The latest episode of the Select Cuts series plays host to a German producer, who’s long impressed all at WWD HQ. In fact, Maximiljan’s carefully crafted soul-filled weapons have garnered him quite the following in recent years, his hard work culminating in releases on Anja Schneider’s much-loved Mobilee Records and on respected Leipzig-based imprint of Matthias Tanzmann; Moon Harbour.
This week we caught up with him to talk love for Amsterdam, making it on Moon Harbour and new music on London’s NoFitState. What’s more, he’s mixed a supreme 60 minute selection of his currently favoured House & Techno productions.
WWD : Max, great to have you here! What’s new in Amsterdam this week?
Thanks for having me! Well the weather is turning better finally. Early summer vibes are in the air and you can see it on peoples faces. This week I’ll be working on new music and do this interview…
WWD : You’re originally from Düsseldorf, what prompted the move to the Netherlands?
Yes almost correct… I’ve been born and raised in Neuss, which is very next to Düsseldorf. Just on the other side of the Rhine river.
But I’ve always been interested in Amsterdam, since lots of my fav djs and producers are from there.
And been living in the western part of Germany, Amsterdam had always been easier to reach for me than Berlin for example.
It’s only a 2 hour ride. Coincedence was also that my girlfriend went to study in Amsterdam few years back and I’ve been visiting her every month at least. So i got to know the city step by step and when my girlfriend found a job in Holland after her studies I decided to move there aswell.
However I’m still in Düsseldorf from time to time aswell. I get a lot of inspiration from both cities.
WWD : We loved your ‘No Space’ release on Moon Harbour, how did signing to the label come about?
“No Space“ was on my HD for some time. I didnt find the right place for it for a while, but i always felt it was a strong one.
Then last year in Summer I visitied my buddy Tapesh who was playing in Amsterdam that night and Matthias Tanzmann was playing 2hours after him i think. So we were all hanging out in behind the booth and since we’re all German we got into conversation pretty quick. Tap introduced me to Matthias and we talked for a few minutes. I just had the feeling we understood very well right from the start. Matthias knew some earlier works from me aswell, which made it easier. So I just asked him if i could send him some of my tracks. And yeah he agreed. I was lucky I just finished “All The Way“, which later became the A1 Track of the EP, the week after we met and this was finally a track that would work well with “No Space“ in my opinion. So I just sent him these 2 Tracks + 2 other ones and Matthias was feeling them right away. He told me Moon Harbour would like to do the EP right as their next one, so things really went fast. I’m very happy how it all went down.
WWD : Can you give us an insight into what’s happening on the production front right now? Can we look forward to new music from you soon?
Yes I’ve stripped down releases to a minimum after “No Space“ to be honest, as i want to take my time with new tracks and keep the quality high. But I can tell that there will be an EP on Geddes’ Label NoFitState from London in near future. Furthermore I’m in touch with another label right now for a slightly deeper ep. But I can’t tell you where it’ll end up yet, as it’s just not yet confirmed. It’s one of my personal favourites so i keep my fingers crossed at the moment. But there are quite a bunch of tracks that will see the light of day sooner or later.
WWD : The Summer season is fast arriving, is venturing outside the dark nightclub basements something you look forward to?
Yes I really like to play outside. It’s just different to the club atmosphere. You sometimes have to play differently. With an open air stage its often harder to reach the crowd with your music. But when the mood is right, its just a great experience.
WWD : Can you give us one track you feel will make a big impact this Summer?
Westbam & Nena – Oldschool Baby (Smallpeople Version)
WWD : Talking festivals, have you any dates lock down for the coming months?
Yes, the first comfirmed ones are Spatial Outdoor in Den Bosch, Holland early next month and ParookaVille Festival 17th of July in Weeze, Germany. Looking forward to these already.
WWD : Before we leave you! You’ve recording a little mix for us. What will one find in there?
A little bit of everything that matters to me right now. From Deeper passages to Technoish stuff.
Few Vinyl Only Tracks and just good Music by some of my favourite producers…
Iron Curtis, Palms Trax or Mike Dehnert will be found inbetween 😉
I tried to give a rough overview of what you can expect when you see me play.
Follow Maximiljan :
Soundcloud : www.soundcloud.com/maximiljan
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/maximiljan
Twitter : www.twitter.com/itsmaximiljan