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Show notes for the 230th Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast featuring music by performers from or in Malta:

Airport Impressions – Freedom
This band’s debut CD album Minutes of a Lifetime will be released on Friday 22 October 2010 at in Rabat. This song is drawn from the album just ahead of the launch to promote the release of the CD. Slowly but surely Airport Impressions have placed themselves at the forefront of radio-friendly pop rock in recent years, and this CD album will undoubtedly cement their reputation in the Maltese islands for years to come.

Instincts – Sun Soaked Island in the Sea
On Wednesday 13 October 2010 Robert Carbonaro and Cheryl Camilleri released their debut 4-track EP Wake Up Call via the Bandcamp website, on a name your price basis. Their juvenile tunes are given an impressive make over by Keith Anthony and a series of session musicians. This EP turns a rather ordinary sounding acoustic pop folk duo into what could possibly become Malta’s next mainstream big hit. This release makes me want to say something like: come for the pay what you will experience and stay for the music, which is surprisingly both pleasant and pleasing.

Walter Vella – Reminiscence (The Unknown Known)
Many know Walter Vella for the outstanding glass artist that he is, but he is also quite well known as one of Malta’s foremost saxophone and flute players. This past summer he released a CD album called Advanced Decomposition on the Heritage label, along with pianist Dominic Galea and drummer Joe Micallef. Along with an exhibition of his visual art, which opened on Tuesday 14 September 2010 at the National Museum of Fine Arts, this CD album presents a mature Maltese artist at the peak of his creative output.

Three Stops to China – Stay Away
From their Facebook page, you can tell that 3S2C have been preparing quite some time for their first public on Saturday 23 October 2010 at Muddy Waters Bar in St Julians. They will be sharing the bill with Bridget Bone on that day. A demo of their debut song Stay Away appeared on YouTube from Wednesday 6 October 2010 and has started attracting some attention from people who like pop punk in Malta. The band members are Kurt Kind (bass & vocals), David Grech Urpani (guitar & vocals) and Josh Briffa (drums & percussion). I’d be very surprised if we never hear from them again after this.

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.

Show notes for the 229th Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast featuring music by performers from or in Malta:

Lyndsay Pace – Going Under
Every new song I hear from this singer makes me like her more and more. Her choice of songs to record and present herself with are outstanding for a Maltese pop singer. This one has an impressive music video too and that makes it even more appealing to many who like this type of music. My hope is that more and more people discover Lyndsay in the coming months and years.

Tact – Sense of Purity
Franco Tartaglia’s act was launched a few days ago and first impressions are quite good. Amanda Friggieri’s voice and image work give the necessary edge to Tartaglia’s intricate classical guitar driven compositions. They call this fusion of cool jazz and classical tones lounge and it seems quite appropriate as this is the sort of music you want to listen to closely or enjoy in the context of a delightful environment rather than on just any old live music stage. More please.

Syrup – Static H
One of the first songs to be entered in the M3P database comes from Shaun Grech’s old musical vehicle. His brother Alex is one of the founding directors of the Malta Music Memory Project and he picked this track to use in exploring a template for data about all other songs we’re planning to capture within the M3P. This originally came out in the period I had briefly lost touch with the Maltese music scene, back when I lived in New York City. So I really have M3P to thank for bringing it to my attention and to this week’s MMI podcast.

Jo Micali vs U-Bahn feat. Chess
We’ve had all three acts involved in this new song on recent editions of the MMI podcast. Now they join forces to give us what many (myself included) will consider Chess’ follow-up single from her debut Stilettos with the prolific pop master Muxu. While this song hasn’t struck me as catchy as Beautiful Eyes it is most certainly another great opportunity to hear the potential that Chess will undoubtedly fulfill in the coming years. She has now moved to the UK to study music, so I take this opportunity to wish her all the very best. I have a good feeling about this singer and I believe she is destined for a bright future.

Muxu – Fill My Cup
Most prolific Maltese pop singer is an award that should be created just for Muxu who returns with another song. This time it’s a collaboration with his mother Sandra Mercieca. Once again Muxu manages to deliver a punchy pop tune that stands in the shadow of his almighty Beat My Drum. While it will be hard for him to top himself on his debut release, this new song demonstrates (yet again) that he is certainly not a one-trick pony.

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.

Show notes for the 228th Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast featuring music by performers from or in Malta:

Ellie and the Oscars – Pretty Rival
My good friend Winston De Giorgio brought this track to my attention a couple of days ago. Apparently it’s making quite a big splash on some of the radio stations in Malta and after just one listen I can very well undetstand why. Eliza Borg’s voice is outstanding and the experimental combination of pop, ambient and electro rock make for a very rich sonic tapestry that stands out in the predictable sounds that saturate commercial radio in Malta.

