Songs for Connie the cashier

What do you think made last year’s event so successful, and do you look forward to recreating it?

Mario Vella (vocalist, Brikkuni): I think the fact that both bands are a rather unique (locally speaking of course) live proposition inevitably arouses a greater degree of curiosity. Another reason may be attributed to the considerable wit and biting satire which marks both bands’ output. People enjoy a good laugh although from our personal point of view we are more into juggling the comical with the bittersweet. We simply look forward to a fun and energetic gig and we’re rather confident we will manage to improve upon last years’ effort.

Marvin Zammit (guitarist, Xtruppaw): Last year we stole Aladdin’s lamp and used our three wishes on (i) saving the world economy from the recession, (ii) having a good attendance for the gig, (iii) election of Xtruppaw in Malta’s 2013 elections so that we can preside over the EU in 2017. Two down, one to go. This year we’re out of magic lamps, so we’ll have to trust our two fans to spread the word.

Both of you will be taking a sabbatical from gigs to concentrate on new material. How far along are you with your new albums, and will you be previewing some more new songs?

MV: We’re still a long way from a deadline. We are currently demoing and with demoing you end up taking a lot of time embellishing or doing away with arrangements. However by Winter 2011 album should definitley be out. Our set will be composed of 5 tracks off next years album. Cikku C-Cinkwina & Nixtieq are already rather familiar, however It-Tnejn, Zonqor and Irkotta have only been played once or twice. They are still relatively brand new.

MZ: What do you mean ‘will be taking a sabbatical?!’ We’ve been on a sabbatical for ages now! We’ve been writing new material but have been putting off recording the new CD for several reasons, all of which I can’t clearly picture at the time of writing... But now we’ve put our mind to it and have actually started garage recordings of our new songs in preparation for a proper studio recording early next year. We’re well past the half-way mark, and now that we’ve actually set some targets for ourselves we’re making good progress. We’ve just taken a short break from the recordings to prepare for the gig, but we’re already set to resume... after the due festive season celebrations, of course.  

Can we expect a more ‘involved’ collaboration in the near future too? Have you toyed with the idea of writing a song together?

MV: Not at the moment no. We are still stuck in the ‘mutual respect’ phase (laughs). I would be happy to oblige if the right song came along.

MZ: You can’t really expect us to remember all the ideas we’ve toyed with, now, can you? Who knows what the future has in store for us? We’ll have to hurry though – you know, with the world coming to an end in 2012 and all... oh s$%t! that means no EU presidency for Xtruppaw then…
 
What do you think are some key similarities – and differences – between both bands?

MV: The way I see it (I don’t know if Marvin agrees) Xtruppaw are a no holds barred comedy act in the vein of Italy’s Elio E  Le Storie Tese, the most notable exception being that Xtruppaw are actually very funny. Brikkuni on the other hand are more into morbid satire with an ‘unhealthy’ dose of pathos thrown in for good measure. A key similarity is the authentic air of Malteseness (whatever that means) which singles out their songs from their contemporaries.

MZ: Apart from the devilish good looks you mean? Well there’s the obvious – none of us are afraid of writing exclusively in Maltese and using... let’s just say ‘unorthodox’ language. Then there’s the not-so-obvious: we’re all leprechauns in disguise. As for the differences… well, Xtruppaw aim more to be funny, whereas Brikkuni like to put in a message in their songs.     
 
You’ve clearly made a mark on the music scene, ‘alternative’ as your niche may be. Do you think it’s growing, and are you expecting an even better turnout than next year?

MV: I have grown quite a bit displeased with the term ‘alternative’. Alternative usually conjures the image of self-proclaimed tortured artistes quaking in their boots at the idea that Connie the cashier might actually connect with one of their songs. We write pop music. The fact that we do strive to deliver slightly more demanding pop tunes should not shackle us with such classification. I do think that appreciation is growing, but I am also fully aware that our attitude (or perhaps mine, to be fair on my bandmates) will ultimately undo the band’s potential to further infiltrate the mainstream.  Which is just as good. Life goes on anyway.

MZ: We’ve been around for a number of years now but we still meet people who have just recently started to follow us (and I’m not only talking about stalkers). We even notice that during the gigs there aren’t always the same faces, but the crowd is very varied. We’ve always enjoyed a good attendance, and we like to think that the crowd always enjoyed the show. We’ve got a few surprises up our sleeves for this one as well... and we’ve got sleeves that would make Santa’s present sack green with envy, so be warned!

The event is organised by HairyAmp. Tim Ellis and Club Sandwich will once again be the DJs for the night. Tickets at €12 can be bought from www.maltaticket.net or any Agenda, Exotique and Vodafone outlet. Tickets at the venue will be at €14.