89.7 Bay embarked on a mission a couple of years back to promote the local music scene and considering the astonishing amount of tracks that have been played on the radio station throughout this particular year, it seems that their efforts are paying off noting that success has become their trademark. The ninth edition of the Bay Music Awards which took place last night at the Bay Arena in St Julians were running under the theme Party Like It's The End of the World and there was a buzzing feeling in the crowd featuring people of all generations, representing the various artists who were nominated or performed. The build up was intense and several people were left on edge until the first performance, even preceding the introduction of the hosts took place. A lot was riding on the evening which included live performances for the very first time and apart from some mixing issues in the beginning of two performances, one could say it was a huge success.

89.7 Bay well represents the upcoming generation of artists and it seems that the fans that they are bringing with them are becoming more vocal when considering that the new guard was well promoted and ultimately ended up winning the most awards amongst seasoned veterans whose music is still very strong with the right to garner airplay and even nominations. Nevertheless, when tele-voting is the source of the actual vote, it is to be noted that the fan base becomes notorious and the younger generation have become accustomed to this element. Without a doubt, the live performances went down well with the crowd noting that Scar, Brooke, Christabelle, Dimal ft Lyndsay and Red Electrick gave the show the much needed boost to make it stand out. The audience was in full support to the act pictures above though as announced at the latter stage of the evening by Benjamin Glover, one of the three hosts of the evening which also included Dorian Cassar of Bay Breakfast and Nathan D from Malta's Top Ten and the Drive-time Show.

• Best Newcomers: Cryptic Street
• Best Band: Red Electrick
• Best Dance Tune / Remix: Love Hangover (JJoy ft. Kelly Stelfox)
• DJ's Choice: Ira Losco
• Best Solo Artist: Christabelle
• Best Song: My World (Carlo Gerada ft. Jan Cortez)
• Screamer Award: Red Electrick

The features with regards to the upcoming edition of the Bay Music Awards officially come to an end with the revelation of the tracks which the radio station has selected to represent the best elements of the industry for the past couple of months. Separate categories have already been well represented by solo artists or bands, those of which have already earned the right to be called established as well as those who are ready for their big break. In recent years, tracks released by local artists have been earning several positive criticism from foreign members of the press and this is due to the fact that there is more thought put in behind every piece of lyric and every note within the composition in itself. Record studios have become much more professionalism and production is sometimes even conducted abroad in order to have that perfect enhancement. 89.7 Bay has always been on the front line to promote the best possible tracks, ones which the people would enjoy listening to and are easy on the ear. Therefore, it is not surprising to note that for the ninth edition of the Bay Music Awards, the Best Song of the past couple of months will be given an award during a ceremony which is taking place at the Bay Arena on the 12th December 2012 hosted by Ben Glover, Dorian Cassar and Nathan D, the latter of which is pictured below.

It is important to note that this is the only category which only comprises of four entries and kicking off things is none other than Ira Losco who earns a second nomination, this time for her track What I’d Give which is a different tune to what the people have come to expect from the former Eurovision Song Contest representative whose hiatus from music was somewhat well adapted for a major comeback. In fact, it is important to note that the genre of the new track, the lead single off her yet unnamed album is a mixture of soul, funk and a little bit of reggae making it extremely distinguishable from anything else on the market. Ira Losco has been around for quite some time noting that she first emerged in the local music scene by virtue of winning the Konkors Kanzunetta Indipendenza before finishing second in the Eurovision Song Contest. Upon her return to Malta from the latter event, she joined forces with Howard Keith of Jagged House and together have created magic for many to enjoy. As previous stated, she is set to drop a brand new album in the beginning of next year.

Two nominations during the evening are quite intriguing because one would definitely hope to end up finishing in the top position within both or at least one. The second act to garner a nomination is the group Red Electrick who have invented themselves in the past couple of months, coming up with brand new material which shows versatility in composition and vocals. As a matter of fact, one of such results is surely Paul which was a major hit earlier this year. Creative control has been the major element in their success having left on good terms with their management Jagged House with the idea to change their genre and ultimately be more mature in their decisions. Their debut single entitled Who The Heck Is Rek was and remains a crowd pleasure and is included in several of their playlists but then again, their recent album The Unplugged Sessions shows why the group have decided to take up issues in their own hands. The acoustic feel has saw them gain an edge over several other bands in the country.  Matthew and Peter have co-written the track Never Walk Away for Chris Grech in the next Malta Eurovision Song Contest.

