Tributes Flood In For Beloved Artist, Musician and Light Technician Andrew Schembri
Cover Photo credit: Andrew Schembri
Tributes are flooding in across social media for Andrew Schembri, an artist, lights technician and musician who lost his life yesterday evening, at just 29-years-old.
“It’s tough to have to put into words just how much Andrew contributed to our community,” said David Grech Urpani, who worked closely with Schembri on several occasions, but who also considered the artist a friend.
Among other things, Andrew was one half of the light gurus known as Late Interactive which provided consistently breathtaking lighting setups for events across Malta and Gozo.
“He helped shift many people’s perspective on not just the alternative music scene, but also how they interacted with it.”
Andrew’s Brikkuni bandmate Mario Vella added his own powerful tribute in an open letter to Schembri.
“Nothing will erase or diminish the memory of that incredible smile you’d flash every time I felt compelled to point out your ethereal nature. How many times did I tell you? ‘Andrew, you’re so beyond any mathematical equation and wordly drudgery that sometimes I wonder whether you belong amongst us here on Earth at all’.”
“If only I’d known Andrew. If only I’d known.”
“He nearly single-handedly changed what Malta’s coolest parties looked like in the last decade,” continued DGU, “constantly coming up with intricate ideas that unabashedly crossed over to the pantomime, carefully handcrafting some of the most unique experiences and longest nights of our lives.”
Just over a week ago, Andrew was on stage rocking out in incredible fashion.
Speaking on behalf of his family, Schembri’s older brother David, told Times of Malta “we are all in shock; the loss of our youngest brother, so full of potential, came like a bolt out of the blue.”
“Andrew was a kind, intelligent, passionate, creative young man, with a sense of playfulness he exuded in all he did. Beneath the surface, he had a deep sense of justice and a yearning for meaning and truth,” David told the Times.
“He was never afraid to be different, go further than anyone else, and make sure that everyone around him was always happy,” said David Grech Urpani.
“He once told me the most important thing about any night out was knowing everyone goes home thinking it was the best night of their lives, and that the music had very little to do with that.”
“Instead, he’d focus on the people themselves, and on giving them the most unforgettable experience of their lives.”
“Making core memories will never be the same without him, and as someone who went from a collaborator to a friend, today’s news has utterly shocked me and many others in the scene we all called home.”
For everyone who worked with and knew Andrew, he is going to be missed.
“At the end of the day, one of his many nicknames is what I’ll remember him by as the most apt, because whatever rough or dark patch anyone was going through, he really was Andrew tad-Dawl.”
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