Experimentalism in music is far from uncommon, but not many musicians have minds that swim with musical concepts as rich and varied as Max Winter’s. Synthetic chords bleed into acoustic melodies, jazz riffs find a perfect place in the middle of a brooding pop song. Winter creates voraciously and is unafraid to approach any musical genre in the book. The result of this restless curiosity is a sound unlike most others; pop-infused and hazy, smart, and effortlessly melodic.
This special ambition is especially evident in Winter’s newest single “Lean Into Me”. One of the artist’s most unique tracks yet, Winter acknowledged that this particular lo-fi focused track, a duet, signals a refocusing of his musical lens toward his songwriting. Still, those other musical textures, from the driving piano to the low strums of a bass, come through just as naturally as before.
With deconstructed vocal takes, modulated drums, buzzing synth, and low-end guitar tracks, “Lean Into Me” is an ambiguous collage. It glitters with a deliberate funk-edged sound while remaining balanced across consistent piano chords. Other little chaoses dwell beneath the liminal space of the main melody, and altogether it inspires a sense of unconditional contentment, moving in space.
