Max Moon Interview @maxmoonunit
Check out our exclusive interview with Max Moon.
I2G is here with Max Moon, how’s it going?
It’s going good! Excited this album is out. Thanks for having me.
Tell me a little bit about how you got your start in music and who are some of your musical influences.
Music’s been around me since I was born. Although not professional musicians my parents were always singing, playing music, spinning great records. My family and I have been involved in a longstanding music festival in my hometown of Sudbury, so early on that gave me direct personal relationships with musicians and a real appreciation for independent artists you might not hear through mainstream channels. My parents are really into folk music and singer-songwriters, so that gave me a real appreciation for lyrics and songcraft. To this day I’m heavily inspired lyrically by a number of singer-songwriter types.
In highschool and beyond I played in various punk and hardcore bands – always on vocals, always writing. I still love that music and that energy. Shortly after that, I started experimenting with writing some raps and recorded a few over beats my bandmates had made during some down time. I had always loved and appreciated hip-hop, but I started to think of myself more and more as a practitioner of the art form. I loved the focus on the words. In hardcore bands I’d be screaming some amazing line I wrote but the crowd would rarely know what I was saying. So having the lyrics front & centre in rap was super appealing. I started making my own beats because I couldn’t always convince my bandmates to do it, and that’s another part of the culture I fell in love with. For over 15 years now, under different monikers and projects, I’ve been rapping, producing, presenting shows and spoken word events.
So this is my first solo record as Max Moon. I have a horror-tinged project called Magick Show with some rappers from my city, but this project is a completely different vibe. With this project I really wanted to put my own personal, unique stamp on this thing we call rap music. It’s a record about the trials, riddles and exclamations of life.
What are listeners in store for when your album, The Grand Howl, drops September 26th?
I’m really proud of The Grand Howl. 19 tracks, made up of raps, spoken word pieces and audio collage interludes. There are a couple guest producers on there, but otherwise I did it all myself. “Little Do They Know” is produced by friend, Juno nominated producer, and MPC magician Fresh Kils. “Rendez Vous” is produced by prolific Ukrainian producer Smuff Tha Quiz. In a similar vein, there are only two other features on the record. Toronto rap maniac Ultra Magnus joins me for the boomin’ “Scrawlings”, which I recently dropped a video for. I was super excited to get ShrapKnel (Curly Castro + PremRock) on “DEAD END$”, which I made a lyric video for. They’re a crazy duo on billy woods’ Backwoodz Studioz label who I really respect. I’ve sort of known PremRock for minute, so it was great to finally do this link. I love how it came out.
Alot of my work on this record was done in an isolated cabin in Northern Ontario over two winters. As far as the overall vibe and sound, my inspiration comes from many places. Some might call my rhyme style “abstract” or “poetic”. It’s just natural me – I like to bend language and try to evoke some emotion, not just kick a clever lil’ bar. Writing that sorta leans in that direction has always impacted me – when there’s a bit of mystery, or a bit of work your brain’s gotta do as a listener.
As far as the beats, I love records, dusty loops, but also a “classic sounding” or super boom-bap canvas didn’t feel right for most of these bars. So they’re a little less conventional maybe, always leaving plenty or room for the words. Lyrics given space – front & centre at all times.
The album title, The Grand Howl, refers to the collective noise of humanity, crying out to the heavens in anger, sadness, joy – all of it.
Do you have any more upcoming videos or singles?
“Little Do They Know” was the first single, prod. by Fresh Kils.
“Scrawlings” ft. Ultra Magnus was single #2, prod. by me.
“DEAD END$” ft. ShrapKnel was single #3, prod. by me.
I have one more vid planned for the song “Next Time”, which is a bit of story joint. Stay tuned for the drop date on that one. Those’ll be the singles and vids for this project, but I have a bunch of other projects and collaborations in development so look out for those….eventually.
What are your current thoughts on the music industry?
Hmm… it’s a tough industry to make an actual living in, but I think everyone knows that. I’m not super concerned about that though – I just wanna make art that impacts people and enjoy that process. Maybe that makes me more free to create what I want to, without being overly influenced by what the audience’s opinion might be – maybe not. I will say that I am definitely conscious that there are SO many rappers out there – that’s why I think it’s vital to try and offer something fresh to the game. Anything else would be boring.
What is currently playing on your playlist musically?
My musical taste is super broad. I’m just fascinated by music as a whole. As far as rappers go, I’ve been listening to a ton of Ka lately. I love his vibe, his messaging, and I think his pen is one of the greatest in the game. Rest in peace to a true legend. A true artist. Also, ShrapKnel (who are on The Grand Howl) released three records over the last several months – each with a different producer. Fu**in’ love these records. I also can’t get enough of Little Simz, billy woods, Elucid, and so many more. It’s the crazy mix of voices and styles I love about this music. Not interested in the GOAT conversation or ranking lists.
Other things I’ve been listening to include Smog, which is the early band of unique singer-songwriter Bill Callahan. I’ve been delving back into the catalogue of one of my all time favourites, Leonard Cohen. I’ve been on a long exploration of European sci-fi and horror film scores from the 70s and 80s. This has been a great rabbit hole to dive into. I’ve also really been getting back into drum & bass and jungle. I used to rave a bit and be into it back in the day, but there’s a ton of great music to catch up on!
Do you have any shows or tour dates?
I just finished playing a few shows to celebrate the release of the album. On October 10, I played in Toronto, ON at BLK_SPACE, opening for Ohio rap vet Blueprint (Soul Position, Rhymesayers, Weightless). The homie D-Sisive was in the building as well. Kind of a full circle moment in some ways. I’ve been listening to Blueprint for years, even before I was rapping. I never thought I’d be opening for him. And opening for D-Sisive in my hometown of Sudbury was one of my first real gigs as a rap artist. Crazy! It was a great show.
I also played in London, ON on October 25th, also with D-Sisive.
And I just opened for R.A. the Rugged Man on November 5 at the legendary Townhouse Tavern in Sudbury, ON. Also on the bill were my compatriots in Magic Show, Mickey O’Brien and Johnny Bizness, so that was cool!
I’m currently in the process of booking more shows, including a proper release party for The Grand Howl.
What is your website information?
My handle on all platforms is @maxmoonunit
My main page with links to all my music: https://linktr.ee/maxmoonunit
Hand’Solo Records Bandcamp page with the album: https://handsolorecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-grand-howl
Appreciate the interview, any last words or shout outs?
Appreciate the coverage fam, respect. I guess I just wanna say BIG thanks to Thomas Quinlan and Hand’Solo Records for all the support and work behind this project. He has to be the longest running Canadian rap label (right?). He’s been going since the late 90s I think, and has presented some really dynamic artists and releases over the years. It’s cool to be a part of that.
Thanks!
