Max Bornstein on Glaze
Cover photo from Max Bornstein Tunes
Name: Max Bornstein
Birthday (month and day): January 11th
Pronouns: He/Him
Favorite Breakfast food: Pancakes!
OFF THE RECORD: Where did the inspiration for “Glaze” come from? Were you pulling from personal experience or just the idea of trying to let someone go?
MAX BORNSTEIN: I was really into the idea of writing one final song for someone who I was in love with, before really putting in the work of moving on from them. Some people write a letter and never send it, so this was my version of that tactic, as a songwriter. It absolutely comes from personal experience and something that was very real and challenging in my life.
OFF THE RECORD: How long did the production of the song take (writing, recording, mixing, etc)?
MAX BORNSTEIN: The initial writing of my parts in the song happened very quickly, in two nights. I sent the demo to Huxlii back in May 2019, since I love her voice and really wanted to hear her over the bridge. 8 days later she sent back an amazing section that she and Nastasia Pappas-Kemps had written, and I absolutely adored it. The actual recording took place over a longer period of time, about 6 months. The song’s layers had to be built over time from Alex Fuchs (bass, mixer, mastering engineer), Greg Markov (keyboard), Huxlii, Nastasia, and myself.
OFF THE RECORD: What is your favorite lyric in the song? Why?
MAX BORNSTEIN: Of Huxlii’s section of the song, “repeating over overzealous sentimental fools”. I think it’s a really cool line, and just a great use of the word ‘overzealous’ which I don’t commonly hear in songs. Of my lines in the song, “Overdo it, there’s my self-involved glaze”. Acknowledging my own self-involvement after looking to someone else for so long was a good step forward for me.
OFF THE RECORD: Was it difficult working on your solo work while also preparing for Goodbye Honolulu’s comeback? How do you balance it?
MAX BORNSTEIN: Since Goodbye Honolulu hasn’t been able to tour due to COVID-19, there’s been more downtime to work on recorded music, or plan music videos and how to make them safely. We’ve kept our record release quite organized and things have been planned well in advance, which made it easier to put effort into “Glaze” and other songs I’m working on.
OFF THE RECORD: What are you most excited about with this release and what are you looking forward to?
MAX BORNSTEIN: I’m really excited that this song is coming out because I think it’s some of my best writing so far, and I think it’s a great step forward for me as an artist. It’s my first time making a pure pop song where keyboard and drum samples are the lead instruments, rather than guitar. I’m looking forward to diving further into that world, and collaborating with more people, since working on this song with Huxlii and Nastasia produced such a fantastic track that I’m really proud of.
OFF THE RECORD: Three words to describe “Glaze” Go!
MAX BORNSTEIN: Direct, melting, final.
OFF THE RECORD: Where can people find you and support “Glaze?”
MAX BORNSTEIN: I’m @maxbornstein on Instagram, @drummax on Twitter, and the song is available on all streaming platforms on August 20th, plus the music video is on YouTube! Thanks so much for the interview y'all!
Make sure to check out our instagram @otrzine to hear a sneakpeak of the song :)