M3P - User contributions [en]

Adolf Formosa

2012-12-20T16:52:55Z

Adolfformosa: Created page with " Singer-songwriter Adolf Formosa (b. 1976) is probably Malta's best kept musical secret. While hugely prolific within the privacy of his home and known among close friends for..."

Singer-songwriter Adolf Formosa (b. 1976) is probably Malta's best kept musical
secret. While hugely prolific within the privacy of his home and known among close
friends for his substantial body of work, his releases have always been DIY affairs
(artwork also Adolf's work) given out to friends, without having any impact at all
on the public, even within the confines of the local alternative music sphere. This
reluctance to grace the public eye belies his membership in two bands over the
years, both of which made their mark on the local music scene. The first of these
was the seminal indie band [[One Dead Poet]], which Adolf joined in 1996 on rhythm
guitar. His connection with the band ended in 1998 after recording the band's one
and only album.

Following his stint with [[One Dead Poet]], Adolf soon left the island to spend a year
in Guatemala. This experience had a big effect on him, evidenced by his intense
song writing activities upon returning home in 2001. After long months holed up in
his room, a chance encounter with three individuals ([[Julien Saliba]], [[Alex Vella Gera]]
and [[Peter Sant]]) led to Adolf joining the very loose collective of artists/musicians
who had recently started to meet up at Peter Sant's place in Arturo Mercieca Street,
Sliema. After a number of jamming sessions with Peter, Adolf started to bring his
own songs out in order for them to be hammered into shape together with Peter, who
then recorded them. These first sessions ultimately led to Adolf's first solo album,
entitled "Philein - The Small Philodendrons", which he completed in 2003. Round
about that time, Peter was also busy steering [[Alex Vella Gera]]'s rough musical talents
with recordings of the latter's songs, and this collaboration was soon to mature into
the duo [[Hunters Palace]]. Meanwhile, occasionally Peter, Adolf and Alex would write
together. Adolf's musical journey was now clearly no longer confined to the bedroom. He was
soon working with [[Oliver Degabriele]], a former band mate from [[One Dead Poet]],
who had by then begun to explore jazz and was soon to move to Paris as a fulltime
musician. This collaboration led to an ep, "The Loev Lids".

Soon after Adolf again left Malta for an extended period, this time to France. Upon
his return in the summer of 2003 his memories of those happy days spent
recording with Peter and Alex led him to buy a digital 4-track recorder. He was soon
holed up at home again, writing and recording incessantly, until out of the blue he
was invited by Peter and Alex, who by then were thriving as [[Hunters Palace]], to join
them, but not on guitar. They needed a drummer, and Adolf obliged. Being totally
untrained on drums, he soon developed his own primitive style, aided by his use
of Christmas decoration fronds instead of sticks to create the sharp but mellow
sound required. Adolf's membership in the now trio lasted a number of months, with
some memorable live gigs, and the recording of an important ep, [["It's Cold Outside"]].
The final recording sessions with [[Hunters Palace]] developed into interesting
improvisations, the memory of which would later draw Adolf and Alex back together.
Meanwhile Adolf continued to record at home alone and compile album after album,
including "Adolf", "Flores", "Bag of fruit" and "Tuck me in".

In the autumn of 2004 Hunters Palace disbanded when Peter moved to London,
and before long Alex and Adolf were jamming together on acoustic guitars. This
collaboration resulted in the duo, [[Treeears]], a project which peaked in summer 2005
with two DIY albums and an impromptu gig at the refugee camp in Ħal Safi, at a time
when racial tensions were on the rise in the country.
Soon enough Adolf found himself solo again, and it was back to the usual modus
operandi of extensive writing and home recording, even when he moved to the UK to
pursue his studies in graphic design.

