M.A.X.

This is your first solo e.p. – must be pretty buzzing – what make it D-Vine?

D-Vine felt like the right choice because it was a label built out of love and they are passionate about the tunes they release. As this e.p features 2 completely different tracks, it shows that they are prepared to take a risk and not scared to try something a little different. The girls run the label so professionally and have been really welcoming and helpful. Got loads of love for this camp!

Where does your inspiration come from? Have you always been on a deep vibe or are you ever evolving?

A lot of inspiration comes from my time on pirate radio from 2001-2005. It was my first proper piece of musical education and I believe I have taken many sounds from that era and made them my own. I have always had a thing about quite deep, emotional music, no matter the genre. I’d definitely say that my style is still evolving, it probably always will.

This summer has been pretty large for you from Touring Europe with Rudimental to Glastonbury to Ibiza, Bestival and of course not stop in the studio – what’s been the highlight 

There’s been a few…warming up for Rudimental in front of 18,000 people to a sold out O2 arena earlier in the year is something I’ll never forget. I played at 6 or 7 festivals which is always fun, plus I finished loads of new music I’m really pleased with. There’s a lot coming up!

Although this is your first solo flex, you’ve been making some moves on the remix front most recently for MK – what was that like?

Well, being asked to remix for MK was pretty mind blowing in itself. ‘Always’ and ‘Burning’ are two tracks that go way back with me so it was a massive honour! Me and Paolo who I collaborated with on it had a very short deadline to get it finished so it was non-stop in the studio for 2 days and 2 nights. In the last year, I’ve put out 10 remixes for various artists and have another 4 waiting to be released. For the short term future I will be taking a small step back from remixes to concentrate more on my own original material.

You’ve recently been compared to Maceo Plex – no biggie … is this the road you intend to take?

Wow, that is a massive compliment. I don’t feel like I’m worthy of that comparison but big up whoever said that! Ha! To be honest, I’m just going with the flow. I don’t have a specific style but I do think there are certain components that hopefully make my music recognizable no matter the style. My recent productions are quite deep and melodic and it’s definitely an avenue I want to explore more.

What’s your advice for all those aspiring producers?

Don’t compromise on the sound you want to make to please other people. Creating music has to come from the heart with no boundaries in place. Don’t be scared to try something different. This is a saturated market so try and get your work to stand out from the rest.

What can we expect to see next from M.A.X?

After my ‘Run’ e.p I have my follow up e.p already signed off with another very respectable label and a few more remixes to be released before the end of the year. I’m working on 2 separate live projects with some good friends of mine, so in 2017 you’ll start seeing some live shows from myself.

There’s been a lot of hype around artists sampling and doing remakes – what’s your stance on this?

Sampling is a massive part of dance music so it does have a place…but it takes away a massive part of the creative process. There is a massive culture at the moment of recycling songs from the 90’s especially. Don’t get me wrong, there’s some great ones, but unfortunately a lot of them lack any sort of originality. Not having a dig at anyone in particular, just on the current climate of the house scene.

Carl Cox made a statement about new producers being in and out of the studio in a day and finds that insane. Is that how times are moving now or is the creativity still a working progress?

My music tends to take quite a while to finish. Remixes I can knock out quicker. Usually in a few days, but ‘Get Up’ for example took over 18 month to finish – but that was a rare exception. ‘Run’ was also produced completely from scratch all on my Ableton Push. Altogether it took a couple of months to get it right.

M.A.X ‘Run’ EP is out October 14th on D-Vine Sounds

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