It was an old upright in front room at home that started it all. The jangling instrument, battered and discordant was a 'toy' he played with regularly. He taught himself to play it, not enough to become a pianist, but well enough to enjoy the sound of it. Then, in 1967, he heard 'Sgt Pepper' for the first time on a shortwave radio transmitting a BBC programme. From then on Maurice Cachia alias Whispering Mo, was hooked.

It was a period in time when owning a turntable was the ultimate, and to re-listen to a favourite song heard on the airwaves, one would record it from the radio onto a cassette player.  The achievement, albeit crackling and weak in clarity, was an achievement nonetheless. "During my teen years, my cousin had a reel-to-reel audio tape which we put to good use. We used to spend hours in his bedroom listening to Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones and King Crimson music. In fact, the memory of hearing 'In the Court of the Crimson King' for the first time is firmly emblazoned in my mind - it was the very first truly progressive album of its kind - we were sitting at his bedroom window, watching a sunset beyond the cupola of the Paola Parish Church. The music we listened to was truly avant-garde for Malta in those years, psychedelic and powerful.” It stands to reason that the first long play he spent money on was Pink Floyd's 'The Dark Side of the Moon' released in 1973.

Between 1975 and 1976 Maurice began collecting the 'Electronics Today' magazine and taught himself how to assemble a synthesizer. Meanwhile as a high school student at the Archbishop's Seminary, he met several like-minded boys who were embarking on the  appreciation of rock music in all its forms, from folk rock and blues, through to avant-garde music and heavy metal. My soft-spoken, unassuming cousin Maurice was unknowingly setting the scene for his future in radio broadcasting.

Known for his rock genre radio programmes, Maurice began by co-hosting programmes with Noel Mallia, the veteran broadcaster who would eventually set up Malta's first rock station 'All Rock Malta' on the DAB+ platform. During 2011 Maurice  Cachia and Noel Mallia co-hosted 'Prog Nation' (35 shows) and 'The Psychedelic Years Revisited' (7 shows). "In 'Prog Nation' we traced the history of the progressive music produced between 1967 and 1976. Then in 2012 I began producing and presenting on my own steam, kicking off with 'The Classic Albums' weekly programme – that included 186 shows featuring 500+ albums in full. 'Whispering Mo's Sound Garden' was born in 2016 with 240 shows recorded so far, of which 229 have been aired, always on ‘All Rock Malta’ In 2018 I introduced ‘Xejn Hlief Rock’, presenting the first 63 shows on RTK, and the rest on ‘All Rock Malta’. So far I have recorded 127 shows and aired 120 of these.”

From the Radio 101, Radju Malta and RTK recording studios, he moved on to broadcasting via DAB+ preparing all his programmes in-house, literally. “My studio is at home. It is, for me, a true labour of love. Over the years, I have taken my 'rock aficionado' status up to the next level, sharing my interest on the airwaves and now via this 24 hour digital rock station broadcasting platform. Today, I have well and truly retired from my civil service job and can happily dedicate much more time to the programmes."

For his 'Whispering Mo' 'stage name', Maurice was inspired by John Peel's 'The Perfume Garden', a 1967 late night radio show on the British pirate station called Radio London. ‘Whispering Mo’s Sound Garden’ started to build up a strong following not only locally but also abroad. "People from all over the world tune in to my programmes and send me special requests to hear specific and rarely heard music. In fact, some of the music I broadcast is never heard anywhere else. And some of the musicians and bands I talk about in my programme are ones that connoisseurs of the genre greatly appreciate. At the other end, there are the musicians themselves.One day I contacted Tom Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival. At the time, I was researching a programme about his band and we soon struck up a friendship, albeit from a distance. I eventually received a stupendous and unexpected gift - all his records exclusively signed by him."

And so the work, research and music goes on. With unstinting energy, this ex-postman and ex-civil servant, engrosses himself with the music he loves and shares it with all those who enjoy this genre of music as much as he does. Fancy tuning in?