Local musician and singer-songwriter Michael Azzopardi has released a follow-up album to his debut EP Pistola, released in 2021.

Vaganza, an eclectic and varied album of Maltese tunes, meanders through 13 bittersweet songs of upbeat, heart-warming love.

“Writing the songs for Vaganza started at the tail end of the pandemic and peaked in 2022 while experiencing a longing for travel and romantic getaways,” says the songwriter.

“The songs are snippets from my past, with healthy doses of longing and hopefulness for beautiful days to come.”

Described as “an album of sunsets”, Vaganza sees Azzopardi reaching further inward for an authentic yet entertaining set of songs.

With tales of volcanic love erupting suddenly to the mellow sounds of summertime date nights, hot dreams of unattainable romance and other “baby-making anthems”, Azzopardi says Vaganza is a light-hearted holiday for the ears and the soul.

The album was produced by Jimmy Bartolo and Mark Axiak at Studio X. Axiak, a critically acclaimed and international music producer, also mixed the album, with David Vella from Temple studio doing the mastering.

“Vaganza has been a sort of playground for me as a producer, recordist, arranger and performer,” says Bartolo. “It has allowed me to tap deeper into my musical ability that only seemed to grow with every song Mike brought to the table.”

Co-producer Axiak maintains he had a similar experience working with Azzopardi and producing the album.

“I had the fortunate experience to produce two songs (Mewġa Żgħira and Forsi Nagħmlu Baby), which further strengthened our workflow and also added some new and colourful contributions to an already-established body of work,” he says.

The songs are snippets from my past, with healthy doses of longing and hopefulness for beautiful days to come

The album artwork for Vaganza was captured by international Maltese photographer Stephanie Galea.

“The artwork serves as a visual accompaniment to the melancholy-tinged spirit that threads through the entire record,” says Azzopardi.

“It is also a reference point for my musical inspirations that span across decades of music but linger mostly in the sounds of the 1970s.”

Azzopardi’s contemporary musical influences are many, and include artists like Devendra Banhart, Damon Albarn and Elliott Smith.

The album, written and composed by Azzopardi, includes performances by several local musicians including producers Bartolo and Axiak.

Other musicians featured on Vaganza include Noah Fabri from band Karmaġenn, Mark Abela ‘iz-Zizza’ from band Brodu, Sean Borg and John J. Bartolo from Brikkuni.

Electronic songstress JOON also makes an appearance, singing a duet with Azzopardi called Xatt ix-Xorti. Backing singers include Alexandra Galea, Jimmy Bartolo and Cher Camilleri.

You can listen to Vaganza on streaming platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube Music. Vaganza was produced by Jimmy Bartolo and Mark Axiak (Studio X), mixed by Axiak and mastered by David Vella from Temple Studios. The album was released via Ultralow Music.