Interview: Five Minutes with Max Chapman

Max Chapman, an underground house musician known for his unmissable, high energy performances, has been forced to step away from the stage as a result of covid and the extreme restrictions that have been placed on the country. The producer has been vocal about the impact this has had – frequently raising pointed issues against the way the UK have handled things. Max Chapman started his DJ’ing career in 2011, releasing his first album shortly afterwards at 23 years old. Only 8 months later, he launched up his own label: Resonance Records which aims to provide a platform to exciting new talent from every corner of the globe. One of the rising artists that also caught his eye was Robbie Doherty, currently working with Amsterdam based label PIV Records. Robbie Doherty has just released his latest EP, Moving Rhythms which features an official remix from UK musician Max Chapman. 

Join us as we sit down with Max Chapman and learn more about the hardworking producer. All you need to know is in the exclusive interview below. 

Hi Max, thank you for joining us. What are you up to today?

I’m currently building a new studio from the ground up so I have been working on that. It’s nearly done and I’m really excited to get in there! 

You’ve recently created a remix for Robbie Doherty’s track, ‘Moving Rhythms’. Take us through the remix process.

I’m a big fan of PIV and the style of music the label releases so I just went for something that I thought would fit the label nicely. I started with constructing the musical side of things, creating some chords and gelling them all together, then a bassline and then built the drums around that. I used to always start with the drums but recently I find starting with the musical elements really helps me progress quicker and also I know what key to tune the drums to. 

What made you decide to take on Robbie Doherty’s work and reimagine it into your own sound?

I was overwhelmed to be asked to do a remix for PIV so regardless of the artist I would have always said yes. Robbie is a class producer though and a very good DJ so I was very pleased when I knew it was for him. 

Tell us about your label, Resonance Records. Which artists are you particularly excited to be working with at the moment? 

Resonance has always been a platform for up and coming artists that make great music and it will continue to do that for as long as it can. I’m always excited to help try and break new talent through. Slowly but surely we are also starting to get a lot more interest from bigger artists too. I’m excited to be working with LewRaz. They are a duo from Manchester and have had 2 number ones on Beatport in their first 2 releases and they are on both of my labels which is a huge accomplishment. Watch out for these guys!  

What are your thoughts on the current state of the music industry in the UK?

It’s a huge shame what is happening to the world right now and unfortunately, the UK Government does not care for our nightlife or music industry whatsoever. I don’t think any of our MP’s have ever been to a proper night out in their lives and just don’t understand how much some of us love music and raving. I honestly don’t think our music industry will ever be the same again. 

As live music begins to return, who are some of the top artists you’re looking forward to performing with?

I’m looking forward to playing with everybody, I can’t wait to just hug people and dance again. Right now my favourite DJ’s have to be ANOTR so it would be great to play with them again soon. 

Any upcoming projects or releases you’d like to share with the world?

I have a remix out on Resonance shortly after this one with my friend George Smeddles so look out for that one! 

One last thought to leave your fans with?

Stand up for your rights! 

Follow Max Chapman:

Facebook – Twitter – Instagram – Spotify – Soundcloud

By Sarah Britton