An interview with Hackney's Max Sinàl
Max Sinàl has been actively involved in the music industry for a quarter of a century, both as a release artist and a DJ. His journey began within East London's pirate radio scene, where he adopted various aliases over the years.
In 2023, the persona of Max Sinàl emerged in tandem with the establishment of Soul Quest Records, a record label co-founded by Max and two of his closest associates. This new artistic direction has allowed Max to focus on creating and performing music that resonates deeply with his passion. His unique sound is a fusion of jazzy Detroit house elements infused with a distinct London flair. We're big fans oh his sound (we recently premiered a brilliant remix of his on his Soul Quest label), so thought it an idea to check in with him to see what else he's been up to of late...
Can you tell us about your early days in the electronic music scene and how you got started on East London's pirate radio circuit?
My older sister first got me into the jungle and then lead me into the garage from its early days. My Dad got me some Numark belt drive decks and a blue dog mixer for my 13th birthday and I started building my record collection. Usually one or two records a week with my paper round money. I had been obsessed with pirate radio from the age of 11. I would listen all the time and use all my phone credit on texting in shout outs. I got my first regular weekly set in 2001 at the age of 16 on Heat FM in Tottenham. This was the transitional phase of when garage was turning into Grime. It was a pretty crazy station, we experienced some mad shit there! After Heat, I moved over to Mystic FM in Hackney where I stayed for about 4 years. I had four sets a week there including 2 marathon sets where I would start at 10pm and finish at between 10am and 2pm. A large chunk of those long ones was spent doing live call ins, playing games and pranks etc… It was a lot of fun!!
What was the most significant moment or experience that shaped your career during those 25 years in the industry?
There has been quite a few. Due to personal circumstances I had taken my foot off the gas a bit with the djing in my mid 20’s. I was working as a (terrible) tour manager for Rudimental who I had known since childhood and had played on Mystic Fm with. When it was clear that tour managing wasn’t my fortè, Piers from the band encouraged me to start djing again. This soon turned in to me being their tour support Dj for their UK and European tours for about 7 or 8 years and helped me transition in to do music full time soon after.
Which artists or musicians have had the most significant influence on your style and sound throughout your career?
Masters At Work and in particular Louie Vega is probably top of that list. I have studied their music intensively and have been an avid collector of Louie’s solo records for years, as well as obviously MAW, Nuyorocan Soul etc… Also people like Moodymann, Kai Alce and Todd Edwardshave influenced me massively.
You've performed at numerous renowned venues and festivals worldwide. Can you share some of your most memorable moments from these performances?
I’ve been playing Glastonbury since 2013 on various stages and it’s always really memorable. The early Love Bullets sets will always hold a dear place in my heart. Playing on the sunset terrace at Space for Carl Cox’s revolution night in 2013 was a special moment for me. I play at Fabric a few times a year which is always a meaningful one for me as it was the first proper club I ever went to (with a fake id!) soon after it first opened.
Could you tell us about your various aliases and the creative inspiration behind each one, such as 2fox, M.A.X, and Sinàl?
2fox is a project I work on with songwriter and musician Renell Shaw. It’s soulful house with African/Latino influences and lots of live instrumentation and vocals. We released our first ep in 2018 and have been building our audience steadily since. We’ve been remixed by the likes of Themba, Mele, Karizma and Rudimental. There’s a lot of exciting stuff coming up in 2024 including a 3 track ep on Soul Clap records. I started Sinàl in 2016 as an alias to collaborate with Kincaid. It was at a time when we both felt that we were restricted with our current alias’s and wanted to experiment with different sounds and explore where we could go sonically. We had a few ep’s out on Skream’s Of Unsound Mind, an ep on Jonas Rathsman’s Elements and on John Monkman’s Beesmyer as well as others. It was mainly techno, with some more minimal tracks and kinda deep afro inspired house. I’ve had a lot of fun with M.A.X but am phasing it out this year as I want to concentrate on Max Sinàl and 2fox moving forward.
In 2023, you launched Max Sinàl alongside Soul Quest Records. What motivated you to start your own label, and what is your vision for it?
