“That one moment that alters everything you listen to”: Maximilian Tanner talks going solo
Maximilian Tanner made his name as the singer of celebrated indiepunk outfit BlackWaters, but his new solo project - cinematic ‘late night drive’ synthpop - is already drawing critical acclaim and some choice gigs, including a spot on the bill for this year’s Float Along festival.
After many years in Sheffield, he recently moved to the small seaside town of Frinton-on-Sea in his native Essex. Taking advantage of a return visit to the Steel City, I met with Max to chat about relocating to the ‘end of the world’, how it felt supporting a musical inspiration for his first gig, and the moment an obscure Rough Trade compilation changed everything.
Photo: Ollie Franklin
Hi Max! Welcome back to Sheffield. Living in Frinton-on-Sea must feel remote by comparison. How is it being there?
I'd lived away from home for 11 years, and I wanted a year out to find my feet. It feels like you're at the end of the world; it's a strange little town, the average age must be 70, but it’s lovely. Very quiet and picturesque. I've never lived by the ocean before, and I’m finding that really inspiring.
Are you finding that quiet isolation is helping to focus your songwriting?
Yeah, definitely. Going somewhere quiet and cutting out a lot of the noise has been good for me; you realise the strains that can build up when you’ve lived in the city for a while. Being in that home environment has helped massively. I've also found a job at a theatre there, one of the only creative spaces. It’s helped me meet the other young people who live in the area, so that’s been great. It's nice to be back in Sheffield, though.
Do you still see Sheffield as home in some way?
It's strange. I left in May, and I didn't think I'd move back because I'd felt I’d wrung it dry, gotten everything out of it. But I've only been gone a few months, and I miss it a lot. Every time I come back here, I'm like, "This is the place". It's such a cool city. You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone, you know.
Well, plenty of opportunities to come back and visit - you've got yourself on the bill for next month's Float Along Festival in Sheffield, alongside some great artists. You must be excited.
Definitely, really excited. It's funny; when I was in my old band, BlackWaters, we were together since we were 16, and we always had each other to celebrate these things with. Now that it's me on my own, it's a weird feeling, but I feel proud pushing myself to achieve these things by myself.
You went through the Apply to Play route for the festival, and as part of that, you had to do a social media fan vote. I’ve seen that at a few festivals now. How do you find that fan engagement aspect when it’s all on you?
It does feel strange, and I get why some people don’t really get involved in that. I understand why festivals do it, though; it gets eyes on what they're doing, and I massively appreciate the opportunity to play. You have to play the game a bit. Hopefully, one day they’ll be just asking me, but it's a foot in the door, and I’m really excited to be there. It’s hard not to have that little bit of impostor syndrome when you’re on a bill with artists like that, even though I’m confident in the music I’m making.
Photo: Ollie Franklin
Does being a solo artist intensify that sense of impostor syndrome?
Yeah. Sometimes I'll write lyrics, and I'll think, "Is this too on the nose?" because my friends know me and my personal life. But I think the songs where I've tried not to hold back and have been completely open are the ones that have been received the best. I don't constantly have impostor syndrome on my shoulders, but it gives me a lot of appreciation for the good things that are happening.
You had a support slot with John Maus as your first gig, and you've spoken before about how he's a huge musical influence. How did that gig come about, and how did it go?
That came about literally from me just messaging him. And then about a week before, I got a text from him that said, "Do you want to support?" and I was like, "No way!" I was on the train and I called David (BlackWaters guitarist), and was like, "David, should I do it?". That was my first gig as a solo artist, and John had been my top artist for years, so it was incredible. I was just sat there chatting with him about my music. It was a weird feeling, a bit dreamlike.
Is that musical direction something you always had in you, or was it a conscious decision to do something completely different?
No, it was always what I wanted to make. In the past, I'd try to push things in that direction, like, "Let's put a bit more reverb on it”, and we began using synthesisers in BlackWaters, so it was brewing. After the band stopped, I never wanted to stop writing music; I don’t think I’ll ever stop. So, it was just a case of "this has happened, now I can start making this more synth-based music for myself."
Was there a gig or a particular moment that set you off down that musical path?