On his return to Malta Adolf subsequently teamed up with Roxanne Gatt, an up
and coming drummer, to form a band that soon imploded, only for Roxanne's sister
Samantha to step in. This was how the duo/project [[Xiola]] was born. After a
promising set of demos in 2010, a semi-official release in late 2012, entitled "Bay
of Pigs", may mark the beginning of a new and perhaps more significant chapter in
Adolf's music career, and a more visible public profile.

Xiola

2012-12-17T13:10:08Z

Adolfformosa:

'''Xiola''' date back to 2009, when [[Adolf Formosa]] and Roxanne Gatt decided to start making music together. It was jamming sessions, with a guitar and a drum-kit. As soon as they started playing something felt right; making music together seemed natural. Although both were happy with just the drums and guitar, they felt that something was missing. Adolf being a songwriter himself had many songs, which were happily waiting there in his little black book until the time for those words was right. A month later, Samantha Gatt, who used to be present for most of the jamming sessions, joined the band and this is when they realised that this was the actual birth of Xiola.

As she picked up the microphone and started singing they knew that this was exactly what the songs/band needed to be complete.
She started writing songs too, and together with Adolf, his guitar/voice, and Roxanne’s drumming, they started speaking a language, which for a long time was hidden within them.
Xiola changed quite a lot from then. Roxanne had to leave the band, and the drums were gone, but the songs matured. Samantha’s voice, on it’s own, speaks out more than just words. This, combined with Adolf’s guitar playing and songwriting, produced something intense that sounds as if it was the work of more than just a duo.

Their music is shared intimately in the production of a hundred copies of their new album '''Bay of Pigs''' (2012), preceded by their unreleased ep by the name of ''2010'', in which all songs were co-written with Roxanne on drums, occasionally on guitar and one appearance accompanying her twin-sister, Samantha, on vocals on the song ''Bitchy Red Square''. When you get to listen to Xiola’s first album, ''Bay of Pigs'', you experience something quite different. It feels like your emotions get tangled up, yet they still seem to be floating elegantly. You feel the sadness, but at the same time something inside you seems to enjoy this and find the inner beauty in it.

Whatever it is they do not even know, they are just sharing their passion and intimacy through writing and melody.

Xiola

2012-12-16T15:46:30Z

Adolfformosa:

'''Xiola''' date back to 2009, when [[Adolf Formosa]] and Roxanne Gatt decided to start making music together. It was jamming sessions, with a guitar and a drum-kit. The two
had never played together before, but as soon as they started playing something felt right; making music together seemed natural. Although both were happy with just the drums and guitar, they felt that something was missing. Adolf being a songwriter himself had many songs, which were happily waiting there in his little black book until the time for those words was right. A month later, Samantha Gatt, who used to be present for most of the jamming sessions, joined the band and this is when they realised that this was the actual birth of Xiola.

As soon as she picked up the microphone and started singing they knew that this was exactly what the songs/band needed to be complete.
She started writing songs too, and together with Adolf, his guitar, and Roxanne’s drumming, they started speaking a language, which for a long time was hidden within them.
Xiola changed quite a lot from then. Roxanne had to leave the band, and the drums were gone, but the songs matured. Samantha’s voice, on it’s own, speaks out more than just words. This, combined with Adolf’s guitar playing and songwriting, produced something intense that sounds as if it was the work of more than just a duo. These elements in the band communicated so well together as one body.

Their music is fresh, and new, and personal. It is shared intimately through the production of a hundred copies of their new album '''Bay of Pigs''' (2012), preceded by their unreleased ep by the name of ''2010'', in which all songs were co-written with Roxanne on drums, occasionally on guitar and one appearance accompanying her twin-sister, Samantha, on vocals on the song ''Bitchy Red Square''. When you get to listen to Xiola’s first album, ''Bay of Pigs'', you experience something quite different. It feels like your emotions get tangled up, yet they still seem to be floating elegantly. You feel the sadness, and the pain, but at the same time something inside you seems to enjoy this and find the inner beauty in it.

Whatever it is they do not even know, they are just sharing their passion and intimacy through writing and melody.