My World has been described by critics and one of the most notable tracks to have been released within the summer months and this is surely the case according to the thoughts put forward by the people. Gaining a nomination in this category was no mean feat especially when one considers that a number of tracks were omitted from the list despite having the airplay and the credibility. Carlo Gerada is no newcomer to the music scene and has worked on several tracks in the past whilst Jan Cortez is slightly more fresh having come off a talent show a couple of years back where he did his best to prove his talent. This is a duo which has worked well and could be described as a combination of pleasure and hard work. As a matter of fact, despite being nominated for the best song category, it seems that they are heavily favoured to come out on top in another category featured earlier on, that being the one of Dance Music. They have definitely worked hard to show that they indeed could be successful and a possible double is not out of the equation especially with a large fan-base. 

One would say that leaving the act for last means that they are the best and Scar have truly well represented the local music industry for several years with the band name stretching back a couple of decades and still proving successful. This band has always managed to remain at the top of the peoples’ acclaim due to the fact that they are current and promote music which the people enjoy. In their careers, they have been noted to participate in the Malta Eurovision Song Contest back in 2007 with the track As Long As You Know which managed to finish in sixth place whilst they prepare for a second participation next year as they participate with Superstar which is written by Konrad Pule who just happens to be the lead vocalist in the band. There is a certain aura and a chemistry which also makes them extremely likable and if they continue this acoustic feel to their songs, it also shows maturity, but one which is very different to that being presented by Red Electrick. The song which has garnered the nomination is a gem entitled White Lie and had also lead the charts a couple of weeks back.

The was the fifth and last in a series of features that escflashmalta.com has planned for the 2012 edition of the Bay Music Awards and that is because people have to party as if it's the end of the world. Voting officially came to a close at midnight on Wednesday and therefore, votes cannot be cast but if so, they will not count and may still be charged. We hope that you have already cast your vote though. Nevertheless, you can also be part of the Bay Music Awards as a spectator by virtue of entering in our competition which could see you attending this years’ showcase. The question we’re asking is; Which female artist nominated for the Bay Music Awards has been to the Eurovision Song Contest? Send your answers to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by not later than Saturday 8th December 2013 at 23:59 CET. In the meantime, stay tuned to escflashmalta.com for all of the latest news.

Source: 89.7 Bay, escflashmalta.com

The evolution of music has been signified through a variety of genres across the years and one of the key radio stations that has made note of every change in the past couple of years with regards to the local music industry has surely been 89.7 Bay. The broadcaster has earned the right to be call, the radio station of the public, one that plays the selection of music that the people at home expect throughout the day especially when relaxing at home or trying to unnerve yourself within your work place. This element has been spoken for on a number of occasions hence forth, it never manages to miss a chord. In the meantime, the focus here is the achievement of local music artists through The Bay Music Awards which will be taking place on Wednesday, 12th December at the Bay Arena with this years' theme being Party Like It's The End, considering that the apocalypse is somewhat close according to several studies. 89.7 Bay and escflashmalta.com have collaborated on a number of features in the past couple of months and years, and therefore, it is truly an honour to bear more fruit as we promote the people nominated for the awards with the Best Dance Tune or Remix featuring up next.

This has to be yet another tough category especially for those who have a liking towards this sort of music and know the hard work that each artist puts in to make sure that the final quality best represents what was initially thought in their minds. The first nomination in this category features none other than JJoy and Kelly Stelfox with Love Hangover. The latter whom many will remember from the 2011 edition of the Malta Eurovision Song Contest with the track Love Me Like Your Money. This time round though, her sultry vocals have been added to a track which has been featuring a lot in several clubs all over the Maltese Islands and therefore earning the right to be one of the several summer tracks. JJoy is an established figure in the scene as well and many individuals tend to flock to watch him play. This is a track which has garnered rave reviews from the critics for not being overproduced.

The battle of the heavy weights continues because the second man involved is DJ Ruby, another popular figure in the dance scene whose collaborations have been noted to be mostly with foreign artists in order to have an even more maximum appeal to foreign markets wherever possible. Laura Jae is a marvelous singer and presents herself in the way that the British singer, Estelle tends to especially when it comes to the looks department. Their track bears the name Defenceless and builds up slowly into a catchy chorus which one can definitely break into a set of swinging moves. Whilst the first track was revealed publicly around February, the second one was released sometime around March and therefore, one would easily see the idea that the tracks were easily known by the time that summer came round thus achieving more airplay. Once more, this was another one of those songs which did very well on the radio chart.