BlackWaters were on tour in Switzerland in 2019, and I found a Rough Trade compilation called ‘Electronic 2011’. There was a John Maus track on it, and it struck me immediately. I was just thinking, "What is this?" I loved the escapism, it had this dream aspect to it and really stuck with me. From then on, I’ve loved that kind of music. It's strange how that happens; before that, I was listening to a lot of heavy stuff like Killing Joke, and then there’s that one moment that alters everything you listen to.
I picked up in my review of ‘Requiem’ that these big synth sounds probably sounded futuristic and optimistic in the 80s, but now they have more of a melancholic, romantic feel.
The '80s feel is definitely there, but yeah, in a way designed to draw a lot of emotion. When you've got the drum machines going off and the string synths, they complement each other so well, it’s got that cinematic, late-night driving feel. It’s a powerful sound, it gets you pumped up, but it’s also mellow and strangely comforting.
Has playing without a band changed how you perform on stage?
It's very different. I did a show at the Hallamshire Hotel and I was so nervous, even more than the John Maus show, because all my friends were there. I was moving about everywhere during these mellow songs, and my friends told me I didn't need to try and win the crowd over as much anymore because the songs aren't as "pumped up". I’ve always naturally tried to get the crowd on my side by getting involved. I guess that's how I'm used to performing, coming from that indie, punkish kind of style. I still have that muscle memory of the boys from BlackWaters playing around me when I’m up there performing, the change takes some getting used to.
Photo: Benji Wilson
I think there’s much less of that old stigma about playing without a band, just being that singer with a microphone.
Definitely. I remember seeing Billy No Mates in 2018, she was so good, she completely owned the stage. Same with Molly Nilsson, solo in a sold-out room in Paris. Up there by themselves with their tracks going, and it was the coolest thing. I’m not quite at that level yet, but it’s something to aim for! Not having to coordinate a full band also makes the flexibility of when and where I can play a lot easier. As things got harder to coordinate in BlackWaters, with everyone having other commitments and projects, I definitely found it difficult at the time. In the end, though, it feels like the right move.
Away from the stage, you're handling the writing, recording, and production yourself. Do you miss any aspects of collaboration, or are you fully enjoying being able to see things through yourself?
It goes both ways. David (BlackWaters guitarist) worked on the mix for ‘Full Surrender’, that came out great. It's not that I only want to be doing everything myself, but it's what's working right now. My writing process is quite frantic. Now I can write and record at the same time, so it's all very spontaneous. I can take a few days or one day to work at my pace; it's never like "getting in a room with a producer and let's sit down" with a hard deadline to hit. But we’ll see what happens. I’d love to work with producers again at some point.
For now, I’m literally making it in my shed, I turn around, and it's on a stage going out to people. That’s really cool.
Every artist needs a music shed! What’s your set up?
Loads of plugins on my laptop, and then I've got a few Korg synthesisers and a Juno. You can get so carried away with buying so many pieces of hardware and only end up using one of them. Back in the day, I'd sit there and spend hours going through loads of different settings, but I’ve found some sounds I love and keep coming back to them. I'm still learning so much about the science of it all.
What are you listening to at the moment?
I’ve been listening a lot to TTSSFU, I also really like a Danish duo called Gents. There’s Zakia Sewell’s 6Music Dream Time show, sometimes a bit of classical, sometimes metal. It keeps it interesting! If there’s a beauty to streaming services, it’s having all this music around the world being so accessible.
Speaking of interesting acts, your next gig is on September 10th at Sidney and Matilda with "Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan." That’s quite a name.
Yeah you’d like it! It’s a very modular synth kind of sound, like the Blade Runner soundtrack, it’s awesome. I'm really excited about it. I’m a bit nervous to play in front of his crowd, but we’ll see what happens, should be a great gig. There’s also another support slot to maybe announce soon, but that’s under wraps for now…
Intriguing! And that aside, what are your plans for the next few months?
Probably no more music until the new year. When I write a song, I just want to put it out. I could save up a load of music to send out in a year, but there's no right path, is there? I’m taking each day as it comes. That's something I’m getting better at. I was never very good at it in the past, but I'm taking the small wins, and it all feels more meaningful.
Photo: Ollie Franklin
Sage advice, and with a series of acclaimed single releases, festival appearances, gigs aplenty and more to come. Not bad going for ‘small wins’, we reckon.
You can catch Max at the following gigs:
10th September supporting Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan, Sidney and Matilda, Sheffield
27th September at Float Along Festival, Sheffield
Words: David Cuthbertson
