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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.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (13.1MB) | Embed

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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.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (14.2MB) | Embed

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Show notes for the 209th Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast.

Nina Wright – Waiting
Maltese and Canadian born and raised in Canada but now living in Arizona. This R&B singer clearly deserves to grace the line up on the MMI podcasting series. I’ll be keeping a look out for new material from her and promise to play it on future editions of my weekly podcast.

The Myth – Crazy
One of Malta’s longest running bands returns with another radio-friendly pop rock song. It seems that they’ve now found their sound and even though (to my ears) it sounds a little too 90s Brit pop there’s still room for this sort of thing on the Maltese music scene.

Manwel T – Tonight
Following up on 2009’s Virtual Dub, Malta’s dub master Manwel T has just released Virtual Dub 2 through his Dubkey Records net-label. This free download should go down well with all lovers of reggae and roots music. I’ve selected a track written and recorded by Germany-based Phil Harmony with Boomrush Backup. Manwel T’s remix is quite delightful and it’s among the highlights on this collection.

Carrie Haber – You Need to Reconsider
ReverbNation.com is fast becoming the online network of choice for many Maltese musicians, even if MySpace remains a strong presence on the scene and Facebook continues to be the most excellent way to reach and audience. After enjoying the music of many local acts through this relatively new website, I’ve finally been drawn to register my own account on it by Carrie Haber who seems to be working her mojo through her RN pages. It’s also the only place online where you can hear some of Carrie’s new songs in full. The one I’ve picked is one of them, of course.

Paul Giordimaina – Voyage (Part 1)
It’s Paul’s birthday on the 28th of April. This year he turns 50, so I think it’s appropriate to pause for a minute and wish him many happy returns. Although he is best known as a pop singer, he probably prefers to be remembered as a jazz musician. So I’ve picked a track off last year’s Letter To Bernie double CD to sample his keyboard style. Happy Birthday Paul!

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.



Podcast: Play in new window | Download (14.9MB)

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