Reviews of Clifford’s Performances in Malta and Europe

A few years back, pianist Clifford Borg had approached me with a mock-up of a double album he was planning to release. It was an ambitious project to undertake for a budding musician with just one album to his name, but an exciting one too. For various reasons, he eventually abandoned the idea of a two-CD release, opting instead to put the records out separately.

The first of these was Origin, a collection of Borg’s original classical compositions released in 2008. The album attracted a lot of positive critique locally and abroad, helping the young pianist to establish himself at the forefront of Malta’s new generation of neo-classical composers.

Six years on, the second disc, Cross-Origin, is practically finished. Unlike its predecessor, it is an eclectic foray into other genres, capturing other sides to Borg’s musical character that venture beyond classical music.

Borg’s music to date has often been tagged as chillout or new age, and to some extent, perhaps it is. At its core however, there is a classical heart beating; one that is not averse to crossing over into other sounds and styles. Borg’s eclectic tastes are also evident in his recent collaboration with the band Counting Clouds, whose latest album Dream Sequence features Borg on piano.

With two albums on the go, it’s hardly surprising that, bar a performance in Belgium last summer, he’s kept a relatively low profile in recent months, but took some time to answer a few questions about what he’s been up to and what lies ahead.

How do you balance the classical and contemporary sides of your musical character and how does one impact the other when it comes to composing?

One needs to be versatile. I do love modern synthesised sounds, but let’s not forget that I am a pianist first and foremost and so the foundations of all my compositions start on the piano. For Cross-Origin, I started by recording the original piano pieces on keyboards, extracting different tracks from the piano pieces and converting them into different sounds. The rest of the arrangement was added on later.

Having performed countless foreign gigs, do you feel there’s something different about how audiences abroad and local ones respond to your music, and do you have a particular favourite performance?

I feel that audiences abroad tend to be more open about their feelings and the way they react to new music. If I have to choose just one favourite performance, then it would have to be the one at St James church in London in 2009. Others also dear to my heart include the Salle Rossini in Paris in 2007, and performing an exclusive concert for President George Abela last year. I wanted Cross-Origin to sound different and reach a bigger audience, which is why it features a variety of sounds and styles.

More recently, you collaborated with US band Counting Clouds. How did you get together and what aspects did you find you connected most?

We first hooked up around five years ago via You Tube. They’d heard my songs and felt that my style would be perfect for what they were doing. After some time communicating, I didn’t hear from them for a while until, last December. They asked me to play piano on their latest album, Dream Sequence, which was released last month on Go Fish Records. I only had a month and a half to record all the piano parts, but I do love a challenge. Listening to the finished product, I’m happy I accepted.

Was it difficult working over a long distance?

Working virtually certainly had its challenges. I decided to record the piano parts at home rather than in a studio, but I didn’t really know how to set it all up. A friend helped me figure out how to install and use the necessary software to record music, which wasn’t easy. Eventually I got the hang of it and sent the files over to label owner and band manager Mike Wornath and vocalist Vionna Chamberlain, who mixed and mastered all the tracks on the album. Having to communicate online was sometimes frustrating. But on the other hand I think it’s rather fascinating how the internet made it possible for people on different parts of the planet, who never met, to produce an album together. In the few weeks it has been out, the album has been doing very well, with one of the tracks picked up for inclusion on a Ministry of Sound release.

You’re quite close to releasing your third album. How does it compare to the music you’ve recorded so far in terms of sound, direction and influence, and what you are reaching for as a musician?

The two albums I’ve released to date, 2000’s Drifted and 2008’s Origin were both piano-based. I wanted this album to sound different and reach a bigger audience, which is why Cross-Origin features a variety of sounds and styles – from dance music, electro-tango and Bossa Nova to swing, ambient, chillout and world music. The piano remains present as the main element. I also sing on two of the songs, so that’s another side of me that’s never been heard.

What is next in your schedule for 2014, and when will the first taste of your upcoming album be released?

I’m playing in London in a few days’ time. The concert is being organised by the British High Commission to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Malta’s Freedom Day. I will be performing original pieces, while Thea Garrett will sing two of my compositions, Longing Dawn and Ave Maria. On May 30, I have another piano performance in Belgium. Sometime during the coming months I will be releasing Emergence as the first single off the new album. It’s a remix of the original version that appeared on the Origin album. We’ve already been working on the music video for the song with Marlon Polidano, who has already produced fantastic videos for other local artists. I’m planning to release the album digitally at first, with the physical CD format to be launched at a later stage.

View the article on the Times of Malta – Article by Michael Bugeja 2014

Saison en Musique is an annual cultural event that takes place in the Belgian town of Silly.  This year`s edition of the two –day kicked off yesterday at the Maison de Normandie anc comes to an end later this evening. Among its main protagonists, the event featured Maltese pianist and composer Clifford Borg, who gave two piano recitals based on his own compositions as part of the event`s guest artist carreer showcase.

No stranger to performing abroad,  Borg, has previously performed in the UK, Holland, Belgium, Germany, France, Sicily and Egypt, with his performances earning him very positive comments and critique. He has also performed countless times in Malta, the most recent being a performance for the president of Malta last February.

To date, Borg has releases two albums, Drifted and Origin, the latter recorded in Brussels, which is promoted by independent German label Timezone, as a result of which Borg has had some of his work used and aired in a number of German TV  and radio shows.

He is currently working on his third album, which will see him cross into different musical genres to create a record with a chillout vibe tinged by world music characteristics. The first single off the new album will be released later this year.

