I was already apologising for ruining the video. “No man, don’t worry, I’m only after the audio,” said the guy next to me at the bar when I veered into the focus of his phone’s camera and I started to apologise. I tell you, it’s been a long time since I heard those words at a gig, but I understand the guy’s reasoning entirely. That was my introduction to Huh? and Chizil live at Maori.

It wasn’t so much a gig as a get-together, where people who love atmospheric tunes and a funky kind of jazz came together at Maori, a small watering hole down by the water in Valletta. Decked out with two drum kits and amplifiers, the venue looked more like your average grandmother’s sitting room, but that didn’t matter one bit.

The arrangement on the night was also idiosyncratic. There was no such thing as the traditional ‘two bands, two sets with a break in the middle’. Instead, Chizil and Huh? alternated playing songs, throwing in a fair few cross-band collaborations, and even a little bit of impromptu bass sampling. This continuous stream of music, original compositions and cover versions, was a great idea as the flow was not interrupted at any time.

Chizil is a trio formed of bass player Francesco Frendo, drummer William Smith and guitarist Jes Psaila. They play an interesting style of jazz, with a touch what I daresay is funk, and have been around for the past year and a half. Smith’s drumming I found very interesting indeed, as I see aspects of it reminiscent of his roots in metal and Frendo’s basslines are brilliantly executed, laying the groundwork of the song.

Guitarist Jes Psaila, meanwhile, is flawless in his execution, delightful little licks on the guitar, coupled with an almost ethereally light sound. An instrumental band, Chizil is a breath of fresh air from the more regular crop of bands, where the vocal line dominates the song. In Chizil’s case, the focus is squarely on the music, and there’s plenty of good stuff to be focusing on.

Huh?, meanwhile, are the musings of brothers John and Jimmy Bartolo. Both busy, brilliant musicians who between them have played with bands as diverse as Brikkuni and Knockturn Alley, in Huh? they make for a very interesting experiment indeed. John plays a largely electronic drum kit, with a traditional snare used only for occasional effect, giving the drums a very clean, and controllable sound quality.

Jimmy, meanwhile, played his Telecaster as usual, but through a series of pedals, playing very few notes with long delays and reverbs, resulting in something truly wonderful.

In a few of the numbers, he also sang into the mic, which was plugged into his vocoder pedal, resulting in a dreamy, intelligible vocal line, somewhat reminiscent of Daft Punk’s later work. I was lapping it up, and so was the audience, and there was not a sound during songs, punctuated with applause when he final note was struck.

An experiment through and through, one of the best moment of the gig was when Chizil bass player Francesco played a few notes, which were recorded by Huh? guitar player Jimmy, and incorporated into a song right on the spot. A cover of Radiohead’s ‘Lotus Flower’ was also a fitting moment, and very well received.

A very good night indeed then, and one I would recommend. If you hear of either a Huh? or Chizil gig, go, and go now. I have one regret of it all, that I too did not record the whole set on my phone. Coulda shoulda woulda they’ll say.