Local roots band, etnika, are back this summer with their much-awaited, annual spectacle, etnikafe05 Zazu Klabb.

Drawing thousands of Maltese converts annually, this year’s event, to be held near the ex-Barakka Lift, Lascaris Wharf, Valletta, on the 19, 20 and 21 August at 8.30pm, promises to enthral its audiences with a unique blend of high energy and enchanting sounds, now characteristic of etnika’s performances.

After the electrifying catharsis of BummBumm (2003), and Anell’s journey in the Giant Dream (2004), a 15-piece village brass band and over 20 performers will combine folk and popular music, urban culture, curiosity shows and cabaret to make this visually stunning event the biggest etnikafe production ever.

Under a full moon, Valletta City will chime with folk tunes of old and new, evoking a nostalgia for a city-port culture once vibrant with bustling live music halls, sailor-filled cabarets and street musicians. Folk-singers, band marches and dancing tambourines will resonate in unison to the bagpipe’s reedy tune, while ringing guitars accompany sultry voices in a carnivalesque frenzy of trance-inducing beats and enchanting tunes of merriment and abandonment.

Etnika, “the band who are single-handedly spearheading a renaissance in Maltese roots music...” ( FROOTS magazine) have captured the Maltese audience with a sense of nostalgia for a culture which was on the verge of extinction. Conceived in the year 2000, the etnika project embarked on a research mission to define the characteristic sounds of the culture and its musical instruments, document the existing repertoire and create a new repertoire based on recognisable tradition.

Since then, it has managed to boost both local and international awareness of Maltese folk and popular music, by collecting and re-interpreting traditional songs and melodies and finding new and innovative ways of playing its folk instruments, fused with rich Mediterranean flavours and contemporary sounds.

Now a growing international name, etnika have travelled extensively in over 15 countries as cultural ambassadors to some of the most prestigious festivals in Europe and the Mediterra-nean, including the Montreux Jazz Festival (2004) in Switzerland. Etnika blend local song and traditional instruments with jazz and Mediterranean styles, making Maltese folk and popular music universally appealing, while retaining its roots.

This event is sponsored by Marsovin, The Malta Stock Exchange, Atlas Insurance, MTA, Urban Development and Roads Ministry, Valletta local council and Go Mobile. Tickets at Lm7 including VAT are available from St James Cavalier, D’Amato in Sliema and Valletta or at the door. For ticket information call 2122-3216 or go to

[email protected] or www.etnika.com.mt.