Teodor Reljic talks to Dripht, our aggro-punk darlings, as they get ready to invade the UK with their militant funk
Malta Today 2nd July 2006
Nick Morales, Driphts frontman, picks me up from by the Tal-Qroqq swimming pool, and takes me to the bands nearby garage. The floor of his car is strewn with fliers, and there are fading band stickers everywhere: nu-metallers Mudvayne, industrial rockers Pitchshifter, the local ska-punk band ISkandal (in which Driphts bassist Fredrick Abdilla plays guitar). Nicks diminutive frame and beady, bespectacled eyes will have you thinking of Weezer sooner than Rage Against the Machine (to whom Dripht owe some stylistic kudos). Indeed, the band is hard to categorize. Their militant funk fuses rock, punk, ska, reggae Each one of us has different musical tastes, says drummer Mike Briguglio. Sure, there are bands that we all listen to, like The Clash, Rage Against the Machine, Gang of Fourbut on the whole, our tastes are very varied. The bands history is equally amorphous. Dripht have been through a whopping six bassists since the bands conception in 98, and Nick was to take up drumming duties until Mike took over in 2000. Apart from co-founding Norm Rejection, Mike drummed with Filetti and Friends between 1994-2002, and Nick was a member of Noetic, Oblong, the short-lived but popular hardcore metal outfit Lynch, among others.
Dripht keep their songwriting organic, and the variety of styles works to their advantage. Its something that strengthens the band were always learning from each other and integrating different elements in our sound, which I think is crucial the band feeling would collapse if one person controls everything, says Mike.
One of us would come up with a riff, for example, and we would build on it and see what we can get out if it, says Fredrick. We dont really discuss anything beforehand, which is why lots of different styles emerge, I think. Although theyre usually lumped into the punk scene, our music is so broad that when people ask me, I just tell them we play rock and roll, says Mike. Experimentation is a natural part of their writing process; they dont do it for the sake of it. All that interests us, at the end of the day, is that we have a good song. Now whether that means adding a solo, or removing something, is beside the point. Its important for us to remain honest were not going to write something just to get on the radio, or to win a Bay Award, for example. Which they did achieve in 2004: for Mark Barsley, the single off their self-titled debut EP. They released their second EP, Global Warning last year it features the singles Rockin to Resist and Old Times Gone Astray, as well as a cover of the Rifffs Dance Music For Depression.
What direction do they see themselves heading in? Again, theyre leaving it to chance: After the success of the first EP, we inevitably veered towards a ska/punk style, so maybe now were looking for something heavier and more riff-oriented, says Fredrick. But these are just the impressions I got while we were jamming, weve never actually spoken about it.
Theyll be playing in London in early July, an opportunity that came by due to lots of hard work, and lots of hours spent online according to Nick. We just looked at whatever bands might be related to us and got in touch with them. This may be a dream come true for many local bands, but Dripht are far from dismissive of the Maltese scene. Guitarist Daniel (aka El Flambo, who, according to his online bio, was raised by chimps on the Canary Islands) points out that there is a very broad spectrum of genres on the island, from the most extreme metal to punk, to indie who are very tightly integrated, according to Nick, since you cant help but mix with other styles due to Maltas size: youll find punk bands playing with death metal bands, and so on
Obviously, certain things are annoying like the government spending thousands on the Eurovision while giving next to nothing for other genres, says Mike. But were not going to waste time brooding over being trapped hereif you want to achieve something, you have to fight for it.
Dripht have a political edge to some of their lyrics but I dont ask them about it. I dont know, I dont want to fall into that cliché of a journalist looking for a provocative angle to expose and it seems especially pointless with a band that clearly has few pretensions and is happy to just wing it. It does bare its head however. After the interview, Fre gets indignant as his bandmates dedicate time to discussing the World Cup: umbat it-tfal imutu l-Afrika