Skorba

CD'S NOW AVAILABLE THROUGH cdbaby.com<a Skorba BIO Skorba is a musical collaboration between John Robinson(Oud, Tamboura, Guitar), Bertie McMahon (bouzouki, waldzither, acoustic bass) and Andy Busuttil(percussion, vocals,whistles, clarinet, ney, zurna) and various guests including Paul Jarman performing original music sung in Maltese with a theme of cultural unification. The band Skorba was formed close to two years ago with a single purpose in mind, to represent in a fresh and unique way the cultural history of the Maltese Archipelago through songs written in Maltese. The compositions draw upon musical influences that reflect the Mediterranean and European cultures that have impacted upon Malta and Gozo over the centuries but significantly they come from a deep love of the homeland on Andy's part as leader and originator of the band. The vocal styles used in the music, whilst very different from, were also significantly inspired by, the street vendors of Malta and the Ghanejja, especially those who tended to move their songs through the full range of microtones. The music is supported by the presentation of beautiful images of the Islands and the magnificent Neolithic Temples.Since forming in mid 2005, Skorba have performed at the Peats Ridge Music festival (Dec 05) The National Folk Festival (April 06), and Ironfest Lithgow (April 06) as well as concerts for the Maltese Community in Sydney. We were delighted to open the National Folk Festival in Canberra this year (2007)with Merhba, a welcome. The thousands in the audience were quite affected by it. Our First recording project is an album of original songs and instrumental music, themed around the Ancient Neolithic Temples on malta. Constructed 6-8 thousand years ago, these temples are the oldest known free standing stone buildings in the history of humanity, and harboured an exquisite and peaceful culture. It has inspired John, Bertie and Andy to write music about these marvels. This is the first time anywhere in the world, an attempt to represent the multifaceted and multicultural history of Malta through original music, with poetry written in by Andy Busuttil in Maltese, the language of his forebearers. It is a great pleasure composing the music for this unique project, which we hope to bring to a festival near you in the near future. The CD Hagar Qim: Temples of Devotion is now available. Drop us a line if you want a copy. The track called Hagar Qim on this site is lifted off the new album. Hope you like it.