His songs brought people joy. But inside, he felt empty

After spending years writing for some of Malta’s top performers, singer-songwriter Matthew Mercieca, better known as Muxu, is releasing his most personal work yet – an album and a book both titled Beautifully Lost.

Muxu has been writing songs since the age of 17 and has penned countless lyrics for some of Malta’s most established artists. Earlier in his career, he was part of the writing team for the two songs that won the Junior Eurovision, first in 2013 with Gaia Cauchi’s Start and then in 2015 with Destiny’s winning song Not My Soul.

This year, he was one of the writers behind the controversial Eurovision entry, Miriana Conte’s Serving, which became the first song from Malta to reach the final round since 2021. He was also one of the lyricists, along with Destiny, for this year’s Junior Eurovision entry, I believe, by Eliza Borg.

For the past five years, Muxu, now 35, has also been working on Beautifully Lost, a book and album that tells the story of rediscovering himself and finding his purpose.

“I believe I currently represent my book best. While I’m still lost and figuring life out, I’m enjoying every moment,” he said.

“And there is so much beauty in being lost.”

It started with a bus trip

The idea for Beautifully Lost came to him in 2019, while he was travelling across Asia.

At that point, Muxu felt he was “ticking” all the to-do things on his life manual. Yet, something felt off.

“Amazing things were happening in my career, yet the music I created felt mechanical.”

Muxu took five years to write his first book.

After a year of heavy drinking and partying to break from his nine-to-five, he decided to leave Malta behind and head to Asia. The trip gave him time to reflect on his life and how he had arrived at that point.

The artist started to brainstorm on how he could share his experiences and thoughts with others.

It was during a bumpy bus ride in the middle of Nepal that an idea struck him: why not write a book and an album together?

The book tells tales of his travels but he would not describe it as a memoir.

“The book is only based on a short period of my life. I don’t speak about my career as a musician at all, but instead, the book is about a human who is lost and trying to figure it all out.”

Something unusual about the book is that Muxu ends each chapter with a question for the reader.

Some are fun: “When was the last time getting lost led you somewhere beautiful?”

Others require more reflection, such as: “What would happen if you gave yourself a second chance?”

“The book delves into the good and the bad of my life, and I’m being very honest through it all,” he said.

Return of old demons

The process of writing the book came with a few challenges. While he knew he had a gift with words and was skilled at storytelling through music, writing his book brought back “old demons”.

“Growing up, I didn’t do very well at school, and the writing process brought back those old demons and doubts about whether I was capable of writing a book,” he recalled.

Yet, he pushed the thoughts aside and trusted his gut. And while he finished the first draft of Beautifully Lost three years ago, at the time he still felt something was not complete and used the criticism he received to push him forward.

“I knew the moment the book was completed when my mother and I were going over the draft and we both looked at each other with tears in our eyes. That is when I knew.”

He said the moment was more special as his mother dreamed of writing a book.  She was with him through every chapter and edit.

“It is her book just as much as it is mine.”

Writing the album, on the other hand, was an easier task.

“Music is my therapy. Ever since I was young, if I was having a bad day, I would sit at the piano and let it all out.”

He said there was no process when it came to writing the 10 tracks on the album. Apart from being his first album, Beautifully Lost is also the first time he has co-produced one.

“I wanted to be part of the process from the beginning to the end.”

He recalled writing Honeymoon back in 2018, and at the time knowing it was a song he would want to keep for himself.

“I wrote it for myself, and I knew it was different from anything I had written before or what people would hear on the radio,” he said.

Other songs were written and produced at the same time he was writing the book, which includes a QR code at certain chapters where readers can listen to a song from the album, which complements the story.

“I feel like I created a little world with the novel and the album, and I believe the album makes more sense when people read the book too.”

Muxu says the experience was the biggest lesson of his life and has brought him to the calmest place he has ever felt.

“I wrote this because I feel like we live in a world where we are almost made to feel lonely, and I want readers to know they are not alone. My message is it’s okay to mess up and we should be kinder to ourselves.”

Muxu’s book is available at www.beautifully-lost.com.