As far as quartets go, it doesn’t get much cooler than the Velts – a band formed in 2012 and made up of four self-confessed rascals – Matthew P Cardona, Alistair Abela, Stephen Pace Asciak and Sean Borg.

“I was in a couple of short lived punk bands a few years ago, but wasn’t very motivated to keep things going and lost interest,” Sean says. “Thankfully all that changed with the Velts, and especially when I met Stimpy through my brother Daniel; he would eventually become our drummer.

“We were originally called The Kid Knees but changed our name to the Velts and got the other boys to join. So that was that. We’ve already enjoyed a few very exciting milestones, including supporting the well-known Indie group The Wedding Present, supporting the Argentinian avant punk band Mueran Humanos, playing in Berlin and even playing a small tour of London.”

In the early days, the Velts’ music was influenced by ‘70s punk bands such as the Buzzcocks, Sex Pistols, Stooges and the Clash, as well as ‘90s NME cult classic-dominating pop groups like Blur, Oasis, Nirvana and the Strokes. “We matured musically when we had been together for around five years, at which point our songs took on a new colour and our sound became more edgy. With effort and passion we have managed to write some decent tracks, and we would love people to come along to experience them at Rumors Bar on 16th February.”

Other than their own, which upcoming gigs do the Velts recommend in Malta?

Mokodelic have a cool gig on 23rf and 24th February, supported by local dreamy shoegaze band Eyes to Argus and promoted by HairyAmp, which has brought some truly thrilling acts to the island. In March, you can also look forward to great gigs by local bands including Plato’s Dream Machine at the Garage in Zebbug and the debut album launch of a girl band called Cryptic Street.

How would you spend your perfect day in Malta?

Relaxing in the sun is a must, if you’re on a day off from work. We would then go for a drink somewhere cool, like Hole in the Wall in Sliema, Gugar in Valletta, Rumors in Pieta or Funky Monkey in Gzira. If there was time, we’d also go for a dive – Maltese waters are beautiful.

Parting words?

Standby for our next single, Rollercoaster, which will be released later this year, filmed and directed by Sven Bonnici.

Head along to the Velts’ first gig of the year, Live at Rumors tonight!