Q&A: An Advocate of Overt Platonic Love, maxime. Releases ‘mile end (kiss ur friends)’
A BRIEF INSIGHT INTO MAXIME.S SONIC DIARY — the lyrics within each of the six tracks on maxime.’s newest EP, mile end (kiss ur friends), are a symptom of the dominating events in the artist's life at the time of their creation. Documenting both the highs and lows of maxime.’s life within music, the EP chronicles a move to Montreal, a love of friends, and the ebb and flow of personal growth.
Feeling fresh, rough, and hopeful, mile end (kiss ur friends) is both experimental in nature and sweetly reminiscent of maxime.’s earlier projects. Each track concocts its own unique sonic world, inviting listeners to dip in and explore. The title track, “mile end,” captures his love of the Mile End burrough of Montreal, which he first moved to and continues to fall in love with, while “vacation” chronicles the souring of a relationship.
Read below to discover more on mile end (kiss ur friends), the creative process behind its tracks, and maxime.’s bubbly and infectiously eccentric personality.
LUNA: Congrats on mile end! Can you tell us a bit about the themes that run through the EP and what inspired you to dive into these specifically?
MAXIME.: Thank you! This EP is all about me growing up and going through changes. I write what I live, and these past two years have been so important for me. I really feel like I’m starting to get my footing and [I’m] figuring out what the hell I’m doing, sorta. I moved to a new city, started pursuing music full-time, and have had so many new experiences that there is no way I couldn’t talk about it in my music. This project for me really marks not only the end of a chapter but the start of a new one, and I’m so excited to put it out into the world.
LUNA: Which song on the EP do you feel the most connected to, and why?
MAXIME.: I’m a little torn. I think my best — my favorite — song has got to be “wedgie,” by far. I am so proud of that one, just because it’s so cool and fun. That being said, I am definitely most connected to the title track of the EP, “mile end.” I really put the most of myself into that one from a lyrics perspective, and for me that song defines one of the most important chapters of my life so far. Also, my friends really like that one, and that makes me feel a little fuzzy inside when they sing along to it.
LUNA: Did you try anything new with mile end?
MAXIME.: Oh boy, did I ever! “Vacation” is one of the only songs I’ve ever used autotune on and I think I will be doing that again for sure. It really makes laying down ideas flow so much faster and, listen, I know I’m not the best vocalist so the pitch correction doesn't hurt either. That track, too, is probably one of the most happy-sounding songs I’ve ever made — I usually stick to more melancholic sounds with my work. That song I also worked on remotely with a very talented artist named Franco Reid — super nice guy. [It was the] first time I ever really worked with someone else that wasn’t just a feature. Was really fun writing and producing together, even if it was over Zoom.
Another interesting one is “cherry stems.” I wrote that song to be played live. I only recently got into performing with a band, and this is the first time I’ve really thought about how the music would translate to a live performance from the start, rather than trying to adapt an already finished song to the live setting. Definitely one of the songs me and the band enjoy playing the most on stage.
LUNA: Can you tell us a bit about the creative process behind the EP’s cover art?
MAXIME.: You’d have to ask the artist! I just gave them an idea of what I thought I wanted and they did all the work of turning that into some real art. Zach is so goddamn talented. I really wanted to have art that was symbolic of the Mile End borough of Montreal and really wanted to work with a Montreal artist. Moving to this city has been a pretty big thing for me and has been a huge inspiration for me since. I’ve only fallen more in love since moving here and wanted to pay an homage. The spiral staircase on the cover is so symbolic of the city, or at least the neighborhood I first moved to — I feel it really does justice. Also, I love my friends and we kiss sometimes. I think everyone should kiss their friends more often — it’s nice.
LUNA: How would you describe the feeling of starting and finishing a new song?
MAXIME.: Really depends on the song! Rarely do I ever start a song knowing it’ll even be seen through to the end. For this EP, though, I guess at some point there was a moment where I thought, “Okay, yeah, this one is actually pretty cool” for each song. It definitely feels like a bit of a buzz, but the way I know I’ve gotten into the flow is when hours go by and I realize I’ve been ignoring my need to pee for way too long. Finishing a song, on the other hand, for me is a little less exciting. There won't be a definitive final keystroke followed by putting my hands behind my head and leaning back in the chair with a satisfied grin. It’s more like, “Damn, this part still doesn’t quite sound exactly how I wish it would, but I’ve been working on it for five hours and I need to do something else.”
Once the buzz of a song is gone for me, I really try to not spend too much time working on it so that I don’t start resenting it. It’s important to me to have a good time, otherwise, what's the point? Nothing will ever sound perfect — as long as it makes me happy, that’s magic, baby.
LUNA: What was the inspiration behind the EP’s focus track, “wedgie”?
MAXIME.: “Wedgie” is like most of my songs, where the lyrics are just pulled from whatever is going on in my life at the time, sort of like a journal entry. When I wrote “wedgie” I was going through a lot of change in my life, both good and bad, and was in a spot where I wasn’t super happy with who I was. The chorus, and most of the song for that matter, is just me complaining. More specifically about how personal growth can feel contractionary at times — one step forward, two steps back. Shoutout therapy. Some of the lyrics are a bit more vague than others, but overall “wedgie” is just a diary entry, which is kinda neat to be able to listen back to that song and be able to see how I’ve changed since.
For the music itself, I just wanted “wedgie” to feel cool. The bassline and the drums are some of the first parts I recorded, and those really were the foundation of this track from the beginning. I wanted this to be a song you could throw on your AirPods while walking down the street and feel like hot shit.
LUNA: What words would you use to encapsulate the atmosphere your music creates?
MAXIME.: I’d like to say “varied”! Every song I want to try and do something a little bit different from the last. Listening to “vacation” and then comparing it to “wedgie,” I’m sure you can see what I’m saying. That being said, since I am producing almost everything myself, there are bound to be themes that carry over between songs and projects. I’ll just throw out a couple words and you do with that what you will: greasy, sleazy, queasy. Whiny, shiny, tiny.
LUNA: What’s next for you after the EP release?
MAXIME.: Well, if all goes well I’m hoping to take a couple months of a breather, enjoy the beautiful Montreal summer with my friends, and then get back to writing in the fall. I really want my next project to be a more cohesive album. Maybe even dip my toes into scoring some short films or some indie games, who knows!
-
weekly tunes playlist has been updated! new tracks from @furtradeband, @pecqband, @garryfool & more! check it out! https://t.co/ToFU0R6YGo