Xiola

2012-12-16T14:43:33Z

Adolfformosa:

'''Xiola''' date back to 2009, when Adolf Formosa and Roxanne Gatt decided to start making music together. It was jamming sessions, with a guitar and a drum-kit. The two
had never played together before, but as soon as they started playing something felt right; making music together seemed natural. Although both were happy with just the drums and guitar, they felt that something was missing. Adolf being a songwriter himself had many songs, which were happily waiting there in his little black book until the time for those words was right. A month later, Samantha Gatt, who used to be present for most of the jamming sessions, joined the band and this is when they realised that this was the actual birth of Xiola.

As soon as she picked up the microphone and started singing they knew that this was exactly what the songs/band needed to be complete.
She started writing songs too, and together with Adolf, his guitar, and Roxanne’s drumming, they started speaking a language, which for a long time was hidden within them.
Xiola changed quite a lot from then. Roxanne had to leave the band, and the drums were gone, but the songs matured. Samantha’s voice, on it’s own, speaks out more than just words. This, combined with Adolf’s guitar playing and songwriting, produced something intense that sounds as if it was the work of more than just a duo. These elements in the band communicated so well together as one body.

Their music is fresh, and new, and personal. It is shared intimately through the production of a hundred copies of their new album '''Bay of Pigs''' (2012), preceded by their unreleased ep by the name of ''2010'', in which all songs were co-written with Roxanne on drums, occasionally on guitar and one appearance accompanying her twin-sister, Samantha, on vocals on the song ''Bitchy Red Square''. When you get to listen to Xiola’s first album, ''Bay of Pigs'', you experience something quite different. It feels like your emotions get tangled up, yet they still seem to be floating elegantly. You feel the sadness, and the pain, but at the same time something inside you seems to enjoy this and find the inner beauty in it.

Whatever it is they do not even know, they are just sharing their passion and intimacy through writing and melody.

Xiola

2012-12-16T14:38:51Z

Adolfformosa: Created page with "'''Xiola''' date back to 2009, when Adolf Formosa and Roxanne Gatt decided to start making music together. It was jamming sessions, with a guitar and a drum-kit. The two had n..."

'''Xiola''' date back to 2009, when Adolf Formosa and Roxanne Gatt decided to start making music together. It was jamming sessions, with a guitar and a drum-kit. The two
had never played together before, but as soon as they started playing something felt right; making music together seemed natural. Although both were happy with just the drums and guitar, they felt that something was missing. Adolf being a songwriter himself had many songs, which were happily waiting there in his little black book until the time for those words was right. A month later, Samantha Gatt, who used to be present for most of the jamming sessions, joined the band and this is when they realised that this was the actual birth of Xiola.

As soon as she picked up the microphone and started singing they knew that this was exactly what the songs/band needed to be complete.
She started writing songs too, and together with Adolf, his guitar, and Roxanne’s drumming, they started speaking a language, which for a long time was hidden within them.
Xiola changed quite a lot from then. Roxanne had to leave the band, and the drums were gone, but the songs matured. Samantha’s voice, on it’s own, speaks out more than just words, combined with Adolf’s guitar playing and songwriting, produced something intense that sounds as if this was work of more than just a duo. These elements in the band communicated so well together as one body.

Their music is fresh, and new, and personal. It is shared intimately through the production of a hundred copies of their new album '''Bay of Pigs''' (2012), preceded by their unreleased ep by the name of ''2010'', in which all songs were co-written with Roxanne on drums, occasionally on guitar and one appearance accompanying her twin-sister, Samantha, on vocals on the song ''Bitchy Red Square''. When you get to listen to Xiola’s first album, ''Bay of Pigs'', you experience something quite different. It feels like your emotions get tangled up, yet they still seem to be floating elegantly. You feel the sadness, and the pain, but at the same time something inside you seems to enjoy this and find the inner beauty in it.

Whatever it is they do not even know, they are just sharing their passion and intimacy through writing and melody.