You can always tell an artist who has paid their dues, earned their stripes, and put the hours in; you can hear it in their music. There is something in the agility of the songwriting, the slickness of the production, the surefootedness of the composition and arranging, and confidence in the delivery. And those are all things that you can hear in Silence, the latest single from Max P.
But it comes as no surprise, after all, Harald Bruijstens, the man behind the Max P persona, has covered a lot of musical ground over the years as a member of everything from hip-hop crews to funk bands, from Djing to dance remixes and has worked alongside acts as eclectic and extraordinary as Brennan Heart, Wildstylez, Zatox, Tatanka, Digital Punk, Adaro, Hard Driver, Sound Rush, The Prophet and many more.
Here, he gives us something that is both understated, cool and at times balladic but which is writ large on the musical page and so somehow also feels anthemic and stadium-ready. I’m not sure how you traverse and splice such opposing artistic worlds but somehow he does.
It’s a slick song, that’s for sure. One that rises out of an electro-soul calm and then slowly wraps itself in different tones and textures, sonic layers built from crashing percussion, spiralling guitars, extra sonic weight and synth strands, building dynamics and intensity as it goes.
And from a production point of view, he plays some masterstrokes. The production is sleek and shimmering, cutting edge to the point of being futuristic. Despite a lot going on, Max P shows that he can perfectly juggle the instrumentation that stops everything from becoming too cluttered. One musical line makes way for another, one sound or instrument creates space so that everything present is heard perfectly, nothing steps on the other toes or competes for space and every sonic utterance has its moment in the spotlight.
And that is the art of such things. Choose your musical elements carefully, make space for them to be heard and don’t be afraid to edit them so that everything you hear is only what is essential to the song. And if you want to know what that sounds like, give Silence a spin…or six.
