“Loose Wire” has been described as a sonically and lyrically cohesive project, exploring themes of love, self-destructiveness, excessiveness, and heartbreak, ultimately leading to self-acceptance and self-forgiveness. How did you approach crafting this thematic journey, and what messages do you hope listeners take away from the album?

Yes, I have always enjoyed music albums as a complete artistic project – like a book. I’ve always loved albums that focused on a particular concept, such as many albums of the ‘70s, ie Pink Floyd albums, although not so common in pop. However, artists like The Weeknd and even Taylor Swift are making concept albums. Also, I love it when the album’s music takes you on a journey, which allows you to listen to the album as one piece, where one song flows into the other. This really excites me. When I started to write ‘Loose Wire’, I had recently parted ways with an ex-girlfriend. I wanted to write an album that takes the listener on a journey from finding yourself alone after a difficult break-up and losing yourself after the end of a toxic relationship to finding yourself again, and everything in between.

Honestly, what I wish listeners would take away from the album is that it is okay to feel however you feel. We all get bad moments. We are all broken at times. We are all ‘loose wires’; let’s be easy on ourselves, forgive ourselves, and trust that things will be okay.

Reflecting on your journey from local gigs and battle-of-the-bands competitions to an international tour, how has your musical style evolved, and what lessons have you learned, especially during your time with the Pop Duo Royals and the Malta X Factor experience?

My musical style has changed from the early days of Royals from ‘indie pop’ to more modern electronic-pop. However, at the end of the day, I’ve always loved listening to and writing pop music, whatever the subgenre—getting to know yourself well as an artist takes some time to find your identity. When I looked back at myself at the X Factor competition, it was clear that I did not have a clear idea of my musical identity.

However, this will also continue to revolve according to the project. I want to produce a different style of songs consistently, and the style will change from album to album, although remaining fundamentally pop. I am highly influenced by classic pop and disco of the ’70s and ’80s, including Prince, David Bowie, and Billy Joel and The Bee Gees and I combine sounds, songwriting techniques and production elements from this era with modern pop and electronic elements.

It’s impressive that your music has been streamed in over 110 countries, considering your origins here in Malta! How does it feel to see your music resonate globally, and what do you attribute to the widespread appeal of your sound across diverse cultures and regions?

Every time I log into my Spotify account and see the number of streams coming from different countries, I get excited, which shocks me. It’s unbelievable to me, and I don’t know how it happens, but I’m so happy and humbled by it.

What’s on the horizon for 2024?

So, Kristijan, an outstanding guitar player and songwriter, and I have started working on a new project. We have already written some tracks, which will be on a future album. The first single from the project ‘Lost Without You’ has already been released, and we are very proud of it.

With this album, we focus less on the electronic/digital elements and more on organic instrument-based sound, vocal harmonies and classic songwriting with interesting chord progressions. It has a pop sound with a jazzy element while keeping the sound modern and fresh. Of course, we will have my long-term producer writing partner onboard, David Vella, whose role in ‘Loose Wire’ was fundamental. We are very excited about this project and cannot wait to have it out!

You can follow Dylan’s journey on Facebook.