Etnika recently performed in Australia, where they were warmly welcomed by Maltese and international audiences. Stephanie Fsadni listens to their latest album, which marks a new musical direction for the band – one they like to call ‘tripfolk’.

Maltese world music band Etnika has recently performed in Australia as part of the 2017 Maltese presidency of the Council of the EU.

Andrew Alamango (left) and Andrej Vujicic on the tamborines at the Sydney Opera House. Photo: Makiko IwakiriAndrew Alamango (left) and Andrej Vujicic on the tamborines at the Sydney Opera House. Photo: Makiko Iwakiri

Their tour catapulted them to Sydney, Newcastle, Wollongong, Canberra and Melbourne, where they promoted their latest album, Maddalena’s Marvellous Tripfolk Klabb, to numerous rounds of applause and standing ovations.

The tour was particularly significant for band members Andrew Alamango, Francesca ‘Ċikka’ Grima and Andrej Vujicic, whose passion for their art flourished in Australia.

The trio flew Down Under in the 1990s after finishing their bachelor degrees at the University of Malta. Alamango had applied for a working holiday whereas the other two furthered their studies at the College of Fine Arts, University of New South Wales.

Grima’s and Vujicic’s initiation into performing flamenco was born in Australia, while Alamango further interested himself in performance and the world music phenomenon, ethno-musicological research and the transmission of oral traditions, music and memory.

“Returning to Australia after so many years, especially performing on behalf of Malta’s current EU presidency in prestigious places like the Sydney Opera House was an honour as well as an incredible experience in view of the fact that this is where we felt the whole project was inseminated,” says Alamango.

“It was like coming full circle, this time given the opportunity to perform to Maltese, Australian and international audiences alike, who responded overwhelmingly.”

Another band member, Walter Vella, is still reeling from the experience.

“We had an enthusiastic welcome in all of our shows. We performed not only in different parts of the country but also to very different kinds of audience,” he says.

Walter Vella. Photo: Fiona PaceWalter Vella. Photo: Fiona Pace

“Undoubtedly, the Sydney Opera House performance was great and very important to us, but I personally enjoyed the club gigs, where the intimacy with the audience was much stronger.”

He describes their Melbourne performance at the Victoria Community Centre as “a riot”.

“The centre was packed with people who had probably never heard our music and although we presented certain well-known songs in a different way, they loved every minute of it.”

Since its inception, the band has had many different set-ups with musicians coming from various musical genres.

Alamango recounts the early years with Ġużi Gatt, Ruben Zahra and Steve Borg when the band was more focused on research and documentation of traditional instruments such as the żaqq, flejguta, żummara, tambur and the żafżafa. He says that meeting Toni Cachia ‘il-Ħammarun’, the last of the bagpipe players, tambourine player Tony Camilleri, and “soulful bard” Frans Baldacchino ‘il-Budaj’, among others, was a life-changing experience – they taught them about folk instruments and song.

“However, we also realised that we did not want to recreate museum pieces and that it was important to create new contexts for the instruments and sounds, which are relevant to us today,” adds Alamango.

“The Etnika performances gained popularity because of this. Up until then, there was little or no awareness, except maybe among academics, about folk instruments and their cultural contexts which had disappeared by then.”

Francesca Grima giving her all in a performance in Newcastle, New South Wales. Photo: Fiona PaceFrancesca Grima giving her all in a performance in Newcastle, New South Wales. Photo: Fiona Pace

The first Etnika performance was actually more of a little orchestra, where Maltese folk instruments were introduced, continues Vella.

“The music was all written down and it had more of a classical feel to it. After that initial performance, the band was toned down with fewer members which stayed together as a core group. We left more room for improvisation from the musicians with this formation, inviting different players outside the core group to perform with us each time we created a new repertoire.”

The band performed with that set-up for about seven years, in which they presented their new pieces in  the popular EtnikaFe performances in Malta and also  abroad.

It was like coming full circle, this time given the opportunity to perform to Maltese, Australian and international audiences alike, who responded overwhelmingly

After 13 years, the band released a new album featuring a novelty in its line-up: vocalist Alison Galea, who is best known as the lead singer of the alternative band Beangrowers.

“I have always loved different genres of music, so it was an exciting change for me to play and sing with Etnika. I still am very much involved in Beangrowers and The Shh and we are still releasing and working on new material,” says Galea.

“But I have always had a fascination with Maltese folklore, especially with our traditional music, lyrics and instruments.

“I joined Etnika as a guest singer back in 2004 and I am thrilled to now be part of the band. It is liberating to be able to sing and express myself in Maltese and bring an expression of the past while still bringing more recent influences to the music.”

The band’s third album, Maddalena’s Marvellous Tripfolk Klabb, also marks a complete new direction for Etnika.

