Moods 56: Max Watts
The Detroit-based producer shares his sonic journey across three generations of musicians from jazz to techno.
As Moods 56, Max Watts (@limitednetwork) takes us back two generations in his family's history. Their selection is guided by music they heard at home that’s now heard around the world. Consider this a prologue in the Max Watts book of Funk. For Max, funk runs in the family and there is no shame in embracing that which he knows from his father Eli and his Grandfather Marzette.
1) Where did you grow up? Was it a single place or many places? How did this influence the songs you listened to?
I grew up in Nashville, TN where my Grandfather died. My Dad was living with him at the time, and decided that it would be a good place to raise a kid. That same neighborhood is where I spent my childhood.
(2) Can you pick one song in the mix and explain where you first listened to it
The first two tracks played in the mix are from my Grandfather Marzette in his self-titled Free Jazz record, Marzette And Company. I remember having to write a paper on it in high school and fully listening to it. But my pops definitely played it around us when we were younger.
(3) Who “introduced” you to these songs? Was it a person, a radio station, a CD, or something else?
My dad introduced me to early hip hop and other electronic sounds really young with films like Beat Street and records from Kraftwerk, Yellow Magic Orchestra, Funkadelic, etc. He also introduced me to jazz artists like Don Cherry, The Pat Metheny Group, and some of Miles Davis’ fusion recordings. While I was younger, He was in a funk band growing up called Small Axe. This band was formed from the equipment Marzette had left when he passed away in the late 90s. The band eventually parted ways and my pops was working on his own productions, but I remember hearing those sounds from our smoky garage. Those were the first electronic sounds I heard. That was in 2008 when he started using Logic Pro. He later gave me his and his dad’s record collection along with all the production notes from Marzette’s studio days. My pops definitely made sure in passing down a diverse range of music in our family growing up.
(4) Where and when did you first hear techno? What drew you to it? Who did it sound like it was for?
When I first heard techno around 2018, it must have been a mix from The Wizard - his Essential Mix on BBC Radio from 1998. I had no idea this music came from Detroit, but it made sense and aligned with my musical background growing up. It was different from anything I had heard. I visited Detroit while I was in school at MTSU in 2020. Went to 3000 and Mike told me to come move out here. And here we are now.
(5) You’ve got the microphone. What do you want to say to the techno community?
To the techno community, keep your head down, stay underground, and focus on the music. Peace.
Marzette Watts - Backdrop For Urban Revolution
Marzette Watts - Geno
Don Cherry - Brown Rice
Miles Davis - Tutu
Don Cherry - Degi-Degi
Galaxy 2 Galaxy - Metamorphosis
Funkadelic - March to the Witch's Castle
??? - black label
Max Watts - Car Show [LN007]
Max Watts - Dimensions [LN007]
Max Watts - Cherry [LN007]
New Order - Blue Monday
Nitzer Ebb - Join in the Chant
Traxx - Tuning Circuits For A Revolution
Underground Resistance - Codebreaker B2
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We’ve paired their work with We’ve paired Max Watt’s mix with an installation from Paul Druecke, a Milwaukee-based visual artist whose work considers text, time, and gatherings as sites of growth and accountability. The 2017 piece we pulled, Shoreline Repast, reframes a “typical” historic landmark post for the Great Lakes as a malleable, melting poem that passes down both its English and Anishinaabe heritage. We feel Paul’s piece and Max’s mix both consider similar questions of how culture becomes tangible from one generation to the next. For more information on Paul, head to his website:
https://www.pauldruecke.com/