Winter Moods release new album

The rain and wind yesterday served as a perfect backdrop for the launch of Winter Moods' fifth album, Argento.

Argento was written and recorded over six months at Temple Studios in Marfa, where the band isolated itself from the rest of the island and set about working on the follow-up to the hugely popular Ordinary Men.

"This time round we did things differently and worked straight in the studio, with producer David Vella with us in the room," Ivan Grech, Winter Moods front man, said.

Being what is arguably Malta's most popular band is not as glamorous as it may sound. All band members, apart from Mr Grech, have to juggle their day jobs with rehearsals and other band commitments.

"At this stage, our 'main' job is part time: music is taking over our lives," guitarist Melvin Caruana said, adding that most of their employers had grown used to the band's commitments.

And the commitments continue to increase as the band has announced it would be headlining a summer concert on July 28 at the Granaries in Floriana, an ambitious move for a Maltese band.

How does the band plan on filling the venue, which, at times, even the big political parties struggle to fill?

"We're going to get people from both sides (of the political spectrum)," keyboardist Etienne Robinich replied.

There is a tinge of sadness to the album as drummer Karl Fenech's father, Angelo, and bassist Joseph Rizzo's mother, Doris, passed away while the band was recording the album, which is dedicated to their memory.

Living in a studio for three weeks at a stretch for six months, the band put all it had into the album, enlisting the services of Luuk Cox for mixing and John Davis - who worked on Snow Patrol's Eyes Open and U2's No Line on the Horizon - for mastering.

The international flavour goes on in the design department, with Mike Ross, who worked on artwork for Sting and Elton John, to name but two, redesigning the band's image and their album cover. Mr Ross was aided by Daniel Spagnol.

Argento, above all, is a labour of love. Says Mr Grech of the album: "It's a work of love, passion and dedication and that's why we've been doing music for the past 25 years."