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Show notes for the 213th Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast featuring music by performers in or from Malta:

Rage Against Society – Slaves of the Machine
It seems that an entire podcast dedicated to the harder side of the Maltese rock scene is becoming the traditional thing to do in the week before the Eurovision Song Contest. Lordi aside, it feels right to delve into a far side of the music spectrum at this point in time. R.A.S. strike me as one of the best Maltese acts that’s towards the very end of that range of genres I just mentioned. I really like the vocal contrast between Patti Pattex and Ray Il-Baħri’s on this particular track. If you don’t like your music heavy, turn away now; you have been warned.

Forsaken – Dies Irae (Day of Wrath)
Rage Against Society have been around for 15 years, but Forsaken have been together even longer. Their most recent album, 2009’s After The Fall, is still receiving critical acclaim all over the world among serious Metal aficionados. Regular listeners of my weekly podcast know that I played a track from this ATF when it first came out. Still, it should come as no surprise that I’ve picked another track from that collection for today’s show.

Shades of Chaos – Relentless Killing Machine
Moving away from the old timers, I’m struck by this relatively new band – they’ve been gigging under various formations since 2004. This is the freshest brand of metal to my ears. Growling is an acquired taste and even life-long headbangers from a previous generation (or two) find it hard to stomach sometimes. I have fond associations with this type of sound from the 1990s, so I’m always thrilled to hear a good growler over a fresh bed of metal.

Black Vulture – Cleansed by Fire
Among the more interesting collaborations that fit in well with this week’s podcast is a trio with a Maltese drummer called Martin Ciappara. Some of you will recognize that name as the man behind Prayer for the Dying. This is not Martin’s first international collaboration either: a couple of years ago he was involved in Lustre with Turkish guitarist Sarrum, who is also part of Black Vulture. Vocal duties here are performed by Richard Schierer. So, in some ways, this band could also be seen as a new version of Lustre.

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 212th Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast featuring music by performers in or from Malta:

Bletchley Park – Waterfall
An excellent follow-up single to their debut release, Alien. I particularly like the chord progression on this one. If this is the direction Bletchley Park plan to go in over the coming months and years they’ll certainly be gathering more and more fans as they go along.

Winter Moods – My Neverland
Here’s a second single from the upcoming new album by one of Malta’s most popular and longest standing bands. If this song and Last to Know are any indication of the rest of the tracks on the forthcoming album, it really shows a Maltese AOR band in full maturity.

Mikaela – Condescending
From time to time I come across acts that escape my attention for a while. Mikaela falls squarely in this category and I’m not sure how and why she hasn’t been featured on a previous edition of the MMI podcast. Her MySpace page currently features three songs she has recorded, along with news that she is working new material with her band Mikaela’s Picture and the Blind Trash whose members include Nick Morales, Alan Portelli and Benji Cachia. This is most certainly a ‘watch this space’ situation.

CV/Gate – MW
SoundCloud is slowly but surely taking it’s place along with MySpace, Facebook and Reverbnation as an excellent resource for Maltese recordings. It seems to be the preferred platform for the more experimental acts. Still, CV/Gate (a duo comprising Justin Meli and Christopher Buhagiar) also manage to maintain a strong Facebook presence. Their brand of electro, techno, acid house tinged tracks are among some of the most refreshing new sounds in this genre that I’ve heard from a Maltese duo in recent 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 211th Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast.

Retrophytes – Paranoia
Today is the day the long awaited EP by this young band is launched at the Black Pearl in Ta’ Xbiex. The official release gig for Open Beta has two bands supporting the Retrophytes: For Strings Inn and Dolls of Idols. All in all this promises to be an unmissable night for anyone who cares to hear three of the most energetic alternative Maltese bands to emerge in recent years.

Sasha & Sam – Choices
Regular listeners of the MMI podcast know that I really like this duo. They released a their debut CD not so long ago and they’re already producing new tracks. Choices is one of the new songs they’ve written and recorded since the album launch. Apparently more new tracks are on the way, so you can bet I’ll be featuring Sasha & Sam again on my podcast sooner or later.

Wayne Micallef – Breaking Down
Of all the singers who took part in this year’s Malta EuroSong festival Wayne Micallef is the only one who really has an unrelated track record. He is a singer and songwriter who releases songs that are not only better than the drivel contest but are also testament to the fact that he will most probably still be around long after he has given up on a Eurovision dream. While I will be among the first to appreciate his stepping back from that particular scene, I’ll also miss his relatively alternative approach to the possibility of having his songs heard by the largest television audience in Europe.

Silent Strings – First Grain of Sand
Facebook is turning into a worthy source for discovering Maltese music. The FB group Maltese Bands, created by James Vella, is an excellent initiative. Others, like Silent Strings, simply use FB the way countless others use MySpace or Reverbnation to publish their recordings. This first outing by this new duo – Luke Bonavia (guitar and percussion) and Andrew Tonna (bass guitar and harmonica) – makes me want to hear more. Hopefully it’ll come in a matter of weeks. If, or rather when it comes, I’m sure it’ll be on their FB page.

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 210th Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast.

Tribali – Nanda Devi
Yesterday’s concert by The Prodigy in Malta give me a good excuse (if I needed one) to play a track from last year’s CD The Elephants of Lanka, since Tribali was one of two opening acts for the evening. The other was South Central, which regular listeners of the Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast will know are a regular feature on the current tour by The Prodigy across Europe. Marvic Lewis voice is the highlight on this track, which happens to be one of the stronger numbers in the band’s repertoire.

Rita Pace – Forgive Me
At the same time that two generations of ravers were enjoying what is undoubtedly the loudest gig to ever hit the Maltese Islands at Ta’ Qali’s MFCC, pop lovers endured this years slew of songs that made it to the final of the 2010 Malta Hit Song Contest. This festival has found its own niche in the local music scene and the organization seems to get better each year. However, I’m sad to say that the level of songs does a great disservice to some of the excellent singers on the bill. This song by Rita Pace is one noticeable exception, to my ears and very subjective taste. It’s the only one I’d gladly hear again from this year’s crop of drivel. Perhaps singers will learn to be a little more picky in the coming years.

Aaron Benjamin – Stranded
Mercifully, Malta’s pop scene goes beyond song contest and the new song by Aaron Benjamin is testament to this. He has been consistent in his delivery of very radio friendly pop ditties over the past few years that he has graced the local music scene with his presence. Even if pop is not your bag, you’re surely can distinguish between good pop (likle this) and the rest of the rubbish that is presented to us as if it’s god’s gift.

Ethnamorte – Silenzio (Il Cuore della Morte)
This UK-based band qualifies to appear on the Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast, from time to time, by virtue of the fact that their guitarist Malcolm El Gool is actually Malta-born Malcolm Callus. They released a CD album in London last month (on April 3) entitled Sombra de um Mundo atras do Vidro, which is Portugese for ‘Shadow of a World behind Glass’. These sounds give today’s podcast half an air of world muzak fusion but I honestly find Ethnamorte’s quirky approach quite mesmerizing.

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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