LISTEN: This Maltese Singer-Songwriter Is So Underrated It Hurts

It’s Friday, y’all – that can only mean one thing: the weekend is here and the lush life is calling.

Whatever your plans are for this weekend, if any music’s involved, then make sure this track gets a few (read: xeba) plays.

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This is Ryan Caruana’s second release and we are very impressed 

The track definitely brings a lot to the table.

For an independent artist to be weaving together a record combining such unique flavour and a brilliantly nonchalant sense of craft, it’s high time we started paying a little more attention to this guy.

 

Ryan’s debut dropped last September and it has felt like the longest wait for a second serving.

Polaroids was his first dip into the industry and acted as a stepping stone for him to demonstrate his creative side as a singer-songwriter. And it definitely served.

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Next To You is a stark contrast to Polaroids.

Ryan’s first track showed off his general experiences of love. With Next To You, Ryan has flipped the narrative and put his own spin on what he feels is the best part of getting to know someone.

Summer in the air, bodies in the heat. No excuses. 

Ryan describes the track as “how you imagine the perfect life with someone you love”.

 

Authenticity is at the heart of Ryan’s music and it really shines through with his writing.

The creative yet simple rhyming couplets pull each lyric together seamlessly, and really drive home a feeling of consistency.

“I want my music to be as real as possible, no filters and to go against certain social norms and taboos.” 

The instrumentals are upbeat, with an acoustic feel from guitar strums in the background, as Ryan sings the final line of the chorus, “wake up next to you, all about me and you.” It’s the perfect progression into a hook reminiscent of the sound you’d expect from an artist like Sigrid. It’s giving us new-era-rising pop vibes and we just can’t wait for it to erupt.

Ryan’s crisp tone on the vocal side is a familiar, but refreshing breath of new sound to the scene.

While we do admire the hard work that the artists currently dominating the scene are putting in, Ryan’s efforts in moulding his own career are paying off, and our ears are here for it.

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Thing is, he’s not as big as he should be and we think this needs to change.

His new baby is definitely a radio-friendly record that absolutely deserves all the airplay. The versatility of the track is so broad; it can soundtrack your summer road trips, your pre-party pre-drinks, your shower karaoke – the possibilities are endless.

He’s garnered a small audience already, and the reach spans across 16 different countries.

Production of the song was handled by Matteo Depares of Matteo Makes Music, another artist we feel needs more attention. He works with the team over at Wicked and Loud and has been working with none other than the man himself, Owen Luellen, on his debut album so you know any future collaborations Matt delivers are bound to be good.

“I’m hoping that we’ll hear more from him soon.”

As a producer, Matt’s job is first and foremost to bring out the best from the song and artist. “Working with artists such as Ryan who are relatively unknown but talented, hardworking and motivated presents its challenges,” Matteo says, “to get any kind of success out of a song when your career is just starting out is very difficult, so it brings me great satisfaction to see Next To You being received so well!”

Ryan and Matt worked together wonderfully on the track, Ryan knew exactly what he wanted out of his song and the two really enjoyed the process of building it together in the studio.

If you aren’t adding Next To You to your summer playlists, you’re letting yourself down. Make this massive and reap the rewards of auditory bliss. 

Next To You and Polaroids have given this young artist a tangible feel of the music industry, where “most of the time you have to be your own cheerleader and believe in what you’re putting on the table.”

If that isn’t enough to get you hyped for this artist then you’re tacky and we hate you. This track belongs on a CW teen drama.

 

We miss you, Gossip Girl. 

Stream Next To You on Spotify below or click here for all other platforms. 

 

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