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Today I was interviewed by www.escflashmalta.com
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Exclusive: Lawrence Gray speaks to ESCflashmalta
Written by Marc Calleja Bayliss
Tuesday, 20 July 2010 07:30
Today, we are going to be speaking to a man of great talent whose role in the Maltese music industry has been most notable in several local festivals over the years including the Malta Song for Europe and the Konkors Kanzunetta Indipendenza amongst others. He has also been abroad having a spent a number of months in the United Kingdom and touring in Cyprus pursuing even bigger ventures. I am of course speaking about the notable Lawrence Gray.
The Maltese music industry is reported to be frail, weak and at times corrupt. What is your take on such a comment and would you have taken up a different career if you had knew what lied in store within such a career?
Well I am honored to say that I’ve been around and traveled a lot with my music and, to be honest you’ll find these things everywhere you go in the music business not only in Malta. The problem here is that we are such a small island and so everyone wants a piece of the cake. As regards taking a different career, probably I wouldn’t have. I believe that we are all in this world for a purpose and I don’t believe that the good Lord blessed me with such a voice and a talent for me to ignore it. This is meant to be for me and what is keeping me going is the love I have for the art of music, my fans, my real friends, all my family and my girlfriend Maronia who is soon to be my wife.
Despite never winning the ticket to represent Malta at the Eurovision Song Contest, you have represented our country in numerous festivals abroad. What is the feeling that you get when you are representing a nation and how much do you still want to do so at the biggest musical event in Europe?
As you know me very well now, you can easily see that I’m a very honest and straight forward person and what I am going to say now is something that everyone knows and that has been in people’s mouth ever since. The ticket to represent my country should have been for sure in my hands at least twice in my career: in 1999 with song The Right Time and in 2003 with the song Why Not. But looking back on what happened to the artists who went at that time, although they did their very best, it was better that way or who knows, it could have been a different story. Regarding all the festivals I represented my country in, all I can say is I was always respected as an artist and treated like a star. It all made it worth while and to finish up I would like to say that I will still do so as long as the people would want me to represent them.
You have recently returned to the festival scene thanks to your performance at the Malta Eurosong competition in 2010 with the song Stories composed by Ray Agius and written by Godwin Sant. This entry was quite different to what we have seen you with in the past being a typical operatic ballad which suits your voice perfectly. What was the motivation behind your participation and will we see you taking part in 2011?
As I said many times in different TV Shows before and after the festival, this year I took part without any pretention of winning but just for the people to see me performing for them after 6 years of absence and for them to say that Lawrence Gray has still got it. As I said before I will do so as long as the people would want me to represent them.
This years’ Malta Eurosong competition was classified as being absolutely up to date with the best talent on the Islands yet the songs were said to be too conservative or just plain put old. Do you believe that our songwriters need to look deeper into their musical talent in order to bring about more original ideas when writing entries for Maltese artists?
A good song is always a good song, despite its style, form and date. What I believe one should do is to write a song with lots of passion, heart and soul and leave it in the hands of an artist that can really deliver a song and not writing songs as mass production hoping that maybe one will go through for the finals. Music has got to breath, has got to live.
This year, the Public Broadcasting Services decided against letting foreign songwriters take up in the competition and this did not really bode well with European countries that mostly let foreign songwriters enter within their respective competitions. One could note that five of the entries in the Eurovision Song Contest were actually written by Swedes whilst Sweden was actually not in the final. Do you think that International songwriters should compete in the Maltese selection?
To be honest I really care about Malta and again we are too small to let foreign composers take over our piece of bread. I believe that we do really have very good song writers in Malta and even record producers and arrangers and, being a song writer myself, I had the opportunity to collaborate with some of them on a bigger scale for my projects over the years. The problem is that some of our professionals prefer to stay out of the Eurosong Festival. One should be around them to understand why. What I can suggest however is that if they really want to bring foreign composers in the picture they should do so only if they agree to collaborate with Maltese composers not let them do the entire job, maybe one can learn something as well.
Several experts in the local entertainment scene have been stating that we have been going about our participation in the annual Eurovision Song Contest in the wrong way because we are spending a very few amount of money whilst being too one track minded with regards to the selection. What, in your opinion should be changed in the way that the artist and the song are chosen if you believe that such change should take place?
First of all I would really like to know who these experts are because with all the respect here everyone seems to be an expert. All I care about is for Malta to do well no matter what and, if there’s going to be some changes by the people responsible, these decisions are to be very wisely taken and definitely without any political issues. This should really be one track mind for Malta. On the other hand the people responsible should really take care not to delegate people as judges in the preselections who, after choosing their favorite songs, go on TV programs stating that they don’t like, don’t agree and don’t believe in the Eurosong Festival. That’s definitely unacceptable.
Malta’s success achieved in the 90’s at the Eurovision Song Contest seems to be waning down following yet another disappointing result in Oslo, Norway as Thea Garrett and the beautiful song My Dream only managed to finish in 12th place in the first semi-final with only a couple of points away from qualification. What do you believe went wrong this year and what could have been done to get a better placing?
Although I was in the festival this year not much for the competition but more for the fun of it and again for the people to see that I’m still going strong, and yes I have to admit even for some promotion, I was the first one to believe in Thea Garrett and the song My Dream. What worried me a lot is that after everyone is an expert saying that the song was old fashioned and never had the chance to pass for the finals. Even judges that chose the song themselves and eventually gave it 12 points, but obviously no one loves a looser, everyone loves a winner as they say. Obviously I am not a God to say what should have been done to achieve a better result, all I can say is that the Eurosong Festival is very important for us and whoever is going to be responsible should take care of it as if it was a baby with lot of interest, dedication, responsibility and believe that that is the way to success.
As you said during our recent conversation, you are actually quite busy at the moment as are most of the Maltese artists during the summer. What are you working on at the moment and what should we be expecting from Lawrence Gray in the upcoming months when winter starts to kick in yet again.
Except my full time job as an entertainer and hopefully starting giving singing lessons, what I’m trying to do is to get back my band ‘Meer’ on the local scene. I have to admit that it’s not as easy as it used to be because every member of the band is busy with his own projects but hopefully we’ll get there. I am busy writing a good set of songs to produce with them and with the help of my sound engineer and good friend Manolito Galea, who I believe is one of the best when it comes to good sound for a good comeback. Then in August I have to go abroad to meet some foreign composers regarding opportunities to represent another country in the Eurosong Festival. Of course nothing is 100% yet but if the opportunity comes along this time I definitely will not refuse because obviously I have to see also what is best for me and my career.
Would you like to say anything to your fans at www.escflashmalta.com?
To all my fans I’d like to say a big huge THANK YOU for their love, support and belief throughout these years. Whatever I do, I do it for them because if it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t be the artist that I am today. They give me strength to carry on and to never give up and for that I thank them all with all my heart. My thanks goes to ESC FlashMalta as well. A big hug to all – Lawrence Gray.
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