After the release of his acclaimed EP Pistola in 2021, Michael Azzopardi is sharing his latest collection of Maltese-language songs in an album called Vaganza. The warm and inviting record is an ode to the Maltese date-night, and yet another love letter to the ever evolving Maltese language.

The 13-track album presents a feast of moods and atmospheres, from the joyful eruption of new love, to the tender admission of old love withheld. In Vaganza, Azzopardi creates a series of authentic Maltese tunes that also aim to entertain.

Recorded entirely in Mellieha at Ultralow music studios, Vaganza was produced by Jimmy Bartolo, with Mark Axiak, who mixed the album, producing two of the thirteen tracks. Both these local musicians play a variety of instruments on Vaganza, along with several other artists including Noah Fabri from band Karmagenn, Mark Abela (iz-Zizza) from band Brodu, Sean Borg and John J. Bartolo from Brikkuni. Electronic songstress JOON also makes an appearance, singing a duet with Azzopardi called Xatt ix-Xorti. Backing singers include Alexandra Galea, Jimmy Bartolo and Cher Camilleri.

Michael Azzopardi’s musical influences are many, and include artists like Devendra Banhart, Damon Albarn and Elliott Smith.

Azzopardi tells OhMyMalta, “Writing the songs for Vaganza started at the tail end of the Pandemic and peaked in 2022 whilst experiencing a longing for travel and romantic getaways. The songs are snippets from my past, with healthy doses of longing and hopefulness for beautiful days to come.”

Listen to Vaganza on streaming platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube music.

Vaganza was produced by Jimmy Bartolo & Mark Axiak (studio x). It was mixed by Mark Axiak and mastered by David Vella from Temple Studios.