Max Justus
Over the last few years Max Justus has been cooking up his own brand of dance and electronic grooves for Kansas City’s The Record Machine label. His latest album Mercy is his third proper full length since 2008. While Mercy still finds Max expanding his signature grooves and brooding electronic tones it focuses more on vocal approach and songwriting. Max’s last few albums have been primarily instrumental affairs while Mercy finds him lending his voice to bolster his compositions. Mercy still retains a few pop gems and dance hall grooves but the overall tone of the album is more dark and foreboding then his previous works.
Growing up, Max heard stories of his father playing in the eighties and nineties new wave band Servant. Servant filled their animated live performances with lasers and smoke. In particular, Max’s family has had a profound impact on him as an artist. Every member of the family seems to have a different talent, which has compelled the him to create music and entertain audiences of his own. It has even inspired Max to complete every angle of production on his own albums.
Since age fifteen Max has been working on various projects in his hometown of Madison, Wisconsin when he released his first album and opening for illustrious artists Tortoise, Daniel Lanios (solo artist and producer of bands ranging from U2 to Bob Dylan), and Bob Mould of Husker Du. At nineteen he moved to Kansas City, Missouri where he now resides completing two albums, Ophelia and Talk to Strangers , which are only available digitally on Myspace. At twenty-one Max released his first record with Kansas City based label The Record Machine entitled Five Leaping Leopards to much critical sucuess. He has also completed remixes of Kanye West, C & C Music Factory, and Rainbow Arabia.
Press:
“With backbeats steadier than the Rock of Gibraltar, synth pads glowing like sharp, glittering neon, and keystrikes coming at you like laser beams, it’s your smooth, sunglasses-at-night theme for whenever it’s just you against the naked city.” – A Limmerick Ox
“Offering a feeling which could normally only be felt on a drug induced DeLorean adventure through the inside of a 1980s IBM.” – The Docking Station
“He revels in just making beats and bleeps and throwing them out there, and there’s always a hint of softness and beauty behind the retro goodies. It’s rare that this kind of thing strikes me as emotionally generous and fun.” – Idolator
“Justus has cherry-picked eight tracks from Kanye West’s love-affair-with-Auto-Tune and given them complete facelifts, etching a spot (already) in our top whatever of 2009 with more than 300 days left.” – The Culture of Me
“A thoroughly classy achievement of beat natation, Justus’ remix is all at once vital, warm and lonely- like a basket of kittens left roadside.” – AM.FM.PM
“When one of the best producers of our generation drops the ball on his latest album, sometimes it’s gotta be some kid with a DIY spirit that makes it awesome.” – The Tape
“My personal opinion I’d like to proclaim – Justus, your version of Street Lights captured me from tip to toe immediately.” – The Fast Life
” This kid has something genius inside of himself that he wants to share and for fuck’s sakes, you all better listen up. Do not miss out on this kid.” – The Culture of Me
“One, he makes some of the more beautiful, often instrumental only laptop electronica we’ve heard in 5 years or so. Two, Justus has offered up his first two records, Ophelia and Talk To Strangers, for free to download off his MySpace page and he’s dropping his third record, Five Leaping Leopards, later this year. And three, anyone who seriously remixes C&C Music Factory’s “Everybody Dance Now” so well that we actually want to post it is worth their weight in gold.” – The Culture Of Me
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