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MALTESE musical heavyweight Brik- kuni has long been synonymous with its rage against the establishment and brilliance in capturing the local zeit- geist through their music. But their latest album, XKPSOVER, takes the band in a slightly different direction. Sitting down with MaltaTo- day a few days after the online release of the album, Brikkuni frontman Mario Vella says their latest work is consciously free of any thoughts on current af- fairs. Instead, Vella said the spirit of the band's late guitarist, Andrew Schembri is heavily present throughout the album, with the last track on XKPSOVER dedicated entirely to him. Schembri's sudden death in June 2023 shocked Malta's art community. Schem- bri was revered as a musical and artis- tic genius. Vella had described him as "a kind, intelligent, passionate, creative young man, with a sense of playfulness he exuded in all he did." Vella shared an anecdote about the late guitarist with this newspaper. "I remember during the pandemic he pulled me aside and said 'I'm down bad right now. I don't want to hear the sing- er-songwriter looking down and filling me with melancholy. I want to do some- thing groovy and fun where people can get lost in it for a while.'" "He gave me an ultimatum. He said, 'I understand if you don't want to go in that direction, but I'd have to part ways.' I appreciated the confrontation; I've al- ways appreciated people who confront me. He won me over and we had worked on the concept of the songs." Vella said after Schembri's death, the band had to finish the album without him, "but there are many traces of him in many of the songs. His spirit roams the album." Vella said the last track of the album named "Andrew" was born in a "rare instance of inspiration in the garage where we practically wrote the foun- dations of the song in a single sitting." The song is seven and half minutes long, and is a tear-jerking eulogy celebrating Schembri's lust for life that reaches its climax with the lyrics, "Wild is the wind that will carry us." Another track featuring on XKPSOVER is "Nemel," which Vella admits is his fa- vourite song in the album, describing it simply as "a song about ants." Brik- kuni's frontman said he was very happy with the song's lyrics and playful nature, adding that the ants in the song are semi-analogous to the working class. This is evident in lyrics like "Nerfgħu piż fih daqsna għaxar darbiet" (We carry weight ten times our own) and "Kif ix- xemx tibda tisreġ, inxammru l-kmiem" (We roll up our sleeves in the blazing sun). Vella explained that the analogy isn't fully literal and absolute, taking a jab at the culture minister who was at the centre of much of the interview. "Maybe Minister Malcolm will need to do some extra summersaults to understand it." XKPOVER's official release will take place at Teatru Salesjan in Sliema on 28 November at 8pm. Tickets are available on the theatre's website. 2 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 15 NOVEMBER 2026 MUSIC Brikkuni's XKPSOVER will be officially launched on 28 November at Teatru Salesjan MATTHEW FARRUGIA mfarrugia@mediatoday.com.mt Brikkuni guitarist Andrew Schembri's sudden death in 2023 shocked the local music community Andrew Schembri MaltaToday is supported by Arts Council Malta Mario Vella (Photo: James Bianchi/MaltaToday)