Hi PhiLho,
thanks for the reply.
libEGL on Ubuntu is related to OpenGL ES so as you noted this is another issue related to graphics. The strange thing is that I recall running this file several times in previous versions of Processing and other Ubuntu versions but not having this issue. Basically when running the sketch audio is inaudible (probably does not play at all) however the spectral analyzer does render based on the audio levels.
anyway thanks for the input, it is most sincerely appreciated.
if i find a solution i'll repost here.