This is how Nigel Baldacchino describes the music of Fastidju,a music collaboration that sees the release of its debut album this week. He tells Ramona Depares about his multi-layered creative process

As luck would have it, the handful of Fastidju gigs that took place so far happened to be on days when it was impossible for me to attend. A disappointment, particularly as, through the grapevine, I kept hearing very good things about this music collaboration that is the brainchild of Nigel Baldacchino.

And now the big moment is here, the launch of the self-titled debut album – a double one, no less. Before catching up with Baldacchino for a chat about this launch, I try to look up some Fastidju tracks online. I only manage to find about three tracks, which takes me enough by surprise to make it one of the first points I bring up in the interview.

“I like to make sure that what is online is of good quality. I prefer having a few, good-quality tracks available, rather than increasing my presence with lesser-quality recordings,” he freely admits.

I find the tracks that are available – Faħam, God in a Taxi and Vjaġġ ma’ Spartaku – intriguing enough to loop about three times. It is difficult to categorise Fastidju as a genre. There is a base element of ambient, but a multitude of other sounds creep in, some taking the listener by surprise. To give one example, few tracks can be described as folk, ambient, post-rock and darkwave with a hint of industrial at the same time. Vjaġġ ma’ Spartaku is one of them.

“I do not like to label the music. Most of my tracks start out as abstract ideas. The skeleton grows into a multi-layered composition, so the genre tends to change continuously.”

I point out that most listeners, nonetheless, do like the comfort of a label. Baldacchino agrees, adding that if he had to describe to the music it would be by saying that “each track is a world of its own”.

“I try to keep the tracks to one idea: the initial concept is developed into the most beautiful version of itself that can realistically be achieved. The quirkiness and the unusual are not an end in themselves. The aim is beauty – if, along the way to get there, we can get to something unusual then that’s great,” he explains.

Of course, Baldacchino is no stranger to the creative process. An architect by profession, he is also a photographer who has seen his works exhibited in Malta and Brussels. His Tumblr account shows that his photography, like his music, projects a diversity of styles and moods; some works are surreal, others dark, others still project an innocent nostalgia. What is he: photographer or musician?

“This is a recurring question. How should I describe myself? I would say I’m someone with a lot of ideas, who doesn’t keep back from executing them. My profession is based on visuals, and it can be both a help and a hindrance, particularly in photography.”

As for music, Baldacchino had no formal training before embarking on Fastidju, a fact that he says actually helped to keep the creative process as unfettered as possible.

“I had certain ideas and structures in mind. They developed in a different way than they would have, had I been formally trained. You can see this from the album; the musical process is not necessarily the traditional one, and this is a good thing,” he says.

Asked to pin down the creative process when it comes to penning lyrics and music, Baldacchino replies that he tries not to distinguish the two, that he views them as two facets of one whole.

“They need to work together, they are one vision. But yes, the lyrics tend to be born first and, again, this is something that can be seen many of the tracks.”

Given his lack of music training, what prompted the decision to translate these ideas to music, as opposed to another art form? Baldacchino explains that this was a natural step – he spends most of his day listening to music, calling himself “borderline obsessive” about it.

“My constant input is music, so the progression was an obvious one. Fastidju started out as a series of writings that I wanted to structure to a melody. It is the result of six years’ worth of ideas, in fact I have about twice as much material as there is on the album.”

However, the album is split into two not because of the length, but because of a clear divide in concept. For starters, one is in English and the other in Maltese; the use of both languages is something that few musicians in Malta feel comfortable with.

My album is best experienced alone and with headphones

“Each language accommodates the different states of mind associated with the particular track. Some moods just would not translate well to English,” he says. “Take Faħam, it would never have worked in another language.”

Currently, he refers to Vjaġġ ma’ Spartaku as the album mascot, not necessarily because he thinks it is the strongest track, but because he feels that it represents the whole idea behind the album.

“It happened so naturally, both lyrically and musically. I composed a couple of chords and took it from there. The lyrics were ready in 25 minutes. It is very rare that this happens.”

Fastidju is not only Nigel Baldacchino; the musician is, in fact, collaborating with other names that are already familiar ones to those who follow Maltese music. There are Daniel Borg and Alexandra Aquilina, from Skimmed, Samuel Sciberras and Matthew Shields from The Violent Violets, Kris Agius from Arsha Our and Kurt Fenech. How integral is the rest of the band to Fastidju?

“Very. They all offered their creative input to the final result. I was the prime instigator, but they added their own vision and helped evolve it. The album was then produced and mastered by Mario Sammut (more known as Cygna).”

So why fastidju, the Maltese word that translates to ‘annoyance’, or a ‘nuisance’?

“For various reasons. I love the way the word sounds, even though it is not often used nowadays. The syllables sort of convey the idea of the meaning itself. And well, I suppose, it does render the idea of the music. The music leaves its mark, making it a bit of a fastidju.”

I ask him about the music he listens to all day. Does this translate to the album? Baldacchino hesitates before replying that the influences are not direct. He mentions the spirit of Brian Eno’s early ambient phase, which he listens to “a real lot”, as being present on the album.

“His music sort of brings to mind a rehearsed solitude. It is the sort of music that makes you want to listen to it alone, and this fascinates me. What is it in the chords that makes them sound better when you are alone? In the same way, my album is best experienced alone and with headphones.”

So I walk off to do just that.

Fastidju will launch the self-titled double album on Friday and Saturday at 8pm at St James Cavalier, Valletta, with the band Xiola opening. The album is supported by the Malta Arts Fund.

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