Matthew Jonathan Gordon Maltese (born 6 October 1995) is a British-Canadian singer-songwriter and record producer. His style blends elements from

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and s ...

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

, and

chamber pop Chamber pop (also called baroque pop and sometimes conflated with orchestral pop or symphonic pop) is a music genre that combines rock music with the intricate use of strings, horns, piano, and vocal harmonies, and other components drawn from t ...

. Since releasing his debut single "Even If It's a Lie" in 2015, Maltese has released four

studio albums An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century a ...

, a cover album, and a number of

EPs An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

. Maltese's third studio album '' Good Morning It's Now Tomorrow'' was released in October 2021 via

Nettwerk Nettwerk Music Group is an independent record label founded in 1984. The Vancouver-based company was created by principals Terry McBride and Mark Jowett as a record label to distribute recordings by the band Moev, but the label expanded in Ca ...

. Maltese released his fourth studio album '' Driving Just to Drive'' in April 2023.

Early life

Matthew Jonathan Gordon Maltese was born on 6 October 1995 to Canadian parents; his father of Italian descent. Maltese was raised in

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

, England. He attended the Henley College, pursuing

A Levels The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational a ...

in Music, Maths, English and Economics. According to an interview with ''

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, Habit (psychology), habit or item generally considered morally wrong in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trait, a defect, an infirmity, or a bad or unhe ...

'' he started writing music at the age of 14. When he was a teenager Maltese began buying and selling

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...

and with the money he made, moved to Camden,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Career

2015–2017: SoundCloud and early singles

Maltese released his first single, "Even If It's a Lie", on

SoundCloud SoundCloud is a German audio streaming service owned and operated by SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG. The service enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is ...

in 2015. After the release of the single, Maltese signed with Café Bleu Recordings, a subdivision of Atlantic Records. In 2016, through Café Bleu Recordings, Maltese released his follow up EP, titled ''In a New Bed''. The following year in 2017 Maltese released a single titled "As the World Caves In", the premise of which he stated was about the idea of then-

UK Prime Minister The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister Advice (constitutional law), advises the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, sovereign on the exercise of much of the Royal prerogative ...

Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Baroness May of Maidenhead (; ; born 1 October 1956), is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served as Home Secretar ...

and then-

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

deciding to spend a night of

romance Romance may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings ** Romantic orientation, the classification of the sex or gender with which a pers ...

together before triggering

atomic warfare Nuclear warfare, also known as atomic warfare, is a War, military conflict or prepared Policy, political strategy that deploys nuclear weaponry. Nuclear weapons are Weapon of mass destruction, weapons of mass destruction; in contrast to conven ...

. The single saw a resurgence on

TikTok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...

starting in May 2021 following a cover by singer Sarah Cothran. In January 2023, it was certified Silver in the UK by the

British Phonographic Industry BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited, trading as British Phonographic Industry (BPI), is the British recorded music industry's trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards; is home to the Mercury Prize; co-owns the Official Charts C ...

(BPI) for selling 200,000

equivalent units Equivalence or Equivalent may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Album-equivalent unit, a measurement unit in the music industry * Equivalence class (music) *'' Equivalent VIII'', or ''The Bricks'', a minimalist sculpture by Carl Andre *'' Equiv ...

2018–2019: ''Bad Contestant'' and ''Krystal''

In June 2018, Maltese released his debut album '' Bad Contestant''. The album was produced by

Jonathan Rado Jonathan Rado is an American musician, record producer and engineer, best known as a multi-instrumentalist in the indie rock duo Foxygen. Rado is a native of Westlake Village, California, where he formed Foxygen with his classmate Sam France in 20 ...

of American Indie rock duo

Foxygen Foxygen is an American indie rock duo from Westlake Village, California, formed in 2005. The band consists of multi-instrumentalist Jonathan Rado and vocalist Sam France. They have released six albums and a number of self-released EPs. History ...

. His sophomore album '' Krystal'' followed in November 2019. The album was mostly recorded, produced, and mixed by Maltese in his bedroom studio. With the release of ''Krystal'', Maltese embarked on a UK headline tour in November 2019, he played on tour at six venues.

2020–2021: ''Madhouse'' and ''Good Morning It's Now Tomorrow''

In March 2020, Maltese released the single "Ballad of a Pandemic" about the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

; the single was released the same day as lockdown restrictions were imposed in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. This was followed by "Queen Bee" featuring vocals from Sorry's Asha Lorenz in May. In June 2020, Maltese took part in Tiny Gigs, a

livestream Livestreaming, live-streaming, or live streaming is the streaming media, streaming of video or Digital audio, audio in real-time communication, real time or near real time. While often referred to simply as ''streaming'', the real-time nature ...

event hosted by Tiny Changes, a mental health charity, to raise money for a

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

relief fund. Maltese released the single "Mystery" in May 2021. He then released another single in July 2021 called "Shoe" which was released following the announcement of Maltese's third studio album, '' Good Morning It's Now Tomorrow''. The album was released in October 2021. He also released the EP ''Madhouse'' in August 2020. MattMaltese ReithHumphreys2

