Music

Etnika - Zifna
Ira Losco - Accident Prone
Jazz compilation - Tribute to Swinging Pioneers
Scream Daisy - Scream Daisy
The Riffs - Life of Crime; Jack the Ripper (singles)
Tribali - Tribali
Winter Moods - Ordinary Men

With well over 1000 compact discs back at home, Maltese music was high on my agenda. Public holidays, tourist attractions and family meant that music ended up being relatively neglected. Thankfully, I had some knowledge of popular Maltese music from Internet research over the years. I must thank Robert Micallef for directing us to the music stores of choice, including D'Amato Records in Valletta.

The variety of Maltese music in stores was weaker than anticipated. Choices were limited to more commercial and recent releases. I picked up the recommended Etnika and Tribali, the Riffs because I enjoyed their recent singles, Ira Losco for the popular angle, Winter Moods and Scream Daisy to round out rock, and a Jazz compilation for variety. I sunk around 200 Australian dollars in a matter of minutes.

I had high expectations of Tribali after hearing the cracking samples on their Internet site, and their self titled album does not disappoint. Tribali's world music sound even includes a prominent didgeridoo, which is a wind based musical instrument of Indigenous Australians. The music rolls along superbly, with contrasting light guitars on top of a driving bass. "Never Given Up" appears to be the pick track.

Etnika's Zifna album was the only album I purchased in Malta with Maltese lyrics. I was unsure of how I would take to this album. However, I have enjoyed the stretching of musical boundaries, and the superb mixing and production gives this album a remarkable shine. 'Malta's Fabulous Folk Band' have produced a varied, vibrant album that I highly recommend, even if I am confused about the pastizzi.

Winter Moods are a mainstream rock band who appear to have more of their CD's available new online than any other Maltese artist. I have their album "Ordinary Men" and hear a variety of influences mainly from the United Kingdom. I have Scream Daisy's self titled album, which is a catchy heavier rock-alternative album, again with influences that appear to be from the United Kingdom.

Ira Losco's "Accident Prone" is an entirely likable commercial pop rock album, which is gradually growing on me with infectious numbers like "My Life." I am not sure quite what to liken to The Riffs, but their melodic ska rock ditties "Life of Crime" and "Jack the Ripper" leave you yearning for more. The Jazz compilation filled out my Maltese purchases in a musical area of which I am utterly unfamiliar.

I have also been listening to a couple of albums by Maltese Australian artists. Maltese Australian Joe Camilleri already has a respected role in Australian rock music history as part of Jo Jo Zep and the Falcons as well as the great Black Sorrows. In 2005, he released, of all things, a reggae album titled "Limestone" with Maltese Australian Nicky Bomba. It is a bizarre mix that somewhat makes sense, the title track "Limestone" particularly notable.

Far stranger and engrossing is the album "Ħaġar Qim - Temples of Devotion" by Skorba. Based in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, the Maltese vocal Skorba delves into Malta's ancient history, far predating the dominant Catholicism, the cities and lifestyle that we know. The vocals vary from wailing to conversational and the instrumentation is a challenging mix of string, wind and percussion instruments. This is a fascinating, creative piece of art.

Malta could probably do a better job of marketed their music to tourists and the Maltese outside of Malta. I did not hear or see much music from Maltese artists on the television, radio or on the streets. Are there any street artists? The best online music stores I could find, like di-veshop, seem limited to around 20 products. How could Toni Sant possibly do his MaltaMedia blog with only 20 discs?

I am still trying to secure a copy of the Acoustica, Xtruppaw and Riffs albums... :-)

Maltese Music Store, Valletta