“It’s all about sticking as closely as possible to the pure initial idea so as to represent it as clearly as possible musically in the hope the message can be heard by the listeners.”
– Max Cooper
Max Cooper – Bright Festival
Lattice 3D/AV
Sat 10 May 2025, 20:00
Tickets
[Rewind 2011]
Max Cooper Interview
Subsonic Music Festival
BBMLive’s Stuart Matson catches up with techno sensation Max Cooper, ahead of the release of his ‘Amalgamations’ EP.
Max made a name for himself in 2009, with the breakthrough ‘Serie’ trilogy, a collection of songs inspired by his studies as a genetic researcher. Each track was based around a different mathematical or scientific concept and was accompanied by similarly themed videos from the animator Whiskas FX.
Max’s subsequent rise in profile, as one of the UK’s brightest emerging DJs, has now enabled him to side-line the genetic research and pursue music full-time. With over 50 original releases, tracks and remixes to his name, his live sets are now in high demand across the globe, from Australia to Sweden, with the producer set to clock up a fair few miles touring in November alone.
His new EP is scheduled for a November 7th release and includes two remixes: a rework of cinematic electronic producer Hiatus’ ‘Third’ and a Get People remix. Considering the success of previous remixes, notably those with Hot Chip and Au Revoir Simone, this new release looks set to spark a big reaction within the dance music community.
So with all the hype surrounding him and his minimalist style of techno, we thought we’d grab a one-to-one with Max and see what all the fuss is about.
Hello Max, you’ve been busy finishing off a new EP and November looks to be just as hectic with live shows all over the place; from Ireland to Australia. How are you enjoying your music at the moment?
I’m really enjoying the travelling and gigs, but I suspect I’ll be pretty broken by the end of the year!
You’ve been making music for a while now, but your assent to the DJing big league was quite a rapid process. What prompted you to shift the focus away from genetic research and towards your music back in 2009?
I had spent a year after my PhD putting together research proposals and new ideas so that I could pursue my own work, but the funding didn’t come through, so I turned to music as an alternative that would also provide the creative and work freedom that I wanted.
Some of your earlier tracks were inspired by scientific and mathematical concepts, would you say that the old day job as a research scientist has influenced you in your music?
It has influenced my music in a lot of ways, mainly through the simple techniques for exploring the possibilities of a complex system (like experimentation and trial and error) and the self belief needed to push something long enough to make it work.
How would you describe the creative process when you sit down to write a song?
It varies from track to track, but generally I’ll have a firm idea, either musical, conceptual, or emotional (or a combination of those) for what I want the new piece to sound like before I’ve started working on it. It’s all about sticking as closely as possible to the pure initial idea so as to represent it as clearly as possible musically in the hope the message can be heard by the listeners. The translation process from intangible idea to tangible music to listener response is highly imprecise so maximum clarity in the first stage is needed. After sticking to that it’s just about experimentation to find what music best fits my initial idea.
Considering your scientific background where do you stand on software v hardware for the production of your music, do you have a preference?
I’d love to own some hardware, it can give an amazing full sound, but it’s expensive and hard to house, I’m still only using software at the moment. As with most things, how you use the tools is more important than the tools themselves.
Your music has a strong visual presence and you have a lot of fans who produce their own videos to accompany your tracks. Is the visual interpretation of your songs important to you?
Definitely, I think visuals can hugely enhance the message of a track and vice versa. And it’s great when I see peoples own interpretations of my tracks with their videos, I can’t thank them enough for putting in the time and effort to do that.
How do your DJ sets differ from your live sets and which is more enjoyable to perform?
Generally the one I have done less in recent weeks will be the one I most enjoy, variety is important. My DJ sets are more wide ranging musically, and more varied, whereas my live sets are constrained to my tracks only, although I do like to use some remixes of my tracks by other people as well, that gives me a bit more musical width which can be really useful in putting together a more complete set. Apart from that, both types of set can differ a lot, from ambient deep melodic warblings to noisy distorted club bangers, it depends on the event.
You have included two remixes on your new EP, ‘Amalgamations’, what do you consider when choosing a song to remix?
I’ll listen to the original track right through and see if anything jumps out and grabs me – It can be something quite small, a short melodic or percussive element or vocal snippet, or maybe the whole track just fits with my mood at the time. One way or another, for remixes I don’t have to force, I can hear something in there I want to work with.
Is there anyone you would like to collaborate with down the line?
Loads of people – Helios, Jon Hopkins, Max Richter, Philip Glass, Autechre, Ochre, Boards of Canada, SBTRK, Apparat, Amon Tobin, Underworld, Alva Noto, Tim Hecker, Ben Frost, Bjork, Radiohead….haha ok I’m getting silly now, but you did ask.
You have produced some very abstract electronica in the past, as well as the more traditional dance-floor techno; are there any genres that you would like to explore in the future?
I’ve been pilfering ideas from pretty much every electronic genre I can get my hands on, but I think it’s the combination of modern classical and electronica that inspires me the most these days.
Max Cooper will performing a set at Subsonic Music Festival, Australia 2011.
By Stuart Matson
[Fast Forward 2024]
Balance 030
Max Cooper
Buy Here
2LP + download code to the full mix of Balance 030 mixed by Max Cooper.
This double vinyl package contains a handpicked selection of Cooper’s favourite tracks from the Balance 030 compilation.
Balance has long been a series that elicits the greatest efforts and most original thinking from artists when it comes to the concept of what we know as a DJ mix. In a world where anyone can easily cobble together a mix via a myriad of tools, it takes increasing amounts of innovation to truly stand out. Max Cooper’s blend of the artistic and scientific schools of thought have steadily built him up to become one of the standout electronic musicians of his generation. His mesmeric live shows blend dazzling, synchronized visuals that harness concepts borrowed from the natural world and from the mathematical structures of reality itself.
This left-of-centre approach makes for a truly timeless mix for the 30th edition of the Balance Series, which Tom Pandzic (founder and director of Balance) describes the sound and attitude of the release as the embodiment of what the series represents.
Cooper emerged from Nottingham’s club scene in the 2000s, holding down a residency at the city’s influential Firefly nights where he played turntablist sets across six decks with his fellow resident. From there he became an eminent producer of brooding, densely melodic techno via labels like Traum Schallplatten and Herzblut. Since then his creativity has exponentially blossomed, turning him into a more multifarious artist who borders experimental electronica, ambient and IDM within and alongside his dancefloor-driven output.
On this vinyl double pack you’ll hear field recordings, brooding soundscapes, hypnotic piano modulations, deep atmospheric techno, heavenly melodies, glitchy electro-pop, hazy ambient passages, ravey breakbeats, glitchy drum & bass and even some Thom Yorke. Complex yet succinct, by turns expansive and intimate, it’s the portrait of an ever-evolving artist with a wide gaze, and it’s one hell of a listen.
Balance 030 Max Cooper Tracklisting
A1. Bing and Ruth – The How of it Sped
A2. Nils Frahm – For (Max Cooper Remix)
B1. Max Cooper – Music of the Tides
B3. Rob Clouth – Shedding Layers
C1. Max Cooper – Resynthesis
C2. Com Truise / Kimyan Law – Ternary / Luba
C3. Max Cooper – Balance (Perc Tool)
D1. Rob Clouth – Transition (Ben Lukas Boysen Remix)
D2. Alix Perez – Blips
D3. Atoms For Peace / Vaetxh – Default / Unfolding Mechanism