Me and some mates were at We Out Here festival last year and accidentally stumbled upon the name Soul Quest when we were on a side quest and instantly knew that the name was too good not to start a label haha. Our vision is to release deep soulful house while creating a community of artists on our roster. We have just got our new studio/hq which we are currently renovating so we can invite artists down to collaborate while also using it for mentoring 16-24 year olds from our community. We had our first release in March and will have had 5 releases before the end of the year including 3 vinyl releases.
DJ Mag recognized you as one of the Best Emerging Artists. How did this accolade impact your career, and what opportunities did it open up for you?
It was really nice to get some proper recognition from the industry so soon after launching Max Sinàl. Some artists who I really look up to have been reaching out and some solid connections have been made.
You've also gained support from notable figures like Gilles Peterson, Kai Alce, and Aroop Roy. How has their support influenced your music and career trajectory?
All the support honestly means the world to me. It helps me know I’m on the right track with my sound and encourages me to keep my head down in the studio. The music game as with everything in life is a constant learning curve, those three names you mentioned have been big influences for me in one way or the other so getting their co-sign’s is actually a credit to them because they have inspired me so much over the years.
Your music spans various genres, from soulful and Afro-inspired house to disco and garage. How do you maintain this diverse range of musical influences in your work?
My Dj sets are pretty eclectic so I guess that translates into my productions. With 2fox in particular we’ve sampled Fela Kuti’s Expensive Shit and have gone really jazzy with tracks like Peace Of Mind. We’ve never really fit in to one specific sub genre. We just use the melting pot of influences we share to create music we love without too much expectation on where it should sit.
Can you share some insight into your creative process when producing music? Do you have any particular rituals or methods that help you stay inspired?
Lots of tea and cbd haha! I use my Ableton Push a lot to program drums, put basslines in and play chords. That is my main hub for being creative. I used to use a lot more hardware then I do now but have gotten use to using a minimal set up from having space restrictions in my home studio for many years and it works for me.
What do you consider your proudest achievement in your music career so far?
Under Kincaid and Sinàl, we had one of our tracks ‘Long Haul Flight Bathroom Romance Scene’ played on Pete Tong’s Radio One show 3 weeks in a row. Once by Pete, once by Jonas Rathsman and finally by Carl Cox. That was a huge deal for us
As an artist who has been in the industry for over two decades, how have you seen the electronic music scene evolve, and what are your thoughts on its current state?
It’s a crazy place at the minute. There is a real lack of delayed gratification. A lot of people are only interested in discovering new music from 30 second Instagram reels or tik toks. DJ’s are blowing up over night because they have a good Instagram following. There are huge ‘producers’ in the house scene who have never even opened a DAW and are taking credit for music they have had no input in to making. In a lot of cases, the passion for music has been over taken by a need for clout. I’ve learnt to detach myself from all of it and just concentrate on what I’m doing. Im happy for my journey to take as long as it takes because I’m interested in longevity doing what I love.
Are there any upcoming projects or collaborations that you're particularly excited about?
Got loads of exciting Max Sinàl stuff in the pipeline. Me and Aroop Roy are currently working on an EP together. Myself and Hutch The Great are also working on a follow up to SQR002 and there’s a ton of solo stuff that’s ready to go. With 2fox, we’ve got a couple of reprises of a beautiful House Gospel Choir track ‘Angels’ coming out in a couple weeks on To The Rock Records. In 2024 we’ve got tracks with Laville, Liam Bailey, Nandi, Afronaut Zu, BB James and Sophia Thakur lined up. After that, it’s album time.
Can you describe the connection between your music and your East London roots, and how they continue to influence your work today?
Growing up in such a multi cultural community has definitely opened up my ears to different sounds around the world. Where I’m from in Hackney, it has always had an extremely rich musical presence and I’ve been really lucky to be exposed to so much of it. I guess a lot of it is ingrained in me and it will poke out in my music in different ways.
What are your future plans and aspirations in the electronic music industry, and how do you see your career evolving in the coming years?
I’m just gonna keep making and playing the music I love and continue to build the label. Anything else is a bonus really.
Check out Max's latest sounds on Bandcamp and follow Soul Quest on Instagram