Songwriting duo Mistura are just about to launch their first album, a 64-minute concept affair. David Schembri tries to find out the formula behind it.
In a time where a large number of people get their music on YouTube or on streaming services, and where one of the world’s successful bands has had to ram its latest album down people’s iTunes accounts, it would seem that there is not a very strong case to make for albums.
When it came to Mistura – the duo made up of Antonio Olivari and Malcolm Bonnici, both of whom are songwriters, singers and guitarists – to release their album, they embraced the album in a long, warm bearhug. The product of that is U d-Dinja Tkompli Ddur, a 64-minute, 16-track concept album divided into four chapters.
“It’s very simple really,” Olivari says. “With Mistura we decided to write, play and record the sort of music that we like – and, since we like concept albums we went for one.
“Having said that, I am not personally against singles – it’s just that I prefer their existence to be part of a greater whole.”
“I have always been an album person. I always had a tendency to listen to songs that form part of a greater whole, especially songs found in concept albums,” Bonnici says.
It is not hard to see where the fascination with concept albums comes from a look at the group’s individual influences reveals a bevy of artists firmly rooted in long-form works. “Our music is obviously influenced by bands we normally listen to and are fond of namely, Beatles, Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, Eagles, Led Zeppelin, David Bowie... and the list goes on,” Bonnici says.
“I would rather mention what inspires me, which would include works by Ennio Morricone, Muse, Walter Micallef, Jovanotti, Leonard Cohen, George Orwell, Immanuel Mifsud and Neil Postman, just to mention a few,” Olivari says.
On the lyrical end, Bonnici credits Roger Waters’s songbook as being the major influence on the group’s songwriting. “I have to say, we both have been fond of Roger Waters’s lyrics and this has left an impact on our style of writing; it’s kind of in your face with no sugar coating. Personally, sometimes, I also get the urge to write lyrics with a science fiction theme. In that case, I think the main influence would be David Bowie, Syd Barrett, Isaac Asimov and Arthur C Clarke.”
One could treat those songs as medicine, an attempt to remedy the current state of affairs
The concept behind the concept album is the passage and repetition of time. Each part of the album represents a different time of day, and many of the songs reflect on the concept of repetition, and the cycles of life. “The song Kollox l-Istess is the central song, lyrically, as it completes the cycle with its chorus “Minn filgħodu għal nofsinhar għal filgħaxija għal billejl,” Olivari explains.
The album was recorded in the duo’s own home studios, which afforded them the time to pursue their ideas and vision for the album. “We practically produced ourselves, or in some instances we produced each other,” Bonnici says. “We went for the DIY approach, mainly because that’s how we wanted to produce our album. I don’t think we did something out of the ordinary. We’re definitely not pioneers in this field.”
While in the studio, the duo experimented with using different sounds, but ultimately, Olivari says: “It is a rock album with most probably equal acoustic and electric guitar elements. Some of our songs have been described as progressive rock and I have been assured that it was not meant disparagingly.”
“We have also experimented with synths, Hammond organ sounds and other instruments to achieve a full-band feel. On Issa Tard Wisq our friend Francesco Sultana also played the clarinet,” Bonnici says.
The duo seems to have good enough a synergy: they both report Introspezzjoni Stellari, Kollox l-Istess and Issa Tard Wisq as being their favourite songs, with Bonnici adding in L-Apoloġija as one of his favourite bunch.
The two met through a musical project Bonnici was working on. Mistura was formed some years later when Olivari wrote a song for the 2012 Għanja tal-Poplu and asked him to sing it. “After that, we decided we should continue writing and recording songs together as Mistura,” Bonnici explains.
The name of the band is a play on words: apart from its obvious connection to medicine and remedy, the word also means ‘hidden’ in Maltese and can also be related to misto, the Italian word for ‘mix’.
“We think that our music and lyrics would fit those meanings. Songs like L-Apoloġija and Tivvutax include social commentary on the political landscape we currently live in. So one could treat those songs as medicine; an attempt to remedy the current state of affairs,” Bonnici says. “The mistura in question is quite bitter though, so we won’t be surprised if it won’t go down.”
U d-Dinja Tkompli Ddur can be ordered by sending an e-mail to info@misturamalta.com.
www.misturamalta.com