MAX SWEIRY
MUSIC
FILM INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE
Max’s journey into independent film music began when he started working alongside Tom Paton, writer and director, on his first production ‘Pandorica' (2016). More opportunities opened up when Max was approached to write the score for the film ‘Dark Beacon’, which won Best Music Score at the Upstate New York Horror Film Festival (2017). After this came Tom Paton’s second film, ‘Redwood’, in which Max played an integral part in the score, writing and arranging most of the film's music. The film received accolades at the European Cinematography and UK National Film Awards, was featured on television in the UK on the Horror Channel and has since been available to stream on Amazon Prime. Max continues to work with Tom Paton, delivering scores for ‘Black Site’ (2018, also available through Amazon Prime) and ‘The Ascent’ (2020, US premiere screening at ‘Other Worlds Festival’ in 2019) which both received 5 star reviews from film critics and support by the likes of Starburst Magazine and Dread Central.
Max’s diversity as a composer is seen in these projects, as each film required a different style and feeling within the score; for example, where ‘Black Site’ had an 80s inspired action theme, ‘The Ascent’ was more of a thriller horror, where more shocking instrumentation was needed. Max will work again with Tom Paton on his new film, in conjunction with Goldfinch, entitled ‘G-Loc’. Once again, musical diversity will be a major factor, as this is an epic film set in space which will consist of an almost entirely classical score. Future plans include working with Tom Paton on his next film creation, ‘400 Bullets’, as well as delving into the world of film documentary and factual series.
MUSIC INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE
Max began his entry into the music industry as a professional featuring on numerous songs as a vocalist which led to success within electronic music; with plays on BBC Radio 1 and other major radio stations around the world. Songs such as ‘Nightmares in Reality’ and ‘Moving Together’ received millions of plays and streams, which led to regular performances in clubs and venues across the UK and Europe alongside electronic music producer ‘Mefjus’, eventually touring further abroad to Australia and New Zealand. As well as these vocal performances Max had already been heavily involved with music composition and production, when in 2013 he completed the sound and music for a Gastric Band Hypnosis product - an extensive 7+ hour collection of meditation and hypnosis audio with vocals and direction by clinical hypnotherapist and trainer of linguistic programming, Christopher Adams. Following this, through his contacts in the music industry, Max was able to write music and lyrics for adverts by prolific companies including Mountain Dew and Petronas Motorsports, as well as having TV programmes such as VICE sync music from his catalogue to their program.
EARLY YEARS & EDUCATION
Max's interest in music began at just 6 years old, playing the cello and going on to achieve Grade 8 with Distinction by the age of 13. During this time he won various awards, competitions and scholarships, as well as progressing with and achieving grades in other instruments, such as the Piano and Drum Kit. By the age of 16 Max was leading cellist in several youth orchestras which led to performances at various prolific venues including The Barbican and The Royal Albert Hall. At the age of 18, after completing Music and Music Technology A Levels, Max turned his focus towards a degree in Music Production at Leeds College of Music, graduating with Honours. Although his interests were moving towards recording and music production by this point, Max’s experience in classical music laid the foundations for his music composition in any style or genre to perfectly accompany any motion picture.