Etnika will be the opening act that launches Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti’s next major project, Music in Malta from Prehistory to Vinyl – an exhibition that will open in April next year along with a full programme of performances by local and foreign musicians. Iggy Fenech chats to the six members of the group to find out more about their exciting performance at the Manoel Theatre.

“Since its inception, Etnika has not only been concerned with preserving old Maltese sounds, but has also undertaken the difficult task of producing a contemporary Maltese – or, rather, Mediterranean – sound that does not immediately hark to sounds from the region.”

The quote above is by Walter Vella (tenor and baritone sax, flute and alto flute, flejguta). With it we come directly to the point of why the band’s upcoming concert is the perfect way to launch Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti’s (FPM) calendar of events anticipating the exhibition of musical instruments sourced from Maltese private and public collections, that will open in April next year.

“Our upcoming concert is the first in a series of concerts organised by Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti… Malta has clearly always inherited layers of culture, and that means musical instruments too,” explains Andrew Alamango (electric guitars, oud, tambur, żummara, żaqq, backing vocals). “These instruments are not necessarily indigenous, which leads us to two questions: What is a unique Maltese sound? And does it even exist?”

To create its original sound, Etnika has been researching local music and sounds since its early days back in 1999. This research has been multi-faceted and has included looking at how the voice was used as an instrument in itself, at how traditional instruments were built and the techniques that were used to play them. This has created a completely exportable ‘local’ sound, which has taken the band everywhere from the Sydney Opera House in Australia to the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland.

“The storytelling and musical atmospheres we create – especially with our most recent ‘tripfolk’ [a mix of trip hop and folk] sound – help to take people to a place where nostalgia meets with tradition, but which also stays in tune with the times,” Alison Galea (voice, keys, electric guitars) explains.

“Touring in Australia was a particularly emotional experience, in fact, because we reached out to members of the Maltese community who had never had the opportunity to see a Maltese band perform songs they remembered from their childhood,” she continues. “It also made them proud to introduce newer generations to it and us. However, it is also equally special when foreign audiences connect with us and Malta through our music.”

One of the most important exercises of Etnika’s work, however, has been to get as close to the source as possible when creating their work. In fact, the band members don’t just read historical documents and listen to old recordings but also travel the length and breadth of the country speaking to octogenarian exponents.

The storytelling and musical atmospheres help to take people to a place where nostalgia meets with tradition

“The knowledge imparted is woven into the very fabric of our material,” Andrej Vujicic (cajón, katuba, bijambo, tambur, żafżafa, kalimba, typewriter, body percussion, backing vocals) tells me. “However, we don’t exclude anything when it comes to potential inspiration. In fact, we recently unearthed a stash of 1930s recordings of local folk and popular music.”

Elements from these recordings have seeped into Etnika’s work, and will now be contextualised within the band’s incredible mix of elements that has defined their creations. In a way, their work is a living exhibition of the history of Malta’s sounds and instruments. “Specifically during the Manoel Theatre concert, the young għannejja Mariele Zammit will be joining Alison to illustrate the development of the song from its authentic għana origins to the current Etnika arrangements,” Francesca Grima (footwork on wood and pastizzi tray, body percussion) tells me.

Yet Francesca herself will be bringing another layer of tradition that is often associated with music. “Over the past 18 years, I have worked directly with Etnika to create a dance which is neither flamenco nor Maltese but unique to the band. The dance has elements from both cultures and, in several numbers, I have used more percussive elements of the dance – like the footwork and body percussion – to accompany the songs.”

Adding to this, Oliver Degabriele (double and electric bass, keys, bass synths, backing vocals) says that just like past Etnika concerts, the one at the Manoel Theatre will not be ‘just a series of live songs’ but rather ‘an intimate affair’ that will showcase the songs the band has created through almost 20 years of research.

“Musically, we will be infusing our tripfolk sound with some old classics, as well as some more contemporary and new compositions. Visually, Francesca will be centre stage to paint an even wider picture with her dance and fascinating footwork, which turns her into a living percussion instrument.”

The experience, I’m told, will once again be ‘somewhat nostalgic’ but rather than being a showcase of past folk music and past folk instruments to look at from behind glass, the concert will show how old Maltese sounds and instruments can be relevant out of the confines of a museum wall.

This is the first in a series of concerts organised by Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti. Malta has clearly always inherited layers of culture, and that means musical instruments too, and not necessarily indigenous.

In many ways that will be the gist of FPM’s exhibition, Music in Malta from Prehistory to Vinyl, that will run from April to June 2019, which seeks not just to show people what a żummara, a flejguta, a katuba, a żaqq, or a tambur looked and sounded like, but to give these instruments a context within our modern world. Preparations for the exhibition are intensifying and it promises to be an extraordinary one in line with FPM’s previous offerings.

Indeed, as FPM and a mixture of local and foreign musicians explore what Maltese sounds are and how they were and are created – be it through extinct lyras, the traditional żafżafa or the baned tal-każin – they will take us on a journey of identity… Because music says as much about our history and culture and shared Mediterranean tastes like nothing else can.

Etnika’s concert at Teatru Manoel on November 30 will launch Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti’s calendar of performances for the Music in Malta - From Prehistory to Vinyl project. Tickets are available online.

www.teatrumanoel.com.mt
www.musicinmalta.com