Max Graham returns to DJing, producing on his own terms

First, it had begun to sound all the same.

And second, Graham’s career was a mess, because he released songs in different genres. Back then, DJs and producers stuck firmly to one subgenre, such as house, techno and trance.

Graham’s multigenre approach made it harder to build a support structure on the level of, say, Armin van Buuren.

“Armin had the trance fans that would go to bat for him,” Graham says. “Richie Hawtin had the techno fans.

“I was always dipping my toes into trance and electro, and I was loving some techno,” Graham says. “I had fans from different genres, but I was never anyone’s favorite” in a specific genre.

Graham calls that era his period of artistic confusion. He had a choice to make: Stick to a one-genre path and create a marketing plan to become a bigger star. Or drop out.

He dropped out.

So in spring 2009, he opened an Apple store in Toronto with DJ Brad Copeland. (Yeah, crazy right?)

But a year later, a great thing happened. Dance music got good again, for Graham’s tastes.

“I was like, ‘Wow, there are so many young producers making the sound I’ve always been looking for,’ ” he says.

Then, significantly, Graham made the confident choice to go back to DJing and producing for himself – to make music for his liking, instead of chasing trends for the powers-that-be.

Now he’s back in the DJ booth (he DJs today at Marquee Dayclub), and the recording studio, producing his music and other DJs’. And he has his own weekly CyclesRadio.com outlet.

Graham’s story (rise, retire, return) is a reflection of what happened in electronic music over the past decade-plus.

When Graham started as a DJ, it was the era of DJ stars such as Sasha Digweed – whose skills came from the booth. They spun other people’s music.

“The producers would produce music. And the DJs would take (clubbers) on that journey,” Graham says.

Things have changed radically.

Now producers compose hit songs in their studios, then they learn how to DJ on the road to promote those hit records. That new system is more akin to the rock and pop world: Make a hit, go on tour.

“It’s really twisted,” Graham says. “The old school remembers what a 15-hour Danny Tenaglia set was like, or a six-hour Sasha set.

“Now you see Avicii doing an interview where he’s quite honestly saying that he didn’t know how to DJ, and he had to learn to go out and tour as a DJ,” Graham says.

Graham says he thinks that is backward, compared to the culture he came from.

He learned to DJ and move crowds first. It was only later that he produced dance hits, like his remix of “Owner of a Lonely Heart,” and his pieces “Sun in the Winter” and “Nothing Else Matters.”

He still thinks of himself as a DJ first and as a producer second.

“I like to think I’m 70-80 percent DJ, and 20-30 percent producer,” Graham says.

“My strength is definitely in putting together a set – programming, and knowing what to play, when to play it, and what not to play, and how loud to play it, and all that.”

That’s a serious part of the heart of DJing, he says.

Recently, Deadmau5 – who considers himself a producer first and a “press-play” DJ second – caused a stir by attacking the culture that rewards live shows where DJs press play on preprogrammed music.

Graham doesn’t disagree that producers aren’t necessarily natural DJs.

“Deadmau5,” he says, “was focusing on some of the guys that are touring that play the set every night – and aren’t there for any reason other than to play their hits.”

At any rate, Graham has fallen back in love with music on his own terms. He calls his CyclesRadio a “salvation” for connecting him with listeners through electronic dance music.

“I’m not as strong as a producer as a lot of the young guys coming up,” he says. “There’s so much talent, it’s harder to stand out as a producer.

“For me, the strength is the radio show, because it allows me to showcase my skill, which is DJing properly – not just playing the hits.

“I should have done it 10 years ago.”

Doug Elfman’s column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Email him at delfman@reviewjournal.com. He blogs at reviewjournal.com/elfman.