Barikada
- World Of Music - Svastara - 2007 |
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BNI - (Batteries Not Included)
P o r t r a i t
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BNI (Batteries Not Included)
(Malta)
P o r t r a i t |
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BNI (Batteries Not Included) have been around since 1993
or so. The band started off after Miguel and Malcolm came across a live version
of
Sham 69's "If
the kids are united", and decided to cover it, being impressed by the
rawness and energy of the song's style. From then on, driven solely by a strong
drive for creating fun, fast and loud music that could be said to be closer
to a crossbreed between old and recent
Punk than anything else, the band has been going steady.
B.N.I.’s music reflects a certain angst that is peculiarly
Maltese, and has a musical and lyrical content that is not too serious or politically
oriented.
On the other hand, the band has tried to tackle (in its own way) the reality
of everyday situations.
The well organised but wild gigs at ‘Dempsey’s
Bar’, and
the opening of ‘The Edge’ rock bar in Bugibba helped them (and
a number of other bands) gain further energy, which they let loose in the recording
of their first album entitled "Native Tongue / Ilsien Pajjizi" (1999).
Apart from the release of this album, and the release of a demo cassette entitled
"Unsolved" (1994),
the band’s main achievement was one small innovation which is still gaining
ground in the musical interests of today’s Maltese Punk bands: Punk Rock
with Maltese lyrics.
Apart from the re-release of the "Native Tongue / Ilsien
Pajjizi" album
by Malta based Reciprocal Records, B.N.I. have released a second album by the
title of "Force Majeur", in which they still put a strong emphasis
on their crossover style Punk while fusing it with various Ska and Reggae elements.
Recorded during April ’04 at Temple Studios and released 4 months later,
this album gives off something of a more centred and honed style of Punk, thanks
also to the arrival of 'John Doe' as the band’s new drummer.
The latest product of B.N.I.’s tireless efforts in
the scene is their third album aptly named "On and On...",
which sports the rawness and energy of their first album mixed with the more
polished
song-writing style
of "Force Majeur". Recorded during June ‘06 at Temple Studios,
"On and on..." is as loud as it gets, with Reggae and Ska
still plainly leaving their influence on the band. This third album was released
on 1st December
2006. Since its release, Steve ‘Lombardo’ Attard is the band’s
new, hard-hitting drummer.
BNI (Batteries Not Included) are: Malcolm Dalli - bass + vox;
Miguel Debattista - guitar + vox;
Steve 'Lombardo' Attard - drums
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