Yews at Coach & Horses

As the Maltese Islands experience a refreshingly windy weekend, a large crowd is drawn to Coach & Horses. Almost two hours late, Yews takes to the stage at 10:55pm. Today she is performing with drummer Manuel Pulis, who has played with Brikkuni and local jazz bands. The music starts out very dreamy, soft chords emerge from her laptop and light beats drift from the drums. To this base, Yews adds vocals looped through her digital sampler and lyrics lightly shouted into the mic. Aside from some problems with the sound, it is a promising beginning beginning.

Her next song is 'In Time', a sweet child-like track accented by bold drumming and digital xylophone. Yews' style shows clear influence from Bjork and Grimes. Sound trouble persists as static bursts from the speakers intermittently.

Yasmin has been busy developing her sound in London. Her next track is lovely, very well structured with orchestral undertones from the laptop and focused drumming. Yasmin's vocals have also improved from the last time I saw her perform - at Sickfest last year. Gone are the wild animal screeches, replaced by soft tones voicing tender lyrics. Her sound has really developed and matured. Rather than being the focus of her music, she now uses her voice as a tool to bring together all the elements into one coherent piece. It is well put together and entertaining to listen to. The softness of Yasmin's tone is set off by the bold drumming, this is no lullaby.

Yews

Her technique in the use of the sampler had always shown promise, but this performance demonstrates a mature restraint. It hasn't yet reached the level of Owen Pallett (who we saw live here a few yeas ago), but Yews' style is somewhat different to his. She doesn't seem to find it hard to hold back, considering her previous loud hypnotic style. I think this might have something to do with studying sound art & design at the London University of Arts. It's such a shame that we have to export our talent to learn technique abroad.

Her music tends to be a bit repetitive, as atmospheric music does. Halfway through the gig, the tracks blend into each other. Later in the performance, the drumming is becoming overindulgent and overshadowing the music. The problem with the sound continues, and Yasmin has little conferences with the sound engineer between each track, ruining any continuity and needlessly lengthening the set.

Drummer Manuel Pulis

With only three songs to go, drummer Manuel Pulis grabs a microphone and apologises for the delays, blaming technical difficulties. He reminds the crowd that Yasmin traveled from London to perform for us and attempts to stir up encouragement.

Resident cat, Molly, trots up on stage. Yasmin offers her a microphone but (few people know this) Molly is actually deaf and therefore can't hold a tune. She is gently ushered off stage.

Yews ends the set on a new song, which features choral chanting as a background. It is a highlight track, reminiscent of John Murphy's work on the 28 Weeks Later soundtrack.  After negotiating with the audience, Yews agrees to play an encore and then ends at 11:50pm.

Yews on soundcloud 

Images: (1) Yews Facebook page, (2, 3) personal photos

When: 10th August 2013

Where: Coach & Horses, Msida

Who: Yews with Manuel Pulis

Price: 3e

Brikkuni Live at City Theatre

 

As one approaches the City Theatre, the sound of locals shouting becomes louder, leading the way like the star of Bethlehem.

City Theatre is a sterile place, the hotel-like lobby is peculiarly devoid of character. Attendees must climb several flights of stairs to get to the theatre. The standing area is modern and plain, however an effort has been made to liven it up with projected shapes and movie clips running on a loop on the stage backdrop.

At 9.50pm, Alex Alden takes to the stage with percussionist Luke Briffa. Alden’s powerful mastery of vocals is complemented by the country/blues style of music she plays. Her lyrics and the way she sings present the image of an older songwriter. Despite her use of just two instruments, the depth of sound produced is of many more. Alden clearly understands music to the point where she is able to deconstruct it to a bare minimum without sounding empty. She would be very well-suited to performing in a piano bar in some downtown cosmopolitan city. She is young but so obviously comfortable on stage on her own.

 At 10.51pm the main act begins. Brikkuni are a large outfit, with more performers than a standard band. The five guys on stage and the backing vocalists are joined by Mario Vella, the mastermind behind Brikkuni, swaying and bouncing around in the spotlight like a simian pop star.

The first song is about kannoli. I thought I had misheard the lyrics but no, “kannoli bla krema” are indeed the lyrics. The audience really loves this band. The standing area is totally full, and as each song ends the crowd claps and sways boisterously. It is immediately apparent that the crowd is just as much a part of the gig as the performers on stage. Mario doesn’t announce the names of songs, he doesn’t even need to as the audience recognizes them and sings along.

Brikkuni use a strong bluesey bassline with rhythmic drums, joined by several guitarists (I count 7 guitars on stage), 2 synthesizers, 2 trumpets and a violin. The result is a deep and overpowering sound, sometimes like a fanfare or local band club – very noisy and invasive. The crowd loves it. And Mario is something else. His endless energy is reflected by the crowd, as he jumps around they jump around too, in a hypnotic spiral of movement.

The difficulty in using Maltese lyrics is that they tend to be very aggressive and monotonous. Mario’s lyrics and delivery are certainly aggressive, but he uses this to his advantage because together with the depth of sound from the band, the music and vocals come together. The political songs are like a chant for an angry mob.  This aggression is a result of Mario’s use of ultra-Maltese elements (lyrics, topic, band-club arrangement) which suggest that Brikkuni have something to prove - that a band can be Maltese and also be successful; although to date only one band has been signed to a major record label, and they use English-language lyrics. Each song screams “Jien Malti u kburi” (translation: I am Maltese and proud) – and this is why the crowd loves them. It is an identification of spirit. 

Mario’s handling of his own vocals is precise, he only comes off as harsh when he intends to, and he can also hit a few high notes. Mostly, he is on key and very accurate with the use of tone, varying it according to the demand of the song. The sound is very traditional, due to the choice of instruments and the theme.

The large stage is fully-occupied with 10 people most of the time. They are comfortably clustered in little groups, almost like patrons sitting at little tables in a band club. 

The projections change with each song, moving from scenes of urban transport and commuting to vintage Popeye dance routines and an idolization of Arnie Schwarzenegger’s muscle man routine. I am unsure if each clip complements its corresponding song because they could easily be interchanged; however they add character to the room and the music. The most memorable was Popeye and Olive Oyl dancing to Il-Bar ta’ Taht il-Knisja, as the crowd sang along, perfectly may I add. The different layers of the performance – the projections, the band, and the crowd – were very entertaining because of their unifying theme.

Photos: (1) Brikkuni Facebook page; (2, 3, 4) personal photos

When: 15th March 2013

Where: City Theatre, Valletta

Who: Alex Alden, Brikkuni

Price: 8e