“The album contains a mix of reinvented old Etnika songs and new tracks pointing towards a new musical direction we like to call tripfolk,” says Oliver Degabriele, who completes the current line-up.

Oliver Degabriele. Photo: Fiona PaceOliver Degabriele. Photo: Fiona Pace

“While keeping our acoustic roots intact, we experimented far more with effected electric guitars, bass and analogue synths. This gave the music a very retro-futuristic character which we sought to keep throughout the whole album.”

Source wise, the band is still inspired by aspects of traditional Maltese music.

“We’ve created an album that is meant to bring old sparks of Maltese music back to roaring life,” adds Degabriele.

The album is, in fact, titled after an old Carlo Satariano song, Maddalena, which tells the story of a young man serenading a woman and repeatedly calling for her to come out before being charged for public disturbance.

Etnika’s version of this song is quite different and contains a refrain which borrows from the “bormliża” or “Għana fil-għoli” previously predominantly sung by women as it requires a high-pitched and strained voice.

“Maddalena was one of the first songs we worked on and it gave us a clear direction for the rest of the album,” explains Degabriele.

“We liked the contrasting image of the repentant prostitute and, after having worked on an album, which proved to be a constant equilibrium of contrasts and surprises, we decided to give it its name.”

Some songs in the album were developed and composed along the years but were never recorded. These include Insiġ il-Ħolm and Rummiena, which were created in 2004 and 2005 respectively with lyrics by Leslie Vassallo and Norbert Bugeja. In 2003, il-Budaj wrote the lyrics for X’ser Ngħannu. Other songs like Maddalena, Bormliża and Il-Mara u x-Xitan were gleaned from traditional texts and recordings from old gramophone records of the 1930s.

The repertoire on the CD is quite strong in poetic lyrical content.

“This helped us enrich the songs, especially with Alison’s beautiful voice and interpretation,” points out Degabriele. “The lyrics speak of simplicity and beauty of folk guitars, evocative voices of old which question why we have forgotten to sing or what we will sing to future generations.”

Making up the music is an eclectic mix of instruments – 30 in all. Galea is on synth and guitar, Alamango on oud, electric and acoustic guitars, Degabriele on electric and double bass, Vella and Vujicic on cajón, bass drum, assorted percussion and toys, and Grima on percussion.

“As far as we know, it is probably the only album that features a pastizzi tray as an instrument,” claims Vujicic.

“There is a mechanical typewriter too, a wooden fan, bijambo, żafzafa tambur and żummara, also kalimba (thumb piano), katuba, body percussion and sampled speeches of Ġuże Cassar Pullicino and Il-Budaj, alongside bass synths, Wurlitzer organ and heavily effected electric guitars.”

Alison Galea is the new vocalist of the band. Photo: Fiona PaceAlison Galea is the new vocalist of the band. Photo: Fiona Pace

A prominent element of the band’s performances is Grima’s footwork, which some might associate more with flamenco… however, she tries to steer away from the Spanish dance during Etnika’s shows. Her performance is very dramatic and full of tension, especially during the Il-Mara u x-Xitan number.

“It has obviously been a challenge for me to stir away from flamenco rhythms and patterns as well as to incorporate just the sound of the footwork; obviously in a live performance, the visual aspect of dance is still very present,” remarks Grima.

“We experimented with sounds, some footwork is done in a pastizzi tray for example. I am keen to continue investigating and growing on this path because, at the end of the day, it’s not important what is done but how it is done and the emotion and the energy conveyed.

“The Maltese-Australian audience recognised that my discipline was flamenco dance but knowing that there wasn’t much or hardly any Maltese dance in the first place, they accepted and understood the beauty of expression as something that just goes straight to the heart.”

The band is currently working on securing concerts in Beirut, Berlin and Brussels, among other places.

“The mix of instruments, genres and the unique Maltese language makes it a treat for foreign audiences as much as it is for Maltese ones!,” says Degabriele.

They will not, however, be performing in any local festivals but are on the lookout for “new and exciting venues” in Malta and Gozo to use for their shows.

Vujicic is looking forward to touring and fine-tuning the current live show that is based on the new album.

“We are very motivated by the responses we received so far both locally and internationally… We are beginning to build a musical style that goes well with the current band line-up, and, more importantly, that we are all happy with, which is a minor miracle given our eclectic musical backgrounds. I think we may have stumbled upon a beginning of a new and particular sound that we look forward to developing and maturing.

“Of course, there will always be the ongoing challenge of seeing and presenting the Maltese musical and cultural heritage from a different angle and hopefully surprising and intriguing the audiences to partake in the journey. ‘Expect a few detours, expect the unexpected…’ says our band promo spiel, and we hope to make that ring true for our future projects.”

Etnika’s Australian tour was supported by The Ministry for Foreign Affairs, The High Commission of Malta in Australia and Arts Council Malta.

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