15 years of music: the Tribali Story, as told by one of its founding members

Fifteen years have passed since those early days when an unusual band emerged in Malta. Blending the sounds of world music, ska and reggae, psychedelic, and classical music, Tribali had made an immediate (and, apparently, lasting) impression on the Maltese public.

Those who, like me, were there in the front row at those first gigs, know that some things just haven't changed: the feel-good, dance-inducing musical journey they provided and the massive mutual appreciation of musicians and audience allowed for strong feelings.

Fifteen years on, we spoke to founding member Peter Paul Galea (the front man with the djembe drum and tribal body paint) about the Tribali story... and found out that we can soon learn a lot more detail in an official book about the band that will be launched in 2020!

1. When and how was Tribali born?

"It was Antoine who started the ball rolling. He was jamming with DJs during boat parties and other events, and when we met in 2002, I immediately got interested in the concept of a band with a percussive feeling. In 2004, we started writing songs together. When things got rolling, we asked Jo Sapi to join on sitar, Grigal on didgeridoo and Adriano on bass. The first album by the name of 'Tribali' was released in 2006."

2. Who is Tribali?

"All the band members changed through the years except for Antoine and me (Peter Paul). Jean Pierre replaced Sapi on sitar, and he was later replaced by Andrew Francica. Nik replaced Grigal on didgeridoo. Finally, Liam Spiteri replaced Adriano on bass. In the beginning, Tribali had no lead vocals. However, Eliza joined as the lead singer of the band in our third album, 'The Traveller'. In addition, Tribali always invites guest musicians for big local shows: Dru Mayer on percussion, Simon Vella on violin and the brass section - Adrian ir-Russu on trumpet, Mario Borg on saxophone and Joseph Borg on trombone."

3. Why is Tribali such a huge success with the Maltese audience?

"When Tribali introduced such new sounds on the island, people got very excited and curious. So many people were attending our events. On top of that, during our performance, we interact a lot with the crowd by making them feel that they are part of the show, and we also send out lots of positive massages. I think that these things kept our success through the years."

Written by

Melanie Drury

Melanie was born and raised in Malta and has spent a large chunk of her life travelling solo around the world. Back on the island with a new outlook, she realised just how much wealth her little island home possesses.