Thomas Hedley – Turn Off the Lights
I’m never sure whether this singer knows how good he really is. Every song I’ve ever heard from him can blend in perfectly on any shuffle playlist featuring contemporary pop rock tunes. Apparently he only produces these songs out of frustration of the limitations of the local music scene in Malta. I honestly hope that more people pay attention to Thomas Hedley in the coming months and years. He is a talent to be reckoned with and certainly a cut above the many wannabes of the Maltese pop music scene.

Digital Black – End of History
After releasing sample clips for a couple of their songs on MySpace, Digital Black have now finally uploaded a full version of this track on their ReverbNation page. Simon Deguara is among the few musicians who see the similarities between metal and industrial electronica. The sound of Digital Black is testament of the direct link between the two and it is indeed an excellent exemplar of the tightness that comes from metal musicians producing industrial driven electronic rock.

Adie feat. Hooligan – Tug of War
Maltese pop singer Adrienne shortened her name to Adie last year and started flirting with R&B and raunchier sounds than the sort of tunes she wrote and sang in the many years she’s been active on the local music scene. A collaboration with Maltese rap king Hooligan will certainly give anyone an edge but it will take more than this to give Adie the street credibility she seems to be after with this song. Still, someone as driven as this singer-songwriter will keep exploring new ways to get noticed and that can only raise the possibility for producing something really memorable. This is the first time I’ve featured Adie on the MMI podcast but I’m pretty sure it’s not the last.

Red Electrick – Vine Lady
During my recent visit to Malta for the official launch of the M3P, I was invited to the press launch of the debut CD album from Red Electrick entitled Vine Lady. I’ve followed this band since they first came together under the name Drive and I’d say that they’ve fulfilled the promise they demonstrated in their early days quite nicely. The album is packed with catchy pop rock songs verging on the familiar with a contemporary twist. My feeling is that in good time they may really find their own sound and indeed blow everyone in the local rock scene out of their comfort zone. Meanwhile, they’ll certainly continue to produce some of the most enjoyable melodic rock 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 click here or listen to the podcast on the player right below this text.

Mużika Mod Ieħor podcasts are brought to you by Vodafone.

Show notes for the 227th Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast featuring music by performers from or in Malta:

Aaron Benjamin – I Can
Another single from this singer following up on his Break the Silence from a couple of years ago, which was also written in Sweden by Didrik Thott, Sebastian Thott and Sharon Vaughn. This trio of songwriters have also written for Kevin Borg (Street Lights), Boyzone (To Late For Hallelujah) and Celine Dion (Let Your Heart Decide) among others. This is star quality pop and I’m not sure it gets the attention it actually deserves in Malta and internationally. Still, that’s the pop world, I guess.

Eve Ransom – Bleed
During a visit to Malta last July I met Eve Ransom at the Radio 101 studios, where they were guests on Michael Bugeja’s very first edition of his show Rockna. During that programme they announced that their next single would be called Bleed and I told them that was a great name as it was the same as that by one of the most unknown bands from the Maltese Islands, Tears of Revenge. Understandably, to some degree, they had never heard of that band or any of their songs. Their song bears no resemblance to the ToR cult classic, of course, and its places Brendan Jackson and his band on the forefront of contemporary guitar-driven rock in Malta.

Scarlet Drop – Broken Wings
Back to the Sweden connection on today’s podcast, I’m pleased that the music of this band has come to my attention. Graziella Väcklén and Leah Muscat give Scarlet Drop a strong Malta connection, even if they’re based in Sweden and active in Germany. The track I’ve selected to play is taken from the EP with the same name and most certainly showcases the band’s best qualities. I’m sure many hard rock fans in Malta would love to see them live but to my knowledge they’ve never performed in the Maltese islands nor do they have any plans to do so in the foreseeable future.

Split – Muscle to Muscle
The M3P: Malta Music Memory Project is now underway and I’ll be referring to it at least once during every edition of the MMI podcast from now on. Links for the show notes on this blog now point the the respective M3P pages rather than MySpace or anywhere else as before. Alfie Fabri’s personal collection is one of the most remarkable sources of Malta’s music scene, particularly in the 1980s and 1990s. The song I’ve picked today comes from a demo tape recorded in London by a Maltese band featuring Mike Mercieca and William Mangion among others. Alfie interivew William Mangion his pirate radio station about all this 1982 but I had never heard this material before. I’m sure many podcast listeners will as fascinated by it as I am.

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.