The third track to garner a nomination into this category has to be the most mainstream in my opinion out of all of the songs that have been presented with Carlo Gerada featuring Jan Cortez looking very much like the typical collaboration that the industry has been known to present. My World has really achieved a lot in a very short space of time considering that following its admission as a new entry, it was being heard not only on this particular radio station, but also on several others with many people going about to the beach with music and this track blasting in their ears. escflashmalta.com had the opportunity to speak to Carlo Gerada following the release and he seemed pretty happy about the response of the public. This was truly a summer hit in my opinion and has a good vibe going about it heading into these awards within a couple of weeks time.

Moving onto the fourth nomination that comes in the form of an intriguing collaborating featuring Stevy Vee, Ross Paterson and Glen Vella. The latter individual is definitely recognized from having represented Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest back in 2011 with the track One Life and since then, things have been pretty positive for him noting trips back and forth in European countries a couple of tracks which have seen him evolve within the dance scene as well. This particular song entitled Louder is one of those typical tracks which is normally played very late into the night as one has been dancing the night away because it is slightly more mellow yet still features a thumping beat. There is something particular about the track which makes me want to stop, listen and just dance along to the track and that is definitely a positive review for it from my end as a listener.

The final nomination has been handed out to Corinna who has given the music industry something to smile about from a female perspective considering that men tend to dominate this particular award. In fact, her track entitled Battle of Wills is slightly mainstream but what she does have different than most of the others is that she is alone and brings about a very strong vocal rendition of the dance track. She has been nominated for the Eurodance Award and has also managed to reach the top ten of the local charts over on 89.7 Bay. The dance tune is nothing which could be described as the track to listen to at the end of the world because it is quite generic but nevertheless, there is the general edge of the vocal which surely will play around the emotion of the voting public. Many people will be noting that the only other female vocal is from a featuring act and hence forth why maybe this could be the one to walk away with the award.

This was the second  in a series of features that escflashmalta.com has planned for the 2012 edition of the Bay Music Awards and that is because people have to party as if it's the end of the world. In order to vote for the Best Dance Tune or Remix Award, it is vital to send an sms with either of these acts' respective name sakes as show in the article in bold to 50615302. Make sure that the vote you make is for the song which you believe deserves the award because it managed to make some sort of impact. The voting is open until the 5th December which is roughly just less than a month. Make sure to get cracking and stay tuned to both escflashmalta.com and 89.7 Bay for all of the latest updates from this years' edition of the prestigious music awards.

Source: escflashmalta.com, 89.7 Bay

Innovation is the key to success and in the past couple of weeks, the editorial board at escflashmalta.com has been brainstorming a number of possible ideas on how to move forward with regards to the content presented and one of the ideas was to promote artists who release material consistently and make it to the local top ten on the 89.7 Bay charts as announced weekly by Nathan D who has been one of the main supporters on our online media since beginning just over two years ago. The very first week of our project will be featuring Carlo Gerada whose latest track entitled My World features the vocals of Jan Cortez, a former contestant on the hit reality show L-Isfida.

This is not the first time that Carlo Gerada makes it to the chart noting that he is quickly becoming one of the most established artists in the radio scene. In the past couple of months, we have seen work such as I Never Meant and Can't Stop which featured the musical stylings of Scott Walker and guest vocals by Chess and Azazel respectively. He is working on brand new material daily and seems to be giving several artists a run for their success especially with his music being extremely current and consistent with what is being played in the foreign charts such as those in the United Kingdom, United States and also Germany. The track My World is a new entry at number #8 as announced by Nathan D on 89.7 Bay earlier this week. Should you have missed the programme, make sure to visit the official page and listen to the podcast recording of the whole show. In the meantime, we had the opportunity to ask a couple of questions to Carlo Gerada.

How does it feel to be one of the new entries in the only local music chart that is being presented in Malta?

Having my work being listed anywhere is more than I ever dreamed my 'hobby' would take me. Being listed as a new entry on one of Malta's top local radio stations is a feeling I have still yet to get used to! 

Music normally represents the emotions of the artist, what could you tell us about the track and the feeling that it evokes?

Yes it does, in fact I do not specialize in one particular genre because I feel that every genre has a very different feeling. My mood plays a huge part in making music.

There is a lot of buzz going round about this track especially due to the fact that summer is around the corner. Do you believe that it could live up to the expectations of the listeners?

I sure hope so! It's still too early to say but shares, likes and comments about constantly looping the track have been popping up amongst top social network sites. I am currently working on a music video too which I think will further make it more interesting.

Source: 89.7 Bay