“Screaming Maldini are me (singing, producing, and that), Tom (refusing to sing and drumming), Andy (singing and trumpeting), Gina (more singing and percussioning), Annie (even more singing and bassing) and Chris (yet more of the singing and also keyboarding). Six all told, and with room to spare.” Nick of Screaming Maldini tells me. The band began as his “bedroom project” in 2008. “It was mainly as an outlet for my ever-increasing obsession with music production and recording. At the time, I lived with Andy and I fancied recording some trumpet (having never done so before) so I did.” Before the band knew it they were being played on 6Music by Tom Robinson. This inspired them to get some more musicians together and within six months they had a band and were signed to Alcopop! Records.
Screaming Maldini play an eclectic mix of pop, indie and something a little bit retro. Their use of horns, keys and percussion create a whole new genre that I’m sure no one has ever heard before. “With Maldini,there's always been this constant underlying feeling of not wanting to follow what other people are doing. There are a lot of purely guitar bands out there at the moment, equally there are lot of synth-driven bands out there too, most of whom are phenomenally good at what they do. I guess it's a case of, ‘well, they're already doing that, let's try something different’.”
The Extraordinary, the second track on the band’s MySpace page, has a quite retro, 60s feel to it. Due to Nick’s lack of planning this was completely unintentional but appears to have worked out brilliantly: “it was quite an organic experience writing and recording the song (it grew over about four months) and it wasn't in the least bit planned (I'm not very good at thinking ahead!). We had put down some guitar and drums and the thought occurred to me that the main riff might sound cool on the trumpet, so I called Andy upstairs to play it and everything just spiralled from there really.” But that wasn’t the end of it: “all of a sudden I found myself in Sheffield Cathedral's song school recording the girl choristers soaring up to top Bbs and thinking, 'crikey, this is different!'. I guess it was a case of letting what happens happen.”
So what’s on the cards for Screaming Maldini in 2010? “We release our Debut EP through the magnificent Alcopop! Records on February 22nd, which we're very excited about! We'll be playing a few dates in support of that and then we plan to keep plugging away, keep writing, keep playing, keep building and working hard. The summer should hopefully bring some festival performances and then, with a touch of luck and some focus, there'll be a full length record ready by the second half of the year!”
That definitely sounds like something we can look forward to.
You can find out more about Screaming Maldini and listen to their music at www.myspace.com/screamingmaldini
This EP makes me feel as if Indigo Fury don't actually want to gain new fans. In the current musical climate most bands want to do something to get recognised, but with this mish-mash of classic rock and brit pop, I can't see these guys gaining any new listeners. First track, Something Happened, may have a couple of catchy riffs but it does nothing to pull the audience in and sounds just like so many bands that died with the 90s. Next two tracks, Drive and Mine Now, nevermind sounding incredibly similar, also resemble what you might hear at a band practise in the beginnings of a band's formation. Avoiding instrumental pieces might be an idea Indigo Fury should really consider. By the time I reach final track, Not Today, I'm really hoping they can surprise me, but unfortunately I'm let down. With a bit of a rock 'n' roll vibe, this song has been done before, countless times. Indigo Fury show clear potential with this EP, and I can't wait to see them actually using the talents they obviously have. But until then, this release just doesn't cut it.
