It’s been a busy year for Maltese rock band Airport Impressions. Further to releasing debut album Minutes of a Lifetime last October, the band has scarcely been out of the limelight, picking up the Best Band, Best Song and Presenters’ Choice awards at the Bay Music Awards and enjoying continuing success with all their recent single releases, including latest release Retro Star.

Their success, as well as their reputation for being a great live act, seems to have also caught the eye of foreign markets, leading to the band’s recent live performance in front of some 5,000 people in Sweden.

Maltese rock fans will be able to see the band in action whenAirport Impressions headline an outdoor concert this Friday in Żurrieq.

The concert, which is free but donations will be accepted for Puttinu Cares, is being organised by St Catherine Band Club, Żurrieq, and will also feature two other local acts, Two Time Shooter and The Crowns.

Two Time Shooter is a five-piece band whose influences include 1970s rock ’n’ roll to 1990s grunge and beyond. The band won the 2010 Rookies Battle of the Bands, and further to releasing debut single Heather’s Rope, has just returned from recording its first album in Ibiza.

The Crowns are also relatively new arrivals to the local scene, but have wasted no time in getting themselves noticed, thanks largely to their recent debut single,Memories, which has also been released as a club mix with production by top local DJ/producer Toby.

Interview with Airport Impressions

Minutes of a Lifetime has been very positively received since its launch last October…

Yes, the album’s success proves that hard work really pays off in the end. Being our first album, we took the opportunity to experiment With different styles, balancing style and song-writing moods as much as possible to maintain continuity so that the listener could play it from start to finish without skipping any songs, and going by the positive feedback we got, it seems to have worked.

We also got lots of encouraging comments about the messages we tried to express through the songs; the main concept of the album was about freedom of expression, and the positive reception the album got obviously helped boost our impact on the local music scene.

We realised just how much the album had struck a chord with the people when we were playing live – hearing the entire audience singing along to the new songs gave us a great feeling, and we realised the album had taken us to another level, one which we could use to connect more with people of all ages.

Without doubt one of the more prominent events in your calendar this year was your live performance in Sweden…

It was indeed one of the most exciting events we played at this year. We were very surprised when we were asked to perform at the inauguration of the Tierp Arena but we took on the challenge to play in front of a foreign audience that knew nothing about our music.

The reception we got was fantastic, and since drag racing is so popular in Nordic countries, the event was highly publicised, which obviously gave us a lot of exposure abroad too.

We made some important contacts in Sweden, and as a result, our song Walk With Me has been getting some airplay on several Swedish radio stations. We’ve been in discussions about opportunities similar to this one, but nothing has been confirmed as yet.

Your most recent single Retro Star is markedly different from the rest of the songs on the album…

Very true… it has a different vibe to the rest of the songs. In fact, its release as a single was deliberate to emphasise the album’s different styles and that we as a band aren’t tied to a particular style. We feel the song’s adventurous vibe – a kind of REM-meets-Counting Crows inclination – should still appeal to alternative audiences.

What has the band been up to as regards new material?

Well, apart from practising hard to improve and enhance our live act, we’ve been working and jamming some new ideas. Most have been recorded live at our rehearsal studio, and we’re currently in the shortlisting process, following which we can focus fully on shaping the new songs and record some demos. There will be more shortlisting to do, however, before we finally start recording a new album early next year.

I’d say the new material will probably sound rawer as we’ve recently been adopting a ‘less-is-more’ approach in our jamming sessions and allowing more space into the music. The acoustic numbers will have more prominent folk inspirations, and we’ve also embraced a ‘post-punk’ slant in our verses, blending it with the natural melodic essence instilled within us, although this has proved a bit tricky.

You’ll be headlining a charity concert in Żurrieq on Friday. What prompted this concert, and could you say something about your supporting acts, and what we should expect from Airport Impressions on the night?

We’re looking forward to this concert. The organisers approached us with the idea about a year ago, and they’ve worked very hard to make it a reality, for which we’re obviously very grateful. On our part, we’re all fired up to make it another memorable concert this year, especially as it will be the last of our summer events before we move on to the next phase and start working on the next album.

We would like to thank all our fans for their support of our album and live concerts, and a huge thanks to the team behind this concert for theirprofessional approach anddedication.

We’re pleased to be sharing the stage with Two Time Shooter and The Crowns, whose participation will definitely make the concert more interesting, and we’re eager to hear more new material from them.

See you in Żurrieq.

www.airportimpressions.com