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2 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 18 OCTOBER 2026 MUSIC MaltaToday is supported by Arts Council Malta Punk is not dead: How Malta's underground WHEN crowds of young punks gather before a compact stage tucked inside Tigullio, Mal- tese lyrics echo through speaker stacks, right through my ears. At a GrintaFest gig, this is all you expect, and exactly what you get. Last month, the Malta Punks DIY Festival, GrintaFest, shook the walls of Tigullio in St Julian's, bringing decades-old songs back to life as they were shouted back at the stage by a generation of punks that was not around when many of them were first released. However long ago their release was, the music played at the festi- val has changed little in its ability to articulate the frustration with Maltese society as it stands. This cross-generational con- nection was most evident when Il-Banda Ta' San Ċipress, a tribute band to Xtruppaw, one of Malta's most influential punk outfits, took the stage. "There are moments in your life when you doubt whether you are still relevant, but seeing the torch pass to the next genera- tion brings a sense of satisfaction," Xtruppaw vocalist Noel Cuschieri said. Beyond providing a space for subcultural community, Grin- taFest's concept was inspired by archive footage. Event organiser David Cauchi was motivated by a filmed recording of the sixth edi- tion of Festaħwid, the 2000s DIY punk festival that helped catalyse Maltese-language punk. Festaħwid served as a platform for emerging artists, giving several bands, including Xtruppaw, their first opportunity to perform live. GrintaFest set out to recreate that platform for today's scene. "Attendance is everything. If people don't go, eventually everything will come to a halt," Cauchi told MaltaToday, describ- ing his role in the scene as one of constantly raising awareness. Malta's punk scene and the emergence of Maltese-language punk To understand today's revival, one has to look back to where it all began. Malta's punk and alterna- tive rock scene began taking shape in the early 1980s around Sliema's Tigné Point. Under the direction of Philip Pace, cultural organisa- tion Rokarja AST transformed the former British military barracks at Fort Tigné into an unconvention- al space where underground mu- sicians could rehearse, perform, and develop their work. Originally built by the Order of St John in the late 18th century to defend Marsamxett Harbour, the fort's dense, secluded walls proved ideal for loud, countercultural music. The converted ammu- nition depot soon welcomed its first musical occupants, including Abstrass. Founded by Erich Azz- opardi (known as Erich il-Punk), the band is widely recognized as Malta's first punk group. St Luke's Garrison Chapel, one of the spaces made available with- in the barracks, became one of the main venues for concerts, attract- ing rockers and punks throughout the 1980s. A new life was given to the chapel as amplifiers and vi- brations filled the space, replacing the hymns for which its walls had once endured. By the late 1980s and early 1990s, recurring break-ins and redevel- opments forced the community out of Tigné. However, Malta's punk scene did not remain con- fined to the barracks or fade into memory. B.N.I. (Batteries Not In- cluded) emerged in 1993 with a sound drawing on a broad range of influences. B.N.I.'s first full-length album, Native Tongue / Ilsien Pajjiżi, was released in 1999 and marked a sig- nificant point in the development of Malta's punk scene. It introduced the first punk tracks recorded in Maltese, such as L-Imġissem, Qrunha f'Butha, and Punk, to a genre previously dominated by English. The re- lease proved that the vernacular language could be integrated into punk without compromising its raw edge. Xtruppaw and a new generation of punk Building on the foundation laid by B.N.I., the use of Maltese in punk continued into the 2000s, with Xtruppaw emerging in 2006 and releasing their debut album, Is-CD tal-iXtruppaw, nearly two decades ago. Xtruppaw rejected the more conventional use of English in punk music, instead writing in the colloquial, "tat-triq" language heard in bars and village squares. "I think the fact that we wrote lyrics in Maltese also helped lis- teners relate to us—and to the themes we touch upon in our songs—more easily," drummer Dino Mifsud Lepre told MaltaTo- day. "Perhaps that was also part of the success we achieved with our music." Dino also recognises the beauty in keeping Malta's linguistic herit- age alive, even in music. Their songs drew sharp humour from everyday local life, like village gossip in Glorja Tonna, teenage angst in Il-Pubertà, and systemic pressure on youth in Ġenerazzjo- ni Ta' Meqrudin. Similarly, Innu March (Viva l-Kbir San Ċipress) parodied the country's intense vil- lage feast culture by adapting tra- ditional band march rhythms into irreverent commentary. Yet, beneath the comedic sur- face, their sound was meant to critique. As bassist, Rex, explains, JADE BEZZINA jbezzina@mediatoday.com.mt Through GrintaFest, Malta's underground punk scene is keeping its rebellious spirit alive Il-Banda Ta' San Cipress performing at GrintaFest (Photo: Sarah German) The crowd gathered in Tigullio (Photo: Sarah German)