The name sounds rather sinister, but it is simply a front for a musical collective with a tantalising taste for blending different cultures andgenres.
Formed in London in 2007 by Maltese guitarist Malcolm El Gool and multi-instrumentalist Mick Di Lullo, Ethnamorte started out as a duo with an experimental inclination towards unusual instruments.
The line-up was later boosted with the arrival of percussionist Guerilla Man and vocalist Vincenzo Cuorenero, whose presence also expanded the band’s musical spectrum and vision.
Calling itself a world music act with jazz interests, Ethnamorte’s sound embraces a collection of different types of music from all four corners of the world, hence ‘ethna’.
The ‘morte’ element is a direct reference to the end of musical confines through the exploration of different genres – a concept that was reflected in the various tracks the band recorded in 2008, namely Jogo Cego (in Portuguese), Belt is-Seħer (in Maltese) and a combination of English and Italian on A Different Shade Of Beauty, the perfect shade of madness.
The following year, guitarist Udi Glaser and flutist Nicki Hienen replaced Di Lullo, with the new line-up recording more tracks and eventually releasing multi-lingual debut album Sombra De Un Mundo Atras De Vidro last year.
Despite its low-key release, the album placed second in Reverb Nation’s 2010 end-of-year world music charts.
More recently, the band’s line-up underwent further changes and now operates primarily as a duo consisting of El Gool and Guerilla Man. Naturally, the overall sound has also gone through some transformation, leading the band to adopt the ‘death to music confines’ philosophy instead of the previous ‘world music with a dark twist’ tag used to promote their work.
Currently working on its second album, Ethnamorte, will be performing in Malta in November atV-Gen, a set that the band promises will offer ‘Latin and Moorish jazz with an experimental dark touch’.
For more information or to book tickets, look for Ethnamorte and V-Gen on Facebook.
www.myspace.com/ethnamorte