Local Musician Warren Galea Releasing New Album Dedicated To His Father
Local musician Warren Galea is releasing his second experimental album next week dedicated to the memory of his father Leslie Galea.
Warren Galea, a guitarist, pianist and composer, will be releasing his next album Diadems, Troubadours on 22nd December.
“I have been working on this project since 2020 and this is the first time I’ve done a record where I handled all the elements – composition, recording, production, and even the artwork. It was definitely a challenge and an experience which pushed me to the limits of my creative expression,” Galea told Lovin Malta.
In May 2019 he released his debut album – The Odyssey, featuring Warren on guitar, Andy McKee on bass, and Adam Nussbaum on drums.
Past performances include The Blue Note Jazz Festival, Nublu 151, ShapeShifter Lab, the Jazz Educators Network Conference 2019 (JEN), Rockwood Music Hall, Williamsburg Music Center, the Malta Jazz Festival, the Dusseldorf Jazz Rally, and ‘Les Sons d’ Une Ile’ (Paris).
In 2014 Warren was awarded first place at the Malta Jazz Contest. The following year he released an EP with F-Trio. A graduate of the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music (New York), his biggest five influences are Mozart, Charlie Parker, The Beatles, Frank Zappa, and Jimi Hendrix.
“On my previous album The Odyssey, which was recorded while I was living in New York, it was a completely different setup. I brought in my music to the band and we recorded live takes in the studio, with very little rehearsal,” he continued.
“As with many Modern Jazz records, the emphasis was on improvisation and group interaction. I had the good fortune of working with amazing musicians who made it sound good right off the bat.”
“With Diadems, Troubadours it was a radically different approach – I was engineering each track from start to finish. In fact, I would say that on this record I was more in the mindset of a composer than an improvising instrumentalist. And while there is some guitar, I am definitely playing a lot more piano.”
“On this record, I also had the opportunity to explore the many different styles and influences which inform my musical identity.”
These include Classical, Electronic, Baroque, 12-Tone Composition, Trap, Hip-Hop, Techno, Orchestral, Rock, Jazz, Blues, Avante-Garde, and Noise.
“Some of the pieces were composed up to ten years ago, and it was very satisfying to finally bring them together into a unified whole – I’m still very much influenced by the concept albums of the 60s and 70s that I grew up with.”
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