Since adding bass and a second guitar to the original two-piece line-up, indie band Errormantics have returned with a sound that is definitely edgier. Ramona Depares interviews the musicians ahead of their upcoming performance.

Albert Xiberras and Sven Bonnici.

Back when they started out as a duo some two years ago, Errormantics had come out with a very definite sound that was something of a first locally, even for the indie scene. Two-piece bands made up of a drummer and a guitarist are few and far between, not only in Malta but also abroad.

Scepticism, there was aplenty, but Mauro d’Amato (drums) and Sven Bonnici (voice and guitar) just let the sound speak for itself. And speak it did, as the two musicians left their mark from the initial handful of gigs.

Fast forward to today, add a small hiatus and two new band members, and Errormantics have grown into a four-piece band, with the addition of Andre Farrugia on bass and Albert Xiberras on guitar.

Viewed from outside, this evolution appears to have been seamless. When the band officially launched the new line-up with a live gig at Coach & Horses in December, the sound that marked them out in the first place retained its distinctive feel, with the added edge provided by the new members.

When new members are added, the dynamic always changes

Of course, behind the scenes, the change in line-up necessitated much work and effort on the part of all four, not least because all the band’s music needed to be rearranged to accommodate the new formation.

“We had to rework all our previous material, a time-consuming process. But we were prepared for it – in reality, we were aware from the start that the band was likely to grow. The two-piece format was always going to be a temporary one, as we were not reaching the sound that we were after,” d’Amato says.

This was backed up by Bonnici, who was also keen on finding a bassist in order to be able to experiment more with the direction the music was taking. For a while, a Spanish musician joined the band on synths, and it started looking as though the band was on its way to a more permanent formation. This was not to last, and the new addition returned to his home country.

“He was good... really good,” Bonnici says wistfully. “We still regret losing him.”

But better things were on the way. Xiberras was the first to join, starting out on bass before moving on to guitar and backing vocals. Farrugia was next, on bass.

All four “shared history”, as Xiberras puts it with a grin – two of them had already played together previously in other bands, while others had family members in the same band, in the quirkily incestuous manner that is the wont in Malta.

“The scene does tend to feature the same faces, both with respect to musicians and to audience. But this isn’t just true of Malta – even abroad, schoolmates tend to wind up in the same band together. After all, it’s more fun to be in a band with your friends, than with strangers. You already know that you’re on the same wavelength,” d’Amato says.

In this case, they certainly were. Remembering the first band practice with Farrugia, Xiberras explains how they were playing a particular track for him. At one point there was a break in the music; Farrugia just interjected with the bass and ran off with it.

“He was totally on the same page as us, definitely a great indication of whether a new band member will fit in or not,” Xiberras says.

Farrugia laughs at the memory, adding that he had already heard the band’s new sound after the addition of Xiberras.

“It was already a bigger sound, so I was really keen to see what we could do once I joined. We gelled immediately and both Albert and myself found our place within the band before long. When new members are added, the dynamic always changes and at first it’s a bit touch-and-go whether the whole thing will work out. But it did,” Farrugia says.

All agree that the biggest advantage to this new line-up is that now the musical options are endless. Vocals are a lot more versatile, the song-writing process has become stronger and the bass has really rounded off the sound, bringing it closer to what d’Amato initially had in mind.

“From the start, I knew what sound I was after and I had been trying to emulate the bass by using the drums. Which was impossible, of course. When Andre joined, we were suddenly there,” he says.

Right now the band is in full song-writing mode, paving the way for the eventual recording of the first EP. The four are aiming for a live recording, no mean feat to achieve. Will we be hearing any of the new material during their upcoming gig? The reply is a coy “maybe”.

“For the recording, we are working on expanding our repertoire, particularly to complement the darker feel of tracks like Stoned and Nothing Satisfies. Most of the work will be done before; we have always focused on the live sound, so it feels more natural to record that way,” Bonnici says.

Until then, it’s lots of practice to get the band tightness that is a must to pull off a live recording. Judging by what I hear as I walk away, the four are well on their way to achieving this.

Errormantics will be playing with The Velts on Saturday at 9.30pm at Coach & Horses, Birkirkara.

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