Banda songs are some of the most iconic backdrops to traditional village feasts, offering recognisable and unforgettable soundtracks to nights of fireworks and popcorn. But for one small village in the south, this year’s festa was the perfect opportunity to try out something new.

Kirkop’s Saint Leonard Band Club surprised festa-goers with their own rendition of Strut, one of the biggest radio hits by Maltese band Relikc. And joining the banda on stage in the village square were the five guys themselves.

“Since I’m from Kirkop and they know that I sing, they always used to ask me to join them during the feast concert,” Relikc frontman Keith Zammit told Lovin Malta. “Now, the band has a new maestro, Daniel Vella.”

Daniel is known to merge new and traditional together, being himself a member of popular brass outfit Big Band Brothers, one of the country’s most popular wedding bands. “He wanted to be more creative and think outside the box, and beyond including me, he wanted to have the whole band on board.”

Earlier last week, Relikc teased their latest collaboration to their Facebook fans

“Since we’ve added an element of brass to our music, we instantly liked the idea of playing with the local banda,” Keith told Lovin Malta. “So we chose two songs; to perform; a funk medley, and our very own Strut. Daniel worked with Joseph, our keyboardist, on arrangements for the band. He also collaborated with Louis Zammit, the president of the ka?in, in making this dream a reality.”

Finally, after only three rehearsals, it was time for the big night yesterday, and boy did the two bands deliver.

“Having an orchestra of sorts accompanying ourselves was amazing,” Keith said of the experience. “It made something which had already brought a change to our sound even fuller. Hearing all those horns in Strut, especially, was something completely new which still managed to perfectly complement our music.”

Relikc’s Strut, originally released in June 2017

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David Grech Urpani

Lovin Malta's Head of Content, Dave has been in journalism for the better half of the last decade. Prefers Instagram, but has been known to doomscroll on TikTok. Loves chicken, women's clothes and Kanye West (most of the time).