By Jennifer Finjan
Cam Maxwell’s interest in electronic music started in the early to mid nineties when he began attending raves in Toronto. He was immediately drawn in by the scene’s sense of “family”. He quickly became more and more involved and eventually started working with Dose Productions putting on various events throughout the city. At the time, he was living with DJ Dominik and that led him to want to try mixing himself.
Since then, Cam has become a valuable and well-respected member of the Toronto electronic music scene. Today, he is a successful (and very busy) DJ, event organizer and promoter. Currently, Cam has residencies at The Guvernment, Footwork and Comfort Zone. Cam also had the honor of opening for such international headliners as Cedric Gervias, Honey Dijon and Paco Osuna. His large and faithful following consists of electronic music fans, industry leaders and fellow artists. Everyone he encounters is drawn in by his friendly disposition, love for the music and passion for the scene.
Cam is a chameleon of sorts when it comes to his sound. It can vary depending on what club he is playing at, his audience, time of day and even which DJs are on the deck before and after him. One thing is for sure, whether he’s playing electro, tribal, tech house, or techno, he is sure to include a good strong kick and chugging bass line, as well as amazing vocal mixing.
Catch Cam as he opens and closes for Benny Benassi this Sunday, May 17, at Wasaga Beach! For more information on this and other upcoming events, please visit www.cammaxwell.com
Cam Maxwell downloads are available from his podcast @ http://cammaxwell.podomatic.com/
Do you remember your first gig?
My first opportunity to play in front of a large crowd was the United Dance rave at the Warehouse, which is now called Koolhaus. I was pretty good friends with Mark Scaife at the time and after hearing me play at a small party a few weeks before, he asked me if I would like to open the main room. I jumped at the chance and ended up playing in front of a couple thousand people! When my set was done, I ended up playing for another two hours in one of the smaller rooms when another DJ didn’t show up. So I was quite lucky that weekend to get that kind of opportunity and I just loved it. I really got a rush from seeing a large crowd of people moving to the music I was mixing. There really is no other feeling like it.
How has your audience changed since then?
Dance floors today are decidedly different. First of all the larger 10,000-12,000 people raves are a thing of the past. The large one-off events have been replaced with clubs. So now you have several different clubs on the weekend attracting the electronic music scene attendees. Because of this, the crowds and dance floors tend to be smaller than they were, but now you have a lot of variety and options. It’s a different feeling playing to a smaller more intimate crowd and I actually really enjoy it. You can really get a connection with the crowd and feed off their energy. I always try to read the crowd as much as I can. I want to make sure that their experience is going to match mine. I’ve also noticed that the crowds today are much more knowledgeable than they were 10 years ago. They really have a love for the music and it shows.
What are the pros/cons of playing afterhours clubs vs. regular clubs?
Well, I love our scene here in Toronto and I love the clubs we have going now. We definitely have a mix, from clubs that open at 10pm and serve alcohol but stay open past last call, to clubs that are only open late and don’t serve–to clubs that are open for 24 hours on Sunday! LOL! It’s this mix that I really enjoy, because you not only have a difference in the clubs but you have a difference in what people want to hear at those different clubs. I love the fact that I get a chance to play my different styles of music, depending on where I am and what time I’m playing. This really allows me to be more creative with my sound. As well, at the afterhour’s club the crowds are there to see the DJ’s play. They know what they want to hear and they know where to go and who to see for that particular sound. At a regular “Top 40” club the focus isn’t on the DJ or the music, it tends to be on the drinking or social exercises. Although, I must admit that I do love to have a few beers when I play and unfortunately I can’t always do that.
Who would you like to collaborate with in the future?
Well, Danny Nagels and I have started to work together on a few projects. We’re working on some things both in the studio and in the DJ booth. I really like Danny’s recent releases and especially where his sound has been going. So I’m pretty pumped to be working in the studio with him as I just know our sounds will complement each other. I’m also looking forward to a night that we’ve been planning where we’ll be playing back to back in Guvernment. I would also like to collaborate with D-Unity one day as well, I love most of their releases and have always enjoyed their live performances.
What are your plans for the future?
on the line divx Right now my goal has been music production. I’m pretty new to that side of the business and I’ve have been spending as much time as I can learning as much as possible. It really does take a long time to become fluent with the tools you need so I’ve been doing what I can to speed up that learning curve. The problem is, when I play several times a week and work full time…………getting the time isn’t always easy—but I always find myself spending countless hours in the studio despite my hectic schedule.
Where would you like to spin that you haven’t already?
Well, I’ve definitely been lucky enough to play most clubs in Toronto as well as secure residencies at all my favorites. I would love to start playing more in other cities. I have some gigs coming up in Buffalo and Montreal and would love to play more in the US. Of course playing throughout Europe would be a dream come true! Ibiza here I come! LOL!!!
What do you listen to? man about town divx
Most of my time–no sorry–all of my time is spent listen to electronic music. When I have time, I’m either going through all the newest releases, listening to ones I’ve bought, or just organizing my tracks for the next weekend or gig. I never really listen to the radio or even know what bands are big right now. I never had the same draw to other types of music as I do to EDM so I’m pretty content just listening to that. God forbid I end up on some game show and loose a million dollars because I can’t name some pop tune!!!! LOL!!!
Are there DJ artists you admire and who have had a strong influence on you?
Definitely, there are a lot of DJ’s or just people in our scene that I admire. Back in the rave days I always admired DJ Dan and Donald Glaude, not only for their amazing skills on the decks, but just because they were such great people. They are very approachable and personable people, and they’re still like that to this day. I also admire a lot of our local guys as well that have had some great success with their productions lately such as Carlo Lio, D-Unity, The Junkies, Hatiras, Joey Seminara, and Danny Nagels, just to name a few. I love that these guys are getting Toronto some well-deserved attention, showing the world the talent we’ve got here. There’s a lot of DJ’s here in our scene that are just great people too, that really contribute to the scene and help make it an inviting atmosphere to be in. People like Deko-Ze, TK, Anas Attia, David Ace, Ovi M, Joee Cons, again just to name a few (I hate to name people, I know I’m forgetting people). Our scene is full of those who contribute on a regular basis just to help make it better for the rest of us, and I really admire that. We have people like Miss Raquel and Sheldon Purkiss, both from Scenester Magazine, who both work so hard for our scene and contribute so much for so little in return. It’s the people like that that really make our scene here what it is, and why I love being a part of it.
I also want to take a quick minute to say thank you to everyone who comes out and supports me. I really do have such an appreciation for all the support I’ve gotten over the last couple of years. I’ve been very lucky to accomplish so much so quickly and I know it’s because of this support that it was possible. Thanks guys! I look forward to ripping it up on the dance floor with all of you soon!
Great interview of a great DJ…
Only want to say your article is brilliant. The clearness in your post is simply striking and i can take for granted you are an expert on this field. Well with your permission allow me to grab your rss feed to keep up to date with forthcoming post. Thanks a million and please keep up the good work.