New CD release from Filfla records

After the successful release of the Malta’s Lost Voices collection in a deluxe CD-book format, Filfla Records has just launched a double-CD format of the release, which features music from a number of Maltese musicians from the 1930s.

It was, in fact, early in 1931 that a group of musicians travelled from the port of Valletta to Tunis to record the very first records of Maltese music. What ensued was a social phenomenon which took much of society by storm.

Malta’s Lost Voices is an intriguing account of musicians, composers, poets and songwriters who, under contract to Valletta-based music agents, were sent to Milan and Tunis to record on the major record labels of the day, among them HMV, Polyphon, Odeon and Pathe. It is the story of music and musicians who made history by making the earliest records of Maltese music in the early decades of the 20th century.

This was a musical journey that changed the Maltese people’s perception of themselves forever.

The Maltese label Filfla Records was set up by musicologist and researcher Andrew Alamango with the aim of releasing a series of productions of local, vintage music, primarily to preserve and make this audio material publicly accessible. It indirectly aims to gather known audio sources in private and public collections to gather, catalogue and preserve them in a sound archive for posterity.

The project is supported by the National Archives and the Education Ministry.

www.filflarecords.com