Max Melodist : Beatmaker
Have you ever cried listening to a song? Is it because you find the story beautiful or sad? Or does the music trigger a powerful reflection of something you went through, something within your own self? Or is it simply something that just happens, something you can’t quite describe? Music is both elusive and powerful and that's why I love it with all my heart. Sometimes an emotion can’t be expressed enough with just plain words: things like love, pain and beauty. A movie, a song, or a poem can often take these emotions so much further. My art practice helps me understand and really feel the world around me, its beauty and ugliness. Hopefully it helps others understand and feel the world around them too.
Hoodie Mag welcomes beatmaker Max Melodist to the fold. Max is from Yekaterinburg City, Russia, a city in the Ural Mountains, 1400km away from Moscow. It’s not really a major arts centre like Moscow or Saint-Petersburg, where all the creative power is and talented people flood to. But you know, Internet is power - you can connect with anyone, anywhere if you have the internet.
(Hoodie Mag agrees with you Max! We are loving our online connections with young overseas artists and the surprisingly genuine relationships we are building).
Max makes hip-hop music, engaging mostly with the USA, as he sees it as the centre of the music business. As a practicing artist, he watches tutorials, reads books and works on his music almost daily. What drives me to make art? First off, I’m incapable of doing anything else. From a young age I had hobbies like filming videos, photography, poetry and music. I keep these as hobbies, but music has become my profession. I studied movie directing, cinematography and photography, which I also include as part of my professional practice. What I can’t “say” in melodies, I can try to say in pictures or rhymes. I started making music seriously 2 years ago, bought my drum machine and fell in love with the sound as an essence. I find it amazing that you can combine the treble of the guitar with the bass of the voice and it becomes a new ‘other’ thing. I also find that making a video and posting it on Instagram is a very powerful marketing tool. I’m actually beginning to make a small income from selling my beats!
I’ve been listening to hip-hop since I was really young – I heard my brother listening to a song, called “I’m so fly” by Lloyd Banks and I fell in love with the vibe and energy hip-hop brings. Since then I have found many musicians and producers, whose work inspires me: Kanye West, Pharrell Williams, Dr. Dre and many more. I also like other music genres, those on the edge of hip-hop and beyond, such as American indie rock band, The Neighbourhood. I often try to combine genres, making something different, something listeners can call “my sound”. That's my goal. I love the powerful alliances multiple creative forces can make - resulting in works you can never come up with working alone.
I get my inspiration mainly from music, literature, movies, paintings, street art, or just a small dance performance I see on YouTube. It can be amateur or professional - it doesn’t matter, I just have to feel it. I am also inspired by the world around me, especially when I travel. New places, new faces, all kinds of new things. I can see a beautiful dress on a lady across the street and think of a bar for a new song, or just a melody. Water is special for me: I love seas, waterfalls, even bathtubs! People really inspire me. I’ll often feel the energy of a man or woman I’m speaking with. Sometimes we don't even have to speak, it’s just in the air. But not everyone can give you that energy; some weaken it, so you need to be careful and surround yourself with the right people.
As a young artist… you can be fearless. You can choose any direction you like. You can become anyone. Who can find a new path better than the young artist? We represent the new generation! Art and culture changes with every generation, and it should. Young listeners reach for young musicians. It’s just how it works. They do, because they think you're “Something else”. You should never underestimate this.
