Part one of a preview of Max Graham’s newest album Cycles. Part two available right here.
If you don’t remember Max Graham, be sure to check out our previous profile of him right here!
The art of the DJ is not always about that big main room, peak time, hands in the air experience. One of the most difficult things to master, for any artist, is also the essential craft of warming up the dance floor.
Being able to take a crowd at their very beginning and draw them into the music, step by step, bit by bit increasing the pace and the tempo, the beats and the melody until you have them in the palm of your hand and are unready to unleash the mother of all sets, is something that takes time, practice and an inbuilt ability to read the party. Something that Canadian legend Max Graham has in abundance.
Renowned around the world as a master of both warm-up and main set, Max’s beautifully tempered mixing has an initial delicacy and finesse that builds through into a mind-blowing big time dance floor explosion, giving you exactly what you want from the music before leaving you on a hypnotically euphoric conclusion. Here on his Cycles album, he perfectly demonstrates this concept, giving you the ultimate Max Graham experience across two stunning CDs.
This is what Max Graham has to say about his newest album Cycles (which is available on iTunes and in stores now!):
When I’m performing I love to open the night, a lot of touring DJs like to wait till the club is packed to start their set, I would rather start when the first person walks in the door. Starting the night is not a demotion as some DJs see it, it’s a chance to dictate the vibe, set the tone, craft the experience from the first beat. I love seeing that first person walk in the room, find their spot, get that first drink, see that smile of anticipation on their face.
As a DJ I find it easy to play the peak time stuff, builds and breaks, heaving energy, hands in the air. Opening, on the other hand, is more delicate. There’s something about each track in the first hour or so having just one element more than the previous one, that extra high hat or a bigger bass line, a slight build to draw attention from the clubbers but not enough to give them what they want, that comes later.
For “Cycles” I wanted to show that vibe, CD1 is more of an opening set where the beats pick up in energy but don’t give it all away right away. I love to tease, to make people beg for that peak time energy, then when they get it its that much more satisfying and rewarding, give it up too soon and you lull them into complacency. If you wait for the right time to really take off everyone leaves a lot happier.
CD2 is that peak time vibe that leads into the melodic and emotional cool down that I try to always include in a2, 3 or 6 hour set. That moment when you’re exhausted from the dance floor session and it becomes more of a “listen” than a “high energy jump around the room” vibe, but still has that “is he really doing this right now?” sound, just when you think its ending and it picks back up for the last few tracks. I really hope this CD conveys that experience, it’s how I pictured it when making it,its really how I picture it every time I step up to the decks. I truly love my job and I hope it shows.
Upcoming shows:
26 September 2008 @ Heaven Ottawa, ON
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