TEATRU WITH A TWIST – by Michael Bugeja, The Malta Independent, 15th January 2005

But – on with the show! Young pianist Clifford Borg took his seat at the piano, the lights went down, and the gentle notes of Michael Nyman’s The Promise set in. The Brussels-based Maltese pianist kept the mood sensitive and delicate with a rendition of Satie’s poignant Gymnopedie No.1 and Bocelli’s The Prayer, which went down equally well, but when he slipped in a couple of his own compositions, namely Indian Summer and Emergence, you could sense that the audience had become more enthralled. Borg, whose Drifted CD album received several encouraging reviews, is certainly one of Malta’s promising talents.

This edition included Clifford Borg, who opened proceedings and enthralled one in all with his nimble piano arrangements. Borg has been performing locally and abroad for quite some time now.

His shows in Germany were excellently received as was his performance at Malta Week at the European Commission in Brussels. Yet, Clifford’s winning card is his dedication, meticulousness and determination to broaden his horizons. His treatment of works by Debussy, Satie, Ravel, Bjork and his own piano compositions from his debut album Drifted, alongside his new arrangements, Emergence and Indian Summer. What is striking about Borg is how he manages to roll so many influences and make them his own.

This year’s event will be ‘split into several parts, the first of which will revolve around piano performances that will be largely instrumental. The line-up in this case includes Brussels-based Maltese pianist Clifford Borg, whose Drifted CD was critically acclaimed a couple of years ago.
Music: Piano Recital by Clifford Borg Sala Isouard, Manoel Theatre.

“Crossover” is the term used to describe the fusion of classical music with other styles, such as jazz, rock or world music. This genre has become increasingly popular during the past years, with results ranging from the inspired to the downright bland. The flyer advertising Clifford Borg`s recital Anticipation promised an evening of “crossover”, with works by Satie and Debussy alongside those of rock artist Alanis Morissette and Borg`s own “hit singles”.

Being unacquainted with Borg`s works, I must say I attended the concert with much curiosity and without some trepidation. The evening turned out to be an entertaining one, with much of the programme dedicated to Borg`s own compositions. He has a flair for writing piano miniatures of instant melodic appeal, much in the vein of the acclaimed Italian Ludovico Einaudi and, to a lesser extent, Yann Tiersen or Michael Nyman, Like these composers, Borg relies heavily on minimalist arpeggiated figures and on varied repetitions of the main theme.

Fortunately, given the brevity of the pieces, the music ideas rarely outstayed their welcome. Some of the pieces must be singled out. Emergence, the opening item on the programme, was a predominantly melancholic work and is quite typical of the composer’s style. Indian Summer started with a number of rhythmic surprises and developed into a haunting melody. Expectations exploited the upper registers of the piano, especially in the opening and closing bars.

A drawback of this type of music, however, is that all pieces then to sound similar. It was therefore wise of Clifford Borg to vary the textures of some his pieces by adding violin and cello parts (played by Simon Vella and Simon Abdilla Joslin respectively). Indeed Longing Dawn, with its haunting cello solo, was one of the most enjoyable of Borg`s works. The evening was further enlivened by dancers Graziella Tonna and Aida Ascic Grech, who provided a visual accompaniment to Ira and Ladybird – pretty unusual fare for the Sala Isouard.

Interspersed among Borg`s works were pieces by other composers. Borg ventured into classical music territory with Debussy`s La Fille aux chevaux de lin and Satie`s Gnossienne No 1. Both performances were expressive, but over-pedalling smudged the music`s textures. The collaboration with well-known vocalist Miriam Christine, who sang arrangements of Gershwin`s Summertime and Alanis Morissette`s That I would be good, was altogether more successful, with the latter piece sounding particularly moving in the acoustic “classical” guise.

One hopes that we will hear more of Clifford Borg, and that he will not be afraid to take risks and experiment with new compositional techniques. In the meantime, he is providing Maltese audiences with some enjoyable “chill-out “piano music sounds”.

Clifford Borg is a name that has not featured often in classical music circles but he will certainly be talked about quite often after presenting a concert entitled ‘Simplicity’ at St James Cavalier recently. His style ranges from the sentimental sweetmeats of Chopin to the more romanticized and heart throbbing music of Richard Clayderman and Mike Oldfield, both well established artists in this genre.

The first part of the concert consisted of a number of items that have already been released in the ‘Drifted’ CD which launched Clifford onto the scene. Firm favourites such as ‘Denied’, ‘Longing Dawn’ and ‘Raindrops’ confirm the beautiful melodic music, full of nostalgia and whimsical memories, almost like a soul searching for its mate. There are times when the tunes are moving and emotion can get the better of one, notwithstanding Borg’s complete self control that also is clear in his pianistic skills that are quite commendable.

Josie Scerri sang ‘Nature Boy’ from Moulin Rouge accompanied by Borg. Her pale orange outfit complemented perfectly with the sweet, lithe voice that emanates from this seductive yet strangely mesmerizing figure, almost as mysterious as Clifford himself. The new items in this first part were ‘Expectations’ and ‘Simplicity’, both inherently beautiful yet sometimes lacking the sheer melodic invention of the earlier items.

The second part of the concert had much more new material that confirms Clifford’s continual inspiration. ‘Within a Jealous Game’ is rather static although one can sense deep personal afflictions. My favourites were the aptly titled ‘Orange Forever’, a wonderful piece that shifts from elation to depression in one moment and ‘Calm’, an oasis of peace and special wonder. Josie was back with Bjork’s emotional ‘New World’, also sung with passion and that soft elation.

You may not think that Clifford Borg’s music is of a cerebrally qualitative nature but he is definitely a heart on sleeve character that expresses all in his music. ‘Simplicity’ was certainly an event that conveyed all that with particular directness.