Max Chapman Interview

Joining Franky Rizardo for his Flow party this Friday June 16th, Max Chapman's summer is already well underway thanks to appearances at Manchester's Parklife and WE ARE FSTVL. 

With the Resonance Records boss' latest track 'Amelia', a tried and tested tech-house bomb, out now on Elrow Records (listen below), we spoke to him about silent discos, crème brûlée and where to get the best tracks.

You recently play a Silent Disco at We Are FSTVL. How was that? Is it the strangest gig you've ever played?

It actually ended up being a whole lot of fun, but yes it was very strange. I was on fairly early and I was driving so it was pretty tough to get into, but by 12 o'clock the place was full to the brim and everyone was absolutely having it!

Give us an update on your Resonance Records imprint. What have been the successes of the last twelve months and what is coming up over the summer?

The last 12 months have been pretty consistent with good releases, and sales have been great – the only problem we have is piracy, which we are tackling now. I believe that if you like a record you should buy it, especially if you are a DJ! We have had some great releases lately, our latest being an EP from two up-and-coming girls from Israel, and they had a big remix from SecondCity. We also have Dale Howard, George Smeddles, myself and more releasing over the next few months

Where are you playing this year? Have you already worked out what some of the summer anthems will be?

You can catch me playing at Cuckoo Land where I have a summer residency, and I’m also doing three Do Not Sleep dates at Sankeys. You can also catch me playing Elrow at Amnesia, as well as Elrow at Sonar this Sunday.

I will be up and down the UK and other places in Europe as normal for the rest of summer, and I will also be doing some North and South America tours along with Australia and New Zealand later in the year. The diary is looking pretty full to be honest!

You wrote a funny guide to being a house DJ in 2018, which seemed pretty accurate. You missed out filling your wardrobe with black v-necks though, the deeper the v, the deeper the house. Be honest, do you own any?

Ha ha, if I’m being honest I’m too fat for all that clobber. I’m a longline black t-shirt kind of guy, I look a stone lighter!

Have all the bandwagon jumpers made you work harder to find new tunes?

To be honest, I’m so tired of searching through Beatport and sometimes even promos lately. At the moment everybody seems to be a DJ. As Chris from Leftwing & Kody put it: 'You can't throw a bacon sandwich across the street without it hitting a DJ these days!' Most of the tracks I play I get sent by friends, and they are always the big ones!

Is there anyone you know who'll be big next year simply because they're playing and/or making better music than anyone else?

There are so many great producers around at the moment, it’s hard to say, but if I were going to choose one I would say keep an eye on George Smeddles. He is now my label partner and is making some great tunes that only sound like him, no one else, and I love that about his music.

Name three tracks that sum up what you're likely to play at Egg.

Cuartero - 'Nosy Neighbors' 

Luca Donzelli - 'Future Stroke'

Luca Donzelli - Drummer Eager (Max Chapman Remix)

 Tell us something about yourself that fans won't already know

I am partial to a crème brûlée, even though I’m trying to be vegan.