Johnathan Cilia meets Pon Di Corner band members to have a chat about new album One World and to learn how four musicians from different corners of the world united in Malta.
Launching an album on 4/20 – international codespeak for cannabis-related activism – may be sending a message, but Pon Di Corner is all about sending messages. The Malta-based reggae/hip hop outfit carries its heart on its sleeves, the band members’ values and principles driving them to create music and communicate their message to anyone who will listen. And what is the message?
“The message is simple; protect our world, mother nature and all its children,” they say, adding that; “we are all part of the same world, no matter what your colour, religion, beliefs and dreams. Each one of us deserves the same – happiness, hope and innocence”.
Pon Di Corner is made up of four musicians hailing from around the world, and serendipitously connecting and linking up in Malta. There’s Pupachile from France/ Chile; Positive Rebel from Sicily; Mehding from France/Tunisia; and Ingenio from Venezuela. These four musicians have called Malta their home for years and have utilised its function as the meeting place of different cultures – and as a crossroads for many travellers – to enhance their vision and inspire their music.
And this can be seen on their newest album, aptly titled One World. Featuring 18 tracks with collaborations with eight other musicians from around the world, the album is a sign of the times, with a mixture of English, French, Spanish and Italian used on the tracks to remind us all how deeply interconnected the world has become.
Themes of universal identity and unity run throughout the album like Usain Bolt runs through world records. From standout track International feat. Kinetical to the bright, life-affirming Es Una Vibration and the anthemic lead single One World, the fact that people from all over the world can easily come together in peace and create great music is made self-evident.
“Basically, this album reflects what is happening in this world, and also the positivity that can emerge from it,” explains Pupachile, one of the vocalists with the band. “You know, we believe that hate, and wars, are just processes. To us, the worst thing is that people in general love to point out differences and not what links us all together. We are all born, we all live, we all die, and so on.”
It is this inherent commonality within people that the band likes to focus on. “We are spreading a message of peace and unity because we strongly believe that it is the only thing that can heal this world,” says Pupachile.
Ingenio, the vocalist from Venezuela, goes one step further in demonstrating just how connected the world has become: “I have black blood in my veins; I have white blood in my veins; I have indigenous blood in my veins.”
If the reggae sound or the 4/20 launch made you think in stereotypes, you’d be best leaving them at the door
The dynamic between the four musicians that make up Pon Di Corner is interesting. With three continents, four languages and one island connecting them, their explicit enthusiasm and contagious energy is already garnering them a local crowd, and it seems people just like being around such positive music in these confused times.
At their album launch they get the crowd to sing along to their new songs, eliciting constant shouts and sounds from the crowd. If the reggae sound or the 4/20 launch made you think in stereotypes, you’d be best leaving them at the door – these guys are as organised as it comes, as their very large list of international collaborators shows.
They’ve got features from countries as far apart as Sweden, Ghana, Jamaica, Portugal, Libya and Barbados, just to name a few, with a Malta and Gozo tour planned for the next few months followed by a European tour in the summer.
It seems their ease and keen ability at realising potential for collaboration, combined with their drive to get different people working together, is one of their strongest assets – apart from the obvious musical ability, that is.Just take Pupachile, for example. Starting off as a reggae fan, he started collecting vinyls around 2000 and eventually created a sound system in France called Positive Irie. He began mixing and organising parties all over France around 2002, mainly focused on reggae, but soon began mixing in hip hop and rap as it exploded in popularity in France.
Add to this, his parent’s Latin American music influence – salsa, cumbria, with a bit of soul and jazz for good measure – and you’ve got a hefty musical background when it comes to finding melodies and finding music with feeling. He moved to Malta in 2010 – the first of the four – and by 2015, Pon Di Corner had been born.
“We could say music is our inspiration, as we say in one of our tracks on the album,” says Pupachile with a smile.
“The energy has been there for a long time, each one of us has something to add, and the combo makes Pon Di Corner what it is. I think we are more a live crew that a studio musician type of artist.
“We met on the street,” he continues. “And we are conscious that this energy is a plus for us to transmit to our audience. Generally, people who come to our show have a good time and go home full of energy and with a big smile.”
Pon Di Corner, which is Jamaican Patois for ‘around the corner’, is a suitable name – the band’s music videos, imagery and lyrics are strongly influenced by the street and the permanent idea that the next beautiful melody, or incredible collaboration, might just be waiting for you around the corner.
Having launched the album, which is available online now, Pon Di Corner are preparing for their next live performance, ready to show the Maltese crowd all the work they’ve put into this album over the last couple of years and what it truly means to spread positive vibes.
“Let’s share music and real positivity all together, let’s become one entity, one soul, one love and One World,” says Pupachile. “Let us express your vision through our music and let’s be happy altogether – at least for the length of one song!”
Pon Di Corner will be performing on Friday at Funky Monkey, Gżira. The band’s new album One World is available online now.
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