As soon as word of a new Tribali album leaked out, the cyber waves started buzzing with speculation. Today, the fans' frenzy has been satisfied with the official launch of the group's latest CD – The Traveller.

The album, which includes thirteen tracks, was launched at MedAsia and offers the trademark Tribali fusion of world music. All six musicians - Grigal, Adriano, Peter Paul, Antoine, Jean Pierre and Eliza – hail from different musical backgrounds that include classical, rock, ska, reggae, flamenco, traditional and dance.

Peter Paul, on percussion, cajon, hang and vocals, describes the band's music as a combination of all the members' musical influences. He adds that this new album opens another chapter in the group's musical journey, representing an evolvement of the previous two albums.

The Traveller includes the use of instruments - such as the sitar, didgeridoo, electric guitars and morchunga – that are today synonymous with Tribali. New instruments have also been introduced and the tracks feature the use of the hang, nylon and 12-string guitars, trumpet and synth and make more use of vocals than before.

"We have adapted the music to offer a more 'live' sound, with more use of drums rather than layers of percussions. There is no use of any samples, triggers or tricks in this album; we were after the late 1970s recordings with a '2012' touch," the musician says.

While still falling under the genre of world music, the album is described as being harmonically richer than the previous offerings, with the band shifting away from the mono-tonal constraints. Fans will also notice the introduction of a crossover of incorporated styles, such as psychedelic, dub reggae, ska, flamenco, folk, chill-out moods and up-tempo grooves.

The band is just back from the Byron Bay, Blues & Roots festival in Australia. This was their third time performing at the iconic event and the group is slowly building a good fan base in this country.

"This year we were offered the responsibility of headlining two nights, which was very encouraging. We love performing in Australia because the crowd is unbelievably engaged. We really feel the connection from the first song we play and for a performer that is the greatest thing that can happen."

The festival also gave them the opportunity to perform alongside a range of top international artistes – the line-up included Buddy Guy, Ziggy Marley, The Specials, John Butler, Wolf Mother, Joe Satriani and Steve Vai.

Tribali will be performing their new album live on Friday June 29 at the National Park in Ta' Qali. For updates about this concert check out the group's Facebook page.

A compilation album called Festa that includes the best of the group's previous two albums has also been released to target the foreign market.

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