The Malta Rock Movement (from left) Wayne Camilleri, Gianni Zammit and Peter Borg.

Rokarja, Bedrock, Xirka Rock, Rise Tigné… the Maltese music scene has seen its fair share of organisations set up to support, promote and boost the presence of rock music on the island. Some of them have focused mostly on homegrown music, others have adopted a broader vision and incorporated imported influences.

The latest addition to the latter is the Malta Rock Movement, behind which one finds three very familiar faces from the local music scene, namely Gianni Zammit, Peter Borg and Wayne Camilleri, the latter two being the ones on the receiving end of this interview as Zammit was unavailable.

Aside from their involvement in Malta Rock Movement, all three are involved in various other music-related projects, from directing local radio station Vibe FM, in Zammit’s case, to recording and producing local acts, as Borg – a founding member of Red Electrick and guitarist in Ira Losco’s band – does at his Railway Studios in Attard.

What we’re looking to bring to our production is a Maltese twist, and I don’t mean just by having local artists involved

Camilleri is more focused on being a musician, and aside from being one of the island’s most in-demand, dedicated and probably busiest guitarists, he is also a regular member of rock band Koi and the Big Band Brothers.

“Being in Big Band Brothers keeps me very busy,” he confides. “There’s always something going on – in fact, right now we’re working on a project that I’m sure a lot of people will find very interesting,” he adds, without giving away much else about it. “We’ll be releasing more information about it in the coming weeks.”

Borg’s schedule, as I find out, is just as hectic. “With Red Electrick, we’ve just finished writing the songs for the next album, and at the moment we’re working on the music video for the first single that will be released off the album.”

Like Camilleri, he stops short of revealing any other details. “There’s so much going on right now,” he laughs, “I have to be careful not to let the cat out of the bag, but you can expect to hear more around mid-July.”

What they are willing to talk about, of course, is the Malta Rock Movement (MRM), or rather the upcoming event that will mark their first production since setting the organisation up. But when exactly did this all come about and what set the ball rolling for these three musicians to get together under yet another banner?

“To be frank, we didn’t really intend to set up anything at all,” Borg promptly replies. “We just wanted to stage a production of Pink Floyd’s The Wall, but we thought it would be odd not to have a proper organisation behind it, so we set up MRM.”

But how does MRM differ from their work with Xirka Rock? “What we do with Xirka Rock is more of a rock ’n’ roll gig,” Camilleri explains. “It’s all about us and the crowd having a bit of fun. Us playing a bunch of popular rock anthems, and the crowd joining in and singing their hearts out.”

This, I suggest, will most likely also happen when they perform The Wall, since Malta boasts an incredible number of Pink Floyd fans. The smile on their faces confirms they are well aware of this, and for good reason too, as he goes on to clarify.

“Let me put it this way, there are over 45 local artists and musicians involved in this production, and practically every one of them is a Pink Floyd fan, so can you imagine how many other people out there also love this legendary band?”

Pink Floyd’s music has been performed live by other bands in Malta before, the most memorable one quite likely being the Australian Pink Floyd’s concert in St Andrew’s some years back. This sets the bar quite high for a local production to compete, but Borg says they are not trying to compete at all.

“Our budget is nowhere near the ones available to international tribute bands who focus 24/7, 365 days a year on performing Pink Floyd’s music for a living,” he assures me.

Camilleri is also eager to point out that this is not a tribute performance. “We don’t see this as a tribute band; it is more of a local production – featuring music, visual projections and actors – of Pink Floyd’s epic album.”

The way he stresses the word ‘local’ clearly indicates there is more to this event than just playing Pink Floyd’s music.

“To us, it is far more than just a concert,” he continues. “What we’re looking to bring to our production is a Maltese twist, and I don’t mean just by having local artists involved.”

Borg says that despite being knowledgeable Pink Floyd fans, they still put in a lot of time to research the concept behind the album.

“We’ve created our own visuals for this concert, and while striving to retain the original concept, we also wanted to incorporate a local feel to it, so we’ve endeavoured to use footage that relates to our history, our politics, our surroundings.”

The customised visuals certainly help to distinguish this concert from being just a tribute act, and so does the good number of people who will be performing onstage.

“That was another headache,” Camilleri admits. “There’s a limit to how many people you can involve, and then there’s the issue of picking the right singers and musicians for the right songs.”

Thankfully, Pawlu Borg Bonaci came on board as artistic director and was instrumental in the final outcome.

“There are so many other people to thank, but I’d especially like to mention the core band members in particular, namely Raphael Tonna, Mark Attard, Jeremy Micallef, Ramon Tonna, Joseph Axiaq and Antoine Tonna for their hard work and dedication towards this project.” It has been a lot of work, tiring at times, but Borg and Camilleri insist that none of it has ever put them off reaching their goal.

“The logistics involved are quite tasking,” Borg laughs, “but we’re not complaining, because ultimately this is a dream come true for us. We’re counting down the days for the big night… see you all there.”

Malta Rock Movement presents The Wall which will be performed at the Greek Theatre in Ta’ Qali this Friday as part of the Earth Garden Festival. Tickets for the performance cost €15, which also includes access to the Earth Garden Open Village for all three days. For more information, visit the MRM event page on Facebook. Tickets are available at www.ooii.com.mt.