Matt Maltese
Matthew Jonathan Gordon Maltese is a British-Canadian singer-songwriter and record producer. His style blends elements from indie pop, indie rock, and chamber pop. Since releasing his debut single "Even If It's a Lie" in 2015, Maltese has released five studio albums, a cover album, and a number of EPs. Maltese's third studio album Good Morning It's Now Tomorrow was released in October 2021 via Nettwerk. 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, England. He attended the Henley College, pursuing A Levels in Music, Maths, English and Economics. According to an interview with Vice he started writing music at the age of 14. When he was a teenager Maltese began buying and selling vinyl and with the money he made, moved to Camden, London.Career
2015–2017: SoundCloud and early singles
Maltese released his first single, "Even If It's a Lie", on SoundCloud 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 Theresa May and then-U.S. President Donald Trump deciding to spend a night of romance together before triggering atomic warfare. The single saw a resurgence on TikTok 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 for selling 200,000 equivalent units.2018–2019: ''Bad Contestant'' and ''Krystal''
In June 2018, Maltese released his debut album Bad Contestant. The album was produced by Jonathan Rado of American Indie rock duo Foxygen.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 single was released the same day as lockdown restrictions were imposed in the United Kingdom. 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 event hosted by Tiny Changes, a mental health charity, to raise money for a COVID-19 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.
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 off of 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" 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". He has been working with Bella Ramsey on new music and released "''Cure for Emptiness ".
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.
In December 2024, Maltese composed the music for the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Twelfth Night directed by Prasanna Puwanarajah, creating original music for William Shakespeare's text and an original song "Maybe This Christmas". The production played in Stratford-upon-Avon over the Christmas 2024 season, and will be revived at the Barbican Centre, London over the Christmas 2025 season.
Artistry
The first song Maltese recalls being moved by is "Dreamer" by Supertramp. In a 2015 interview, Maltese said he would "always be into" Paul Simon, Nina Simone and Leonard Cohen. Upon moving to South London, Maltese became immersed in the local music landscape, looking towards artists such as Loyle Carner and Alex Burey. He named Vashti Bunyan, Flo Morrissey and Father John Misty as newer folk influences.Discography
Studio albums
Extended plays
Singles
As lead artist
Maltese has released the following singles:| Year | Title | Album/EP |
| 2015 | "Even If It's a Lie" | rowspan="2" |
| 2016 | "Vacant in the 21st Century" | - |
| 2016 | "Strange Time" | Bad Contestant |
| 2017 | "As the World Caves In" | Bad Contestant |
| 2017 | "No One Won The War" | rowspan="2" |
| 2017 | "Comic Life" | - |
| 2018 | "Greatest Comedian" | Bad Contestant |
| 2018 | "Like A Fish" | Bad Contestant |
| 2018 | "Nightclub Love" | Bad Contestant |
| 2018 | "Bad Contestant" | Bad Contestant |
| 2018 | "Misery" | Bad Contestant |
| 2020 | "Tokyo " | Krystal |
| 2020 | "Ballad of a Pandemic" | |
| 2020 | "queen bee" | madhouse |
| 2021 | "Mystery" | Good Morning It's Now Tomorrow |
| 2021 | "Shoe" | Good Morning It's Now Tomorrow |
| 2021 | "You Deserve an Oscar" | Good Morning It's Now Tomorrow |
| 2021 | "Good Morning" | Good Morning It's Now Tomorrow |
| 2021 | "Nothing Breaks Your Heart Like Christmas" | |
| 2022 | "Smile in the Face of the Devil" | Quiet Recordings |
| 2022 | "Mother" | Driving Just To Drive |
| 2023 | "Driving Just To Drive" | Driving Just To Drive |
| 2023 | "Museum" | Driving Just To Drive |
| 2023 | "Florence" | Driving Just To Drive |
| 2023 | "The Earth is a Very Small Dot" | |
| 2024 | "Kiss Me" | Songs That Aren't Mine |
| 2024 | "Philadelphia " | Songs That Aren't Mine |
| 2024 | "This Is The Day" | Songs That Aren't Mine |
| 2025 | "Anytime, Anyplace, Anyhow" | Hers |
| 2025 | "Always Some MF" | Hers |
| 2025 | "Pined For You My Whole Life" | Hers |
| 2025 | "Buses Replace Trains" | Hers |
As featured artist
Select songwriting and production credits
Tours
Headlining act
- Matt Maltese EU + US Autumn Tour
- Matt Maltese US 2022 TOUR
- Matt Maltese Asia & Australia tour 2023
- Matt Maltese UK, Europe, The Americas "Touring Just to Tour" 2024
- Matt Maltese US, Canada, Europe "Tour For You My Whole Life" 2025
Supporting act
- Wolf Alice UK and IRELAND TOUR