In a week’s time, UK-based Maltese band Cable35 will be back on the rock – albeit for a brief visit – to launch its latest work, a seven-track EP simply titled Fungus – with a live performance on the second night of the Rock the South festival in Marsascala.
By basing ourselves abroad, we have many more opportunities to play gigs
The songs on the EP were recorded here during the band’s previous visit last month, which makes one think that, apart from hooking up with family and friends, it is, more often than not, music that brings these three young lads back to our shores.
“That, and pastizzi, of course,” they respond in unison, in that same spontaneous manner that they often display during their live performances. “We like to come over here to record as it also gives us the chance to spend time with our families, friends, and of course, touch base with the local music scene, which is still very dear to us,” says bassist Kriz Zahra.
The band, which apart from Zahra also includes guitarist and vocalist Jeff Zerafa and drummer Chris Mallia, has been gaining ground on the music scene in Britain since relocating to Sheffield less than two years ago.
Gigging abroad was something they’d often done, but what brought on the decision to move abroad? “Before moving to Sheffield, we used to drive our van (whose name is Martin, by the way) around Europe and get ourselves gigs along the way,” Zerafa explains. “That worked out fine for a while, but by basing ourselves abroad, we have many more opportunities to play gigs, and of course, the chance to put our name out there through making a lot of contacts.”
This has clearly all worked out to plan so far, but one wonders, why Sheffield and not London, the latter widely regarded as a music capital? They tender a couple of different reasons, one being that Sheffield is “the grassiest place in England” to the city’s central location.
“We placed our finger on a map of Britain, right where we figured the centre was – next stop, Sheffield,” says Mallia. The beaming smile on his face gave me the feeling he was pulling my leg, but in actual fact, Sheffield is rather well-positioned for a band that takes on gigs all over the country. “And we weren’t kidding about the grass, either,” he adds. “We really do have our own vegetable patch and grow our own greens.”
When they’re not tending to their carrots, marrows and potatoes, Cable35 are most likely to be found working on their music, or work related to it, such as the artwork for their flyers, cover art, their website, and of course, the videos they produce, which are always interesting and rather original. The latest of these is (as they refer to it) “the crazy clip” for Rental Sunshine, the first single to be released off Fungus, which was given away as a free download.
In the meantime, the band has sent out promotional copies of the Fungus EP to several music webzines, and from the reviews posted so far, the response has been very positive. This type of reaction from critics is not new to Cable35, as most of their live performances seem to draw similar reviews, and this has clearly helped boost the band’s profile to new heights, such as their inclusion as a new band to watch on popular music website Supajam.
By their own admission, they have learnt a few things along the way since they’ve been based abroad. “It is definitely a different environment to work in on many levels, and attitudes seem to vary depending on the city we’re playing in,” says Zahra.
Of course, having a wider selection of venues and different audiences to play to keep us on our toes,” Zerafa concurs. “At first we used to take on any gig that came along,” Mallia adds. “Now we can afford to filter which gigs to accept or refuse, but we still try to play as many as possible.”
Their consistency did not go unnoticed either, landing the band some festival slots along the way as well as a reputation for being a great live act to watch, which they consolidated further when they toured with Australian band Valentiine last October.
Right now however, their focus is on the Fungus EP, so I ask them to compare it to Louder, their previous release. Zerafa goes first: “I think the new stuff has a strong connection to the album, but there are also instances that link to our earlier stuff.” And as expected, Mallia’s contribution was never going to be straightforward: “It is a record of pluses and minuses”, to which he adds (but only after my insistence) that he sees it as a record of contrasts.
Last but not least, Zahra offers a more serious take, or so it seems: “I think it sounds rather fresh and contemporary, certainly more mature than Louder, and I believe it should blow this place apart,” he laughs.
Mindful of the lengthy tour that kicks off in Malta this week and that will take them to a number of European cities and around the UK to promote the new record, they admit they’re looking forward to being back home.
“We’re quite excited to be kicking off the tour in Malta,” Zahra says. “Playing in front of our friends is always a great feeling, and we’re also looking forward to seeing what the other bands playing at Rock the South are up to.”
Blending a melodic punch with their punk roots and elements of old-school grunge, Cable35’s sound – which they have branded Fungus Rock – has a revitalised, powerful air about it that makes it somewhat unique, despite the references it openly spews, but in the end, it’s all about the fungus and it rocks.
Cable35 will be performing live on Saturday at Zion in Marsascala. For more information, look up the Rock the South event page on Facebook or visit www.cable35.co.