The Voyage may sound like the title of a high-budget epic movie (and could well be too) but within a local context, it is the name of one of the newest arrivals on the Maltese music scene, at least in terms of official releases. The four-piece rock band that is The Voyage has actually been around for about 3 years in some form or other. During that time it had operated largely behind closed doors, honing its sound and writing songs. All the hard work and preparation, hindered along the way by a number of line-up changes, finally culminated in present formation and the release of the band’s debut single, The Love You Never Took just a couple of weeks back. The song is a mid-paced slice of melodic radio rock with a subtle alternative edge to its sound that should easily find its way onto the local airwaves.
The band’s origin can be traced back to the demise of two of the local scene’s leading bands, namely Bitterside and Eve Ransom, which left the former’s bassist and vocalist Daniel Genuis and the latter’s drummer Daryl Curmi without a band. After working together in a number of projects, they eventually decided to focus on getting a band together. “Having been Bitterside’s frontman from start to end, I was looking to have a different role this time around”, says Genuis, adding that he was more than happy to take on the bassist’s role. “I’ve always enjoyed playing bass, as it builds up the groove together with the drums and controls the pace of the music”.
After working with several other musicians without any solid outcome, Curmi suggested Ian Bonnici as a vocalist, and the three met, for a chat initially, followed by a jamming session. “We felt we really clicked and decided to work as a trio, but by the time we had written a couple of songs, we felt we could do with another guitarist”. Genuis says they tried out different musicians, “some very great guys and musicians” as he describes them, “but after jamming together it became clear they weren’t on our wavelength”. Having all but given up, Bonnici suggested they should try out a friend of his. Enter Ryen Refalo and the present line-up fell into place, paving the way for the band to focus more intently on its music and direction.
“The Voyage was finally complete and ready to be heard by the public”, Genuis says, clearly quite pleased with the way things have turned out. The Love You Never Took was recorded at Railway Studios with Peter Borg. “We really had a great time working with Peter”, Genuis adds. “His ideas are fresh and he understood what we were after perfectly”. Good news then, that augurs well as the band continues to write more songs in preparation for its next release.
Listen to The Love You Never Took here.
The Voyage on Facebook
Photo by David 'dp' Attard