It had to happen really, although it's unclear whether it was because Malta is in his blood, or because of the overwhelming summer heat he experienced during his last visit here, or a bit of both. Whatever it was, it certainly flipped any intention to relax on its head, shifting Andre Camilleri's inspiration into top gear and yielding the 12 brand new songs one finds on his latest album - his third this year, by the way - which goes by the giveaway name of Made In Malta.
"I went back to Malta this year and wrote this album in the sweltering heat of August", the half-German/half-Maltese with a bit of Australian in the mix (not sure if I got those ratios right there, but what the heck!) singer-songwriter comments on his Bandcamp page, adding "not sure why, but the Rock always gets me in the mood". Inkeeping with the album's title, the cover photo was shot in Valletta, the hometown of Camilleri's late grandmother.
Released yesterday, Made In Malta was recorded in Australia with bassist Clark Fisher, organist Mark Nunis and accordionist Niall Howe, with Camilleri on guitar, percussion and as with all of his albums to date, vocal duties.
Made In Malta and all of Camilleri's album releases to date are available here.