Max Bernstein and the multiplane sonic cinematography of 'Zygomaticus'

 

"Waiting for the clouds to move / I guess I'm gonna to be abused / Waiting for the clouds to move / Yes I think I'm going to be abused..."


Some songs transcend the common mathematical formulas of the musical art form and one such creation, 'Zygomaticus' by Max Bernstein (they / them) does just that in such a big, vast way.  The first single from this Buffalo -NY born, Phoenix -Arizona based singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, filmmaker, conceptual artist's upcoming album 'Crossing Atlantic' feels like a journey, a non-linear multi-layered universe grown from different genre'd seeds. 

From the onset you get a sense of broad baroque pop with orchestral big post rock walls of sound. Max's vocal aesthetic sinewy beautiful, organic but theatrically wrought has an art rockian sense as does the entire arrangement (and amazing drumming). It all feels progressively psychedelic yet post punk spacey and for whatever reason I felt this multi-tiered, multi-generational amalgam of artists as diverse as Renaissance, Art of Noise, Slowdive, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Radiohead. AND it is not like Max sounds like any of these artists in particular but as I listen to the marvelous narrative of 'Zygomaticus' it is like I hear splinters of these artists all together, the end result being an ornate transforming table, one where creative, even magical things happen.

Max Bernstein will release a new single monthly prior to the release of "Crossing Atlantic". All the songs, written, arranged, and produced by Max and get this, they played drums, guitars, keyboards, vocals and various other sounds. God Max, what a slacker you are. Other talented cohorts are Bill Abt - Trombones, Andrew Borkowski - Cellos, Jorge Costa - Electric Bass, A.J. Neubert - Bassoons ,Aaron Smith - Trumpets, John Aaron Troy - Baritone Sax, Tenor Sax, Flutes, Mixing Engineer & Digital Editing - Jorge Costa, Mastering Engineer - Dave Kutch at the Mastering Palace.

Max Bernstein's accomplishments, incarnations, vocations are too many to list but you can view them below in press notey stuff. As we go through life, if we are moving toward self-actualization we are transforming, emotionally, spiritually and physically. Sometimes along the way we pick up soundtracks to push us forward, to reward us and to inspire us. I have a feeling that "Crossing Atlantic" will be part of that soundtrack for many.

-Robb Donker Curtius    

THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:

https://maxbernsteinmusic.com/

https://www.facebook.com/visiblemax

https://maxbernsteinmusic.bandcamp.com/track/zygomaticus-single

https://www.instagram.com/visiblemax/

https://soundcloud.com/maxbernstein


Max Bernstein (they/them) was born in Buffalo, NY. They are a lifelong multi-instrumentalist, filmmaker, performer, designer and conceptual artist. They studied experimental film and video production, at the University at Buffalo, and film production and studio art at the University of Colorado at Boulder. They have worked and toured as a technical artist with the media-based theater company Wooster Group, and as a video and sound designer with Michelle Ellsworth, Kaki King, Cindy Kleine, Aynsley Vandenbroucke, Sam Kim, Morgan Gould, Becca Blackwell, and Ondine Geary. In addition, they are one half of the piano harp duo Outlier, a founding member of media art performance group the Flinching Eye Collective, a video artist for Friends Of The Tank, drummer and video designer for the band Eupana, and composer and sound engineer at Tribal Studio. They are currently Clinical Assistant Professor the Sidney Poitier New American Film School as well as as associate director for the Geometric Media Lab in the School of Arts Media and Engineering in the Arizona State University Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts.

Max Bernstein, singer songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, filmmaker, performer,  Buffalo, New York, upcoming album, "Crossing Atlantic", new single, 'Zygomaticus', indie rock, art rock, post rock,