maxime. is a genre-defying, self-taught artist who transforms his bedroom into a creative haven with his unique blend of left-of-centre sounds and infectious pop sensibilities. As a self-released, -produced, and -engineered musician, he has independently carved a distinctive path in the music industry with lush instrumentation and colorful polish. His debut album, whatevernowiscalled, released in 2019, showcased his expansive soundscapes across 18 tracks and has since garnered over 10 million streams globally. In 2020, he followed up with cerulean, a bold project that saw him taking creative risks and bringing his songwriting to the forefront, stepping away from his electronic roots. In March 2024, he released his third full-length project, ‘the life and death of a dog’, further solidifying his place as an innovative force in music. Currently, he’s promoting his latest single, ‘hotliner’, which dropped on February 21, 2025.
In this exclusive interview, we explore his creative evolution and what the future holds for this rising star.
Can you tell us about your musical journey and how you first got into creating music?
I started off making EDM music in the basement of my parents home because my dad showed me deadmau5. I got obsessed with Skrillex and Feed Me, and kept doing that for years. Then I discovered Radiohead and Cage the Elephant and started to learn guitar. When I went to university I got more into indie music and decided to try my hand at the whole singing/playing guitar thing and voila!
How would you describe your music to someone who hasn’t heard it before?
Eclectic? Indie bedroom pop? Inconsistent?
What are some of your earliest musical influences, and how do they still resonate with your music today?
Radiohead and Cage the Elephant I would say are my two biggest influences from my childhood. Those are two bands that really changed the way I felt about music. I think both of those bands are pretty eclectic and are always trying out new things, and I think I have definitely taken a page out of their books in that regard. I just like making stuff that sounds cool.
Are there any genres that you haven’t yet explored but would love to incorporate into your future work?
I’d love to learn how to play/make jazz, so maybe that!
Can you walk us through your typical creative process when writing or recording a new track? Where do you usually start?
These days I usually start with some guitar chords or a baseline, then I throw some drums on there and spend a few hours / days / weeks / months / years singing gibberish over that trying to figure out some sort of melody. Lyrics are usually one of the later parts of my process! I try and match syllables to the gibberish. Somehow they always end up meaning something to me though. When I write it is very iterative. I am always going back to old sections and adding / changing stuff.
What has been your most memorable performance so far?
Has to be the last show I did in New York. My dad and my grandmother drove up from Montreal to see me perform to an almost (i think?) sold out show. Having my grand ma finally see me perform like that definitely had me tearing up.
How do you approach working with other artists or producers, especially when their style might differ from yours?
I haven’t collaborated much in the past, but I guess when I do I like to let them take the lead and try to match their energy. I used to make EDM and dabbled in hip-hop/rap as well as the indie stuff, so I feel pretty comfortable doing whatever genre. Music is music, no matter how you slice it, I’m just happy to be making something cool and sharing it.
What is a project or milestone you’re most proud of?
the life and death of a dog. I really like every single song on that album and each one means something important to me.
If you could collaborate with, or perform alongside any artist, who would it be? And why?
I would really love to get into the studio with Alex G, maybe score a film together. Love what he did with I Saw the TV Glow.
How do you see your sound evolving over the next few years? Are there any new directions or experiments you’re excited to explore?
I want to try and incorporate more genres, maybe some jazz or rap. Also would love to re-work the live set to be entirely live. We had been playing with a backing track for the past couple years and I want to eventually get away from that entirely to open it up to be more improvisational. But that is more of a long-term goal! But that also means writing and recording with fewer synths/layers potentially! Strip things down.
If you could tour with any band or artist (past or present), who would it be and why?
I would have to say Radiohead, just because I love them so much. All time favourite band. I could die happy.
How do you handle creative blocks, and what methods do you use to push through them?
Creative blocks are quite fickle! Currently going through a pretty lengthy one right now myself! What has worked for me in the past has been to just listen to more music until I find something exciting to me. A new favourite song or artist to dive into their catalogue… then the magic trick. Try and rip them off, and ultimately fail at doing so. I don’t mean actually ripping them off, but try and make your own take on what has gotten you excited about music. Whether it’s a guitar tone or a writing style or genre, whatever it is, try and mix it into your world! Sometimes I’ll find a really cool chord progression, try and copy it by ear, fail, but along the way invent a new even more interesting one to base a song out of.
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