Maxi Curnow: Car Crashes, Creativity, And A Life-Altering ‘Transition’ [Interview]

Maxi Curnow makes music with a strong, no-punches-pulled message. Blending everything from poppy hooks to tech-metallic intensity on his new track If We Make It, and accompanying said song with a powerfully unsettling video (viewable below), he’s already making an impact.

TMMP caught up with Maxi Curnow to discuss the video for If We Make It, and got a glimpse into the reality of life spent saving lives and staying creative…

Your new video for If We Make It is one of the most gut-wrenching videos I’ve seen in a while. Can you explain the story and message behind it?

Well, while working on and off duty I’ve been to traumatic RTCs (Road Traffic Collisions), which have really hit home how vulnerable we are despite the safety features that most cars boast.

You are still responsible for a one-tonne missile, going at 70 miles an hour, which is made of metal. Our bodies can’t compete with that! So even if a seatbelt stops us, on impact our organs will keep on going.

If they rupture, you will start bleeding internally and that’s not a quick fix, all while on the surface you may not even have a scratch.

More importantly, it’s not just ourselves that we are responsible for when driving. What if Read more…

Posted on 09 November 2015

VASA [Interview]

If super-intense instrumental math rock is your thing, you’ve either heard of VASA and love them, or have just heard of VASA and will love them in the near future.

In this interview, TMMP talks to VASA bassist John Niblock about VASA’s new album Colours and the band’s past, present, and future…

Your debut album Colours is out now. How does it feel to finally have it out there?

It’s a mix of relief and pride, I’d say. We’ve spent the last 10 months working on it and building up to it, so it was great to finally let people hear the album that we spent so much of our time on. We’re very proud of the end product and couldn’t be happier with the response it’s gotten.

What’s VASA’s origin story?

I met Blaine (Thompson, guitar) during my second year of university. We started writing together, and shortly after he brought in Scott (Coupar, guitar), who he had been friends with from their high school years. We recruited Niall (Morison MacRae, drums) last June after replacing our old drummer.

When it came to writing the tracks on Colours, what was your creative process like?

Quite a few of the tracks had been started just before Niall joined, so for most of them it was Read more…

Posted on 27 October 2015

Lu’Ami [Interview]

At 2000 Trees 2015, Lu’Ami’s past-midnight set, set deep in some on-site woods on the Forest Sessions Stage, was one of the highlights of the entire 80-act festival.

Better – the track you can hear at the end of this interview – was the highlight of that highlight.

Lu’Ami is a genuinely one-of-a-kind artist, melting down loop-based electronica and Read more…

Posted on 17 October 2015

Yossi Sassi [Interview]

If rock-oriented instrumental guitar is your thing, Yossi Sassi is a name you need to know. In this interview, TMMP talks with the man himself about his upcoming EU tour, the bouzoukitara (Sassi’s unique signature instrument), creativity, spirituality, and more…

You’re set to tour Europe this December. How’re you feeling about it?

We can’t wait to share the Desert Butterflies show with our European followers! The set list is promised to be diverse and rich, spanning both solo albums, as well as some past materials and surprise songs, past and future.

What’s your earliest musical memory?

Age 1.5 or so. I recall my father singing in his underwear in the living room!

Seriously, I was surrounded by music all my life. My grandfather was born in Thessaloniki, Greece, and played the oud, and was teaching music to his 10 children. I absorbed it from childhood.

I first played the flute around age seven, then sang in school choir. Then came the guitar, and it was right on the spot. The right instrument. It changed my life ever since.

You have a signature instrument – the bouzoukitara. How did that instrument come to be?

For years I’ve been playing over 17 different instruments, yet composing mainly on bouzouki, acoustic guitar, and electric guitar.

In 2011 I composed a couple of songs for ‘Melting Clocks’ that demanded me to move between those instruments when playing live. I decided to plan an instrument, seeking an efficient way to switch between the acoustic Greek bouzouki to the electric guitar.

The “bouzoukitara” is a unique instrument that combines a traditional acoustic bouzouki with an electric solid-body guitar, and acoustic guitar. Together with luthier Benjamin Millar, I was able to Read more…

Posted on 12 October 2015