Biography
Maxi founded The Soul Food Cafe System as a DJ in 1984, having discovered hip hop a year earlier. He transferred this sound to pirate radio station LWR in 1987.
In 1989, The Soul Food Cafe Band was picked up by Tam Tam Records, which is the dance wing of Savage Records), and the album Original Groovejuice, Vol. 1 was recorded. Maxi founded Namu Records in 1992 in order to release the band's material in the form of three EP's and the band toured as a support act to various artists, including Jamiroquai in Amsterdam; Soul II Soul in Barcelona; Galliano in Switzerland; and Jason Rebello in Brazil. After the band dissolved, Maxi worked throughout Europe, and took time out to collaborate with Jah Wobble on the Invaders Of The Heart album, followed by live dates with the Wobble Collective.
Maxi met Rollo Armstrong in a studio and went on to form Faithless, together with Jamie Catto and Sister Bliss. As a Soka Gakkai Buddhist, Maxi's strong beliefs and the band's own strong individual beliefs, contrast with the name 'Faithless', which was chosen during the writing of the song "Salva Mea". Rollo had asked Maxi to write a song about frustration, which was something to which Maxi could relate from his own experiences. The subject matter of Maxi's lyrics range from upbeat to melancholic. His work covers a range of personal and social issues, including current affairs and social commentary.
In 2006, Maxi provided the vocals for the hit Tiësto track "Dance4life". He also sang alongside Robbie Williams on the single "My Culture" from the collaborative album 1 Giant Leap.
Maxi celebrated his 50th birthday on June 15, 2007 in Hyde Park, London by headlining the O2 Wireless Festival 2007. In the encore he was greeted by thousands of fans wishing him happy birthday.
Read more about this topic: Maxi Jazz
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