Buzzin Electronic Music

Max Tundra to release third album

Max Tundra to release third album - Parallax Error Beheads You & support Hot Chip on their Autumn UK tour

Ben Jacobs aka Max Tundra will be releasing his third album on 13th October bizarrely entitled Parallax Error Beheads You.

Max Tundra’s two previous albums have been well received - Some Best Friend You Turned Out To Be (2000) and Mastered By Guy At The Exchange (2002).

Max Tundra likes to mix it up with micro-melodies, layers of samples and sound-bytes; and there is obvious record box from where Max Tundra reaps his samples. Anything from pop, rock, disco, funk, techno, rap, metal and soul may find its way into a Max Tundra musical arrangement.

His music is different, varied, sometimes catchy, sometimes uncompromising. One look at the influences listed on his MySpace page and you will realise this ain’t no straightforward electronic music artist: Frank Zappa, Gong, Supergrass, Prince, The Police, Mercury Rev, Art Of Noise, Thunderclap Newman and Tracey Ullman among others!!!

Speaking about his new album Tundra explains:

“There are micro-melodies on the album – generally, layers and layers of stuff. Hopefully, the more you listen to it, the more new stuff will reveal itself, stuff you didn’t notice the first few times you played it. It’s intricate but that should mean it’s more rewarding over the distance, so that people can go back to it and hear new things each time.”

He goes on to say how he composes the songs:

“Each song is approached in a different way, but I often use a Commodore Amiga 500 for sequencing work,” he explains. “I don’t use PCs or Macs; I use a MIDI device to control the various instruments and hardware, the keyboards, synthesizers and samplers. And it all gets recorded onto a hard-disk machine. Hopefully it’s a more pristine sound than before but with the warmth of my other records.”

But it’s not just a simple case of electronic equipment and computer technology.

“There are trumpets, violins, cellos, guitars, dulcimers, xylophones - whatever’s lying around,” he says. “That’s another reason the record took so long to make. I thought a cello would be good so I had to spend three weeks learning to play that part and then layering it with so much stuff that people wouldn’t notice that I’m not exactly an amazing cello player!”

In between recording his third album, Tundra has been continually remixing the work of other artists, both unofficially and officially for the likes of Lily Allen, Missy Elliot, The Strokes, Franz Ferdinand, Futureheads, Pet Shop Boys, Mogwai, Kid 606 and many more.

To promote the release of Parallax Error Beheads You, Max Tundra will be playing the following live dates:

05 Oct 2008 - LSO St Luke’s (with Juana Molina)

23 Oct 2008 - Southampton Guildhall (with Hot Chip)

24 Oct 2008 - Cardiff University (with Hot Chip)

25 Oct 2008 - Liverpool Academy (with Hot Chip)

26 Oct 2008 - Leeds Academy (with Hot Chip)

28 Oct 2008 - Sheffield Academy (with Hot Chip)

29 Oct 2008 - Birmingham Academy (with Hot Chip)

30 Oct 2008 - Cambridge Corn Exchange (with Hot Chip)

01 Nov 2008 - Manchester Apollo (with Hot Chip)

02 Nov 2008 - Glasgow Academy (with Hot Chip)

03 Nov 2008 - Leicester De Montford University (with Hot Chip)

05 Nov 2008 - Brighton Dome (with Hot Chip)

06 Nov 2008 - London Brixton Academy (with Hot Chip and Wiley)

07 Nov 2008 - London Brixton Academy (with Hot Chip and Wiley)

Max Tundra is fresh, exciting and innovative. For more information visit www.myspace.com/maxtundra