Exclusive Interview: Max Vangeli
San Francisco-based DJ and producer Max Vangeli is quickly establishing himself as one of the fastest ‘rising’ names in house music, going virtually overnight from an unknown bedroom producer to be championed by Pete Tong and signed to Chris Lake’s ‘Rising Music’. FHM had a chance to talk with Mr. Vangeli about his success, his music, and more.
FHM: Max, your first ever release, the “Crazed EP”, came out on Chris Lake’s Rising Trax last month. What was it like to work with Chris?
MV: Yeah it was amazing stuff, I mean I’ve always been a big fan of Chris Lake’s stuff and now to have the honor of working with him is dope. What’s great about him versus bigger labels is that everyone was really involved in the EP. From the marketing standpoint to tweaking the white noise on the builds with Chris Lake, Rising really showed me a warm welcome.
FHM: And one of the EP’s tracks was even showcased by Pete Tong on Radio One, correct?
MV: Well, yes. I actually got a lot of love from Pete Tong on this EP. To tell you the truth I would say he was a huge part of my success with Rising. I had just finished up the first track off the EP called “Crazed” and was kinda sitting on it. A few months later I sent it over to Tong and he showcased it on Fast Trax. I had a lot of offers instantly, but I waited for the right one and here we are now. After that I sent over some other stuff I was working on, “iRock” and “K.E.J.I.” which were amazing collaborations with Digital Lab. Both tracks were instantly picked up by Chris and “iRock” got big support on BBC Radio 1 by Pete Tong.
FHM: You mentioned your collaborations will Digital Lab – who is a Florida-based producer, correct? How did the two of you start working together?
MV: I have been on Laidback Luke’s forums for a while and when Pete Tong played “Crazed” I had a lot of new producers approaching me about production tips and such, and Digital Lab contacted me wanting to do a remix of “Crazed”. I sent him the parts and he just slammed it hard. I mean his drums are just so sick. After that we just started working as a team, made “iRock”, which once again was a success for Tong. It’s now a very solid relationship and we have a lot more in the bag for the near future.
FHM: Describe your creative process when writing a track.
MV: Hehe. well lets see. I never start a track the same way, it all depends on what I’m trying to do. As I grow in my production it gets a bit more structured I would say. I don’t need to spend hours tweaking stuff to make them sound good, now its all about the idea. Before, I didn’t have all the knowledge on the EQs and Compressors, thus my overall sound was just flat. But with time I learned and became better and better. Now a days I don’t really worry too much about my mixes because I have a lot of confidence now. So for me production is just messing around with melodies now, trying to nail the melodic aspect of a track. Once I have that I work on the drums and arrangement effects. But it all comes down to having that melody line for me – that hook, the point of the track.
FHM: What do you have planned for the future?
MV: Since the release I’ve been playing out a lot. Just got back from a small tour in Eastern Europe, did a few big events at Ruby Skye including my EP Release party with Chris Lake. At this point we have a track that Laidback Luke would like to pick up, as well as some potential collaborations with Tommy Trash and Lys. Have a few hot ones coming out soon with Digital Lab as well, and a track under the name of “Fender Bender” which is my baby that I want to finally finish up for WMC 09.
FHM: Thanks Max for taking the time to talk with us.
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