As the second event in Spazju Kreattiv’s music series, local band The Busker will perform as a three-piece band alongside collaborators from their upcoming EP X. Lara Zammit discusses this latest EP with the band and how it differs from their previous work.
X can be described as a trilogy of collaborative singles. How would you describe the idea behind this EP?
X is an EP of collaborative songs, of which the first single, Just a little bit more, saw us partner up with Matthew James, while the second just released single, Don’t you tell me what to feel, features Raquela.
To create these singles, we aimed to take a different approach than what we used to do in the past. Firstly, we wanted to go to a place musically that we have never gone before. Since the three of us all come from different music backgrounds, we wanted to merge all our different styles in a way that made sense.
We also treated each track individually, whereas for an album you typically follow a theme or a mood. In this case, each single had its own style and identity.
How did the process of the creating this EP differ from the way you produced songs in the past? Why did you decide to go down the collaborative route this time round?
Following the departure of our previous frontman, we found ourselves as a newly found trio – something we have never experienced before. However, early on, we realised that we would love to take advantage of this opportunity and collaborate with some of our favourite local artists.
That was the birth of the X concept, which represents the transition period till we find our new frontman while at the same time keeping our creative juices flowing by collaborating with other artists.
The first act with whom we chose to collaborate, Matthew James, was a no brainer. He is an artist with whom we co-produced our second album and who was also involved in the early stages of an old Busker track in the making called Ritz hotel, which later came to be known as Just a little bit more.
As for the second track, having a female vocalist feature on one of our songs was also on our wish list as we admire a lot of female acts whom we had never had the pleasure of working with yet, so getting Raquela on board was a huge honour for us.
After this gig, we will unite with our third collaborator, who will be revealed as the new permanent vocalist for The Busker.
Did you come across any particular challenges during the production of this EP?
We pushed ourselves way outside our comfort zone for this EP because we wanted to explore new musical horizons and evolve, and we did not want to put a genre labelling to a track.
Let’s say, before creating Don’t you tell me what to feel, it started out as an Amy Winehouse/Celeste inspired track, but then it ended up sounding more like Miley Cyrus or Kate Bush. The song itself went through different journeys which obviously created a challenge for us to settle on a particular direction/sound.
For us it is always about finding new sounds and progressing with each release
How would you describe the musical style of these singles and the EP in general?
We would describe the musical style of the EP as hybrid nu funk merged with synth wave elements.
With Matthew James, we knew that we would dig into funk roots mixed with a pop element, whereas with Raquela we wanted to explore the 80s pop sensation with a twist of dream-pop elements in certain parts of the track.
This is a major departure from our early style, but for us it is always about finding new sounds and progressing with each release.
What’s next for The Busker?
On the first night of the gig, we will be officially announcing our new frontman (or woman), so the first thing we will be doing is celebrating the fact that we are once again a four-piece band with a new style and image.
We have been working on this transition for over five months now and can’t wait to share it with our followers. We will be focusing on the last single of X in order to complete the X EP, and from then we will start working on a new album which will be our first official album with this new line-up.
Apart from that, we would love to, as soon as the pandemic is over, tour abroad and return to playing major gigs locally, which is something which we have totally missed this past year.
In Transition is a hybrid event which will involve both live audiences and a livestream on February 6. The gig will take place at Spazju Kreattiv Theatre on Friday, February 5 and Saturday, February 6. Kersten Graham will play as a supporting act. For tickets and info, visit www.kreattivita.org/en/event/the-busker-in-transition-live/2021-02-05/