June 27th marks indie-pop artist Max White’s return to the stage. Having supported the likes of Rag’n’Bone Man and Raye, his comeback pairs with the release of new single “Me & You”. I got talking to him about his impending return starting in Brighton, his career and the journey so far.
Hosted at the Prince Albert, the gig of course falls on the date of the England V Panama World Cup game, of which there’ll be a live watch party. Joining the bill that night is up and coming singer-songwriter Sam Scherdel who is currently riding a wave of success from his new track ‘Somewhere in the Middle’. It’ll be a night of music, football, drinks and sunshine, what’s not to love?
This unlikely pairing wasn’t accidental – “Combining the night with the World Cup, we wanted to give people the opportunity to party with us”.
Released last week, Max’s new single, “Me & You” has a funky, feel-good, summery sound to it and was mastered with the help of Grammy Award winner Emerson Mancini.
When I asked about the writing process behind the track Max admits it’s been a “really long process”. “I worked on it with my best friend as the producer, and I’d written the bare bones of the song during COVID” he says. “We didn’t want to give up on it as we could see what it could become”. “It wasn’t until I got my friend Jamie on bass that the track really came together – so yeah, it’s been a real labour of love”. As all the best things are…
Over what has been an accomplished career honing his sound and working with highly esteemed artists and producers, I asked Max what the best bit has been. “While I was at Uni, I was working a job at the Brighton Centre as stage crew”. “We’d be the ones clearing the stages and packing away after every gig”. “One night I looked out at the crowd leaving and dreamt of playing for them all”.
It seems dreams do come true – “When I later went on tour with Rag’n’Bone Man, the first show of the tour was at Brighton Centre”. “I just had this cinematic, full circle moment”.
It’s evident that Max has a clear artistic vision, and like all good songwriters; the writing part never stops. “I’ve got tracks for an EP, but at the moment I’m focussing on summery singles – I’m here to stay, I’m not doing the classic thing of releasing an album and then disappearing”.
While playing host to an exciting and diverse music scene, it’s no secret to anyone living in the city that the indie and punk bands are an almost ubiquitous part of the scene. The musical monopoly, if you will. “It’s definitely quite challenging being a pop-leaning artist in Brighton”, that hasn’t stopped him in the past though; and it’s not going to get in the way now.
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