Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/618165
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 20 DECEMBER 2015 34 This Week 34 Bridging the gaps between music Could you tell us a bit about how Plato's dream machine started? What were its initial steps like? Back in early 2009, I had a hand- ful of songs I had written along the years that I wanted to per- form live. I've always had a music project going since my early teens. At that time, I was just playing guitar and writing songs on my own at my parents' house as my previous band had disbanded. In February of that year I decided to team up with Frederick and Ryan, who played bass guitar and snare drum respectively, as we hap- pened to reunite again as friends after being separated by our life interests. We met frequently in my re- hearsal space in Zejtun, where we played, sang, drank, laughed, wailed, sighed and talked about pretty much everything for hours on end. In April of that same year we played our first concert at a bar in Paceville. As the self-proclaimed leader I had no grand plan for the band at that point in time; it was just fun and I just needed to get those songs out there, and make room for more. We played our hearts out in any place that would have us - bars, clubs, lidos, bedrooms, gardens, roofs, fields, restaurants and festivals. We used to go busk- ing in the streets of Rabat, Sliema and Valletta and also played a concert in prison for the young inmates during Christmas time. I think we really got carried away by the old folk spirit at the time. Eventually, a couple of months into it, we recorded some demos and sold them at our gigs. Gradu- ally I started to feel this urge of pushing things further in search of something more refined and elaborate. Eventually there was a shuffle of members along the way and we experimented with both style and sound. And here we are now. What would you say is signifi- cant about 'Ghera'? What kind of evolution would you say it marks for the band? We've had our fair share of transformations and conversions, but the making of 'Għera' marked our biggest and truest metamor- phosis. Back in 2012 I decided that we should take our project to the next level and record a profes- sional album. My restless spirit combined with the pressure to dedicate more time and energy to the band led us to take things more seriously and work harder. We scrapped pretty much all pre- vious songs and started working on new material. On all levels, 'Għera' marks our finest achievement thus far. We believe that it is significant locally as it brings into play more con- temporary sounds and images, proposing a new take on what Maltese songs can sound like. I don't like to think that what we did here was trying to be original for originality's sake. We have consciously made an effort to en- gage with and be aware of what was currently happening locally and abroad so as to open up a somewhat unexplored field in the local, alternative rock scene, hop- ing to make our project more rel- evant to our times. You describe your style as "met- aphysical rock" - what does this mean in practice? When someone asks me what kind of music do you play or what genre we fit in I end up be- ing somewhat apophatic. During the process of 'Għera' I wanted Robert Farrugia, frontman for Plato's dream machine - an increasingly popular, if hard to categorize band that plays what they call 'metaphysical rock' – talks to TEODOR RELJIC ahead of their upcoming January gig at St James Cavalier, entitled 'L-Ghera u l-Ohrajn' From left - Francesco, Samwel, Robert, Daniel and Mark