The past two years have been extremely challenging for many, not least for those who make a living from the arts. For those whose livelihoods depend on performing, it’s been particularly tough.
But, as the old saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention and for MTEAM, the power of technology proved crucial.
Lead singer Matthew James Borg, said: “Despite the lockdowns using Zoom and Skype we were able to come together, set up our new band and then write and produce our first single 1991. This was all done completely remotely. Released in May 2020, it was still relatively early on in the pandemic, but we already had a sense that some things had changed forever.”
Having noted MTEAM’s use of technology to overcome the challenges of the pandemic and the positive public response to their music, Melita approached the band with an idea to take things to a whole new level.
Mireille Muscat, head of marketing at Melita Limited, said, “We knew that Melita was going to launch 5G nationwide in early 2021 and we wanted to do something that would highlight how amazing this new technology is. Remote collaboration is one of its key advantages and when we say how MTEAM were already working together, it made perfect sense to bring them on board.”
Band member Micimago, said: “To be honest, although I’ve obviously heard about 5G, I hadn’t realised how close we were to being able to use this new generation of mobile technology in Malta. The much faster speeds and incredibly low time delay in sending and receiving information make it possible to use mobile internet for a whole range of new applications. One of those applications is remote, real time, performances. And that’s exactly what Melita wanted to showcase.”
On paper, the idea was a simple one. The four of band members of MTEAM would set up in four different locations around Malta and, using Melita’s 5G network, perform and record the new single Living in a New World live.
Having four musicians in four different locations recording a live performance together is incredible. The main challenge, of course, in ensuring everyone is in time. Everyone in the band needs to keep to the beat. That can be a challenge when you’re all on the same stage, never mind when one of you is in Ta’Qali, and the others are in Sliema, Valletta and Marsaxlokk. But work, it did.
Borg concluded: “Now we know that it really can be done, rehearsing for gigs, or even performing for the public might never be the same again. For MTEAM, the experience of using 5G was great fun but it did bring home the potential of this new technology. It was also a great learning experience which, thanks also to the expertise of the Melita team that helped put this activation together, made us fully appreciate how this technology can be used to help us work and live better. It’s time to embrace the fact that we are living in a new world.
”MTEAM is made up of Matthew James Borg, Micimago, Kugene and Mr. M.