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maltatoday | SUNDAY • 10 SEPTEMBER 2023 6 ALMANAC My essentials JULIAN 'JULINU' MALLIA 37, visual artist, drummer I am a multi-disciplinary visual artist specialising in concept-driven work and I juggle my creative practice between visual art and drumming (with Weeping Silence/other side projects). Originally a psychology graduate I now create thought-provoking imagery within traditional fine art and digital illustration contexts (eg. book-covers/album-covers/advertising/editorial). Probably my website www.julinu.com does a better job at describing what I do. 4 5 1. Book 2. TV 3. Internet 4. Music 5. Place EARLIER this year I started following the Daily Stoic In- stagram page - in an attempt to balance the franticness of the social media vortex with some ancient wisdom and practical advice. My In- stagram feed is mostly filled with drum performances, art, musicians, cinema, dai- ly stoic quotes intertwined with inescapable memes, weird content and cat vide- os. I also follow a number of local and international news websites to stay in the loop of what's happening. The stoics preceded internet by quite a while but I think they would probably argue that it's a vir- tue to be able to curate one's feed and to choose where to direct attention. Occasion- ally staying offline is also an underrated art form. C L O S U R E / C O N T I N U A - TION by Porcupine Tree. Al- though I keep an ear out for interesting music from dif- ferent genres, from Chopin to Igorrr to Alfa Mist to Meshug- gah, I do tend to fall back to the Progressive Rock/Progressive Metal side of the music spec- trum. Bands I listen to repeat- edly include contemporaries such as Opeth, Steven Wilson/ Porcupine Tree, Dream Theat- er, Devin Townsend, Leprous, Haken but also earlier bands such as Pink Floyd, King Crim- son, Camel, ELP, Led Zeppe- lin, Rush, etc. I am drawn to this wide-ranging genre due to its experimental, liberating approach to song writing that typically involves lengthy, me- andering journeys, an element of technical proficiency, varied time signatures, elements from other genres and other tasteful dynamics. ALTHOUGH I'm tempted to mention inspiring cultural capitals such as Berlin or Lon- don, as an introvert, ultimately, I am most at peace when I'm busy with work I find mean- ingful - irrespective of loca- tion e.g., working on paintings, visual idea-generation, mapping song-structures, playing drums, etc. Quality time to work on my own projects is a limited re- source so when I have the time, I prefer being productive in my art/music studio. Having said this, sometimes I do feel the need to strike a balance and oc- casionally visit other places, go to gigs/exhibition openings, so- cialise or just go for a mindless jog near the sea. EFFECTIVE Practice For Musicians by Benny Greb (a world-renowned German drummer and educator with whom I had the pleasure of collaborating on the cover artwork of one of his mu- sic releases). This insightful book has become a valuable resource for me - especially when I stray off-path - because of its down-to-earth practical advice that is applicable to any creative discipline. Drawing from a wealth of hands-on experience, the author high- lights the value of being able to do honest, regular self-as- sessments, devising a person- alised, purposeful routine and adopting benevolent self-dis- cipline. The book is laced with numerous amusing anecdotes that make this book feel like a friendly and patient mentor. FOLLOWING by Christopher Nolan. I'm particularly in- terested in established direc- tors' early films - where they had a meagre budget yet still managed to create something striking by being strategically resourceful. Following is a neo- noir crime thriller in which a bored, young man starts fol- lowing random people around the streets of London. At first, he establishes guidelines for this harmless game, but things get out of hand when he breaks his own rules. It's a brilliant ex- ample of Nolan's concept-driv- en and hands-on approach to filmmaking and it's fascinat- ing to witness the seed of what would later evolve into films such as Memento or Inception. 2 Compiled by Laura Calleja suggestions by email lcalleja@mediatoday.com 1 3