedly become the sound of this World Cup. I honestly doubt that they’ll still be all that within four years time, cause these things then to come and go as fads. Still, whenever I hear that sound again, I will be brought back to this lovely summer and the international tournament for the beautiful game.

Stalko – Lady Laundry
I first heard of this band several months ago when they played a gig in Valletta, which I was unable to attend. A video clip shot by one of their friends/fans on what seems to me like a mobile phone has made me want to get my hands on a decent recording by this trio. Tim Ellis, Mike Stivala and Chris Cini have recorded some of their songs in a proper studio just recently and they’ve now released Lady Laundry through their MySpace page. I’m sure that many MMI podcast listeners will like what they hear just as much as I do.

Marilyn Mifsud – Where My Head’s Been (acoustic version)
Marilyn is one of the hardest working singers in Malta and yet she is not a household name like so many of the wannabes that are paraded on the pop scene through one of the annual misguided song contests that take place in the Maltese Islands. Her debut single come to my attention in a new acoustic version a few days ago and I thought it would be a good track to include on this week’s podcast.

Angelcrypt – Depopulate
Few Maltese metal bands have been around since 1997. Angelcrypt has, even though they have gone through several personnel changes. The current line-up has now released a single to capture the sound of the new formation. Some of their old fans may prefer the way their sounded on one of their previous albums, but I have a feeling that they won’t be too disappointed with the new single. Longevity is a quality I appreciate greatly in bands, especially when they believe they still have something to give their audience. Just for their longevity, Anglecrypt probably deserve a greater following than they actually have in the Maltese islands and this new single will certainly help them reach new followers locally and abroad.

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 click here or listen to the podcast on the player right below this text.

Mużika Mod Ieħor podcasts are brought to you by Vodafone.

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Show notes for the 216th Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast featuring music by performers in or from Malta:

Airport Impressions – Walk With Me
Errol Sammut and the rest of his band have slowly but surely established themselves as one of the foremost alternative rock acts in Malta over the past couple of years. Their new single showcases them in full force and as you would imagine it’s also managed to acquire a fair amount of radio airplay in the Maltese islands. The band is now planning to release their debut album later this year.

Tea – Surfer
When Marc Storace left the Malta in search of a rock career some 40 years ago, the main band he worked with before making it big with Krokus was Tea. They performed a memorable concert at the Plaza Cinema in Sliema sometime before they broke up in the late 1970s. Last year they started planning a reunion and produced a compilation CD with some of the best tracks from the albums they originally released over 30 years ago. And now Marc and his old Swiss pals return to Malta for a gig at Sky in Paceville on Friday 25 June. Marc is also appearing at a couple of other gigs in Malta before and after this date, but the show with Tea will undoubtedly be a highlight for both old and new fans.

Various Artists – Festa ta’ Kuluri
Music and sport and strange bedfellows but from time to time they combine to produce a memorable moment of popular entertainment. Such is the case with the official 2010 FIFA World Cup anthem, which is making the rounds in a large number of languages right now. The Maltese version is produced by the Xarabank team under the direction of Joe Brown. The singers include Freddie Portelli, Thea Garrett, Mary Rose Mallia, Wayne Micallef, Glen Vella, Claudia Faniello, Tiziana, Ludwig Galea and Mike Spiteri. The video is very colourful and has a subtle message pro-diversity. However, the whole thing masks the distressing reality that Malta will most probably never play in the FIFA World Cup, so Maltese football fans can only really support a foreign team, perpetuating the cultural subservience that plagues post-colonial nations unable to embrace their own unique national identity. Then again, it seems that hybridity has been an element of Maltese culture since pre-historic times.

Mike Spiteri – 20,000 Leagues
It would be a shame if subsequent generations of Maltese music fans only remembered Mike Spiteri for singing Malta’s entry at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1995. Along with Marc Storace, he was one of the first heavy rock singers the country produced and sang with some of the best underground bands in the 70s and early 80s. He has always dared to be different and, to my mind, has probably never really been appreciated for his true worth. The song I’ve picked as the final track for this week’s podcast was written for him by Ray Agius and Alfred C. Sant for the 2010 Malta EuroSong festival but it didn’t make it to the final 20. Although it’s not an outstanding song, it certainly deserved to be heard from the stage in Ta’ Qali much more than at least half a dozen songs that actually made it to the EuroSong final.

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 click here or listen to the podcast on the player right below this text.

Mużika Mod Ieħor podcasts are brought to you by Vodafone.

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