2022–present: ''Quiet Recordings'', ''Driving Just to Drive'', and ''Hers''

In March 2022, Maltese released a new song called "Smile In the Face of the Devil" as a part of his new EP titled ''Quiet Recordings''. This EP would be a collection of more ambient tracks of off his previous album ''Good Morning It's Now Tomorrow''. ''Quiet Recordings'' was released on 8 April 2022 Maltese's next single "Mother" was released in October 2022. In December 2022, Maltese teased his third album. He then released a teaser for a new track followed by a single in January 2023 titled "Driving Just to Drive". The same day as this single was released, Maltese announced the album would be titled '' Driving Just to Drive'' for a 28 April 2023 release date. In 2024, Maltese published a cover album titled ''Songs That Aren't Mine''. Maltese recorded a cover of "

My Funny Valentine "My Funny Valentine" is a show tune from the 1937 Rodgers and Hart coming of age musical ''Babes in Arms'' in which it was introduced by teenaged star Mitzi Green. The song became a popular jazz standard, appearing on over 1300 albums performed ...

" for the 2025 tribute album ''Chet Baker Re:imagined''. Maltese released his fifth studio album, '' Hers'', on the 16th of May 2025. It was preceded by the singles "Buses Replace Trains", "Anytime, Anyplace, Anyhow", "Always Some MF" and "Pined For You My Whole Life".

Initiatives

Maltese has written for a number of other artists, including Birdy and Matilda Mann. In summer 2023, Maltese founded his own record label titled Last Recordings On Earth. The label's inaugural release was the single "Older" by

Searows Alec Duckart (born March 2, 2000), known professionally as Searows, is an American singer-songwriter from Portland, Oregon. Early life Duckart was born in Lexington, Kentucky, but he was raised in Portland, Oregon, where he currently resides. O ...

. In December 2024, Maltese composed the music for the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

's production of ''

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night, or What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Viola an ...

'', creating original music for

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's text and an original song "Maybe This Christmas".

Artistry

The first song Maltese recalls being moved by is "

Dreamer The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act, known as the DREAM Act, is a United States legislative proposal that would grant temporary #For conditional resident status, conditional residency, with the right to work, for Illegal ...

" by

Supertramp Supertramp were a British rock band formed in London in 1970. Marked by the individual songwriting of founders Roger Hodgson (vocals, keyboards and guitars) and Rick Davies (vocals and keyboards), the group were distinguished for blending p ...

. In a 2015 interview, Maltese said he would "always be into"

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter known for his solo work and his collaborations with Art Garfunkel. He and Garfunkel, whom he met in elementary school in 1953, came to prominence in the 1960s as Sim ...

Nina Simone Nina Simone ( ; born Eunice Kathleen Waymon; February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003) was an American singer, pianist, songwriter, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, and po ...

and

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian songwriter, singer, poet, and novelist. Themes commonly explored throughout his work include faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, soc ...

. Upon moving to South London, Maltese became immersed in the local music landscape, looking towards artists such as

Loyle Carner Benjamin Gerard Coyle-Larner (born 6 October 1994), known professionally as Loyle Carner, is an English hip hop musician. After supporting various rappers during their tours, he released his debut album, '' Yesterday's Gone'', in 2017, which g ...

and Alex Burey. He named

Vashti Bunyan Jennifer Vashti Bunyan (born 2 March 1945) is an English singer-songwriter. She began her career in the mid-1960s and released a debut album, '' Just Another Diamond Day'', in 1970. The album sold very few copies and Bunyan, discouraged, abando ...

Flo Morrissey Florence Elizabeth J. Clementine (née Morrissey; born 25 December 1994), better known by her stage name Flo Morrissey, is an English singer-songwriter from Notting Hill, London. She has released two albums and three singles, and has toured inter ...

and

Father John Misty Joshua Michael Tillman (born May 3, 1981), better known by his stage name Father John Misty, is an American musician. He is known for his satirical lyrics and eccentric performance style. Tillman began his career in Seattle in the early 2000s. O ...

as newer folk influences.

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

Maltese has released the following singles:

As featured artist

Select songwriting and production credits

Tours

Headlining act

* Matt Maltese EU + US Autumn Tour (2022) (with special guest Sophie May, Hohnen Ford,

) * Matt Maltese US 2022 TOUR * Matt Maltese Asia & Australia tour 2023 * Matt Maltese UK, Europe, The Americas "Touring Just to Tour" 2024

Supporting act

*Wolf Alice UK and IRELAND TOUR (2022)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maltese, Matt Living people 1997 births 21st-century English singers 21st-century English singer-songwriters British indie rock musicians British indie pop musicians English male singer-songwriters English people of Canadian descent English people of Italian descent English record producers Musicians from the London Borough of Camden Musicians from Reading, Berkshire People from Camden Town Singers from the London Borough of Camden