By Sasha Raven

Hey Maxim, can you tell us for the start, something about you and your band (band members)?

Hello, guys! Our band has been around since 2013, but we have known each other much longer. By the time I met my fellow band members I had not been doing much, and I guess I had something you could call a creative slump. I rarely played my guitar or even picked it up at all. However, I wrote some really cool songs. Some time later, I felt I had to bring some up-beat to these new songs. I craved for the real loud-and-proud crunchy guitar sound. That is how I found my old friends. They were all involved in their own projects until that life-changing moment when we met and I offered them to join the band. That is how the Antidepressants came to be. At the moment, we are playing as a three-man band: Sergey “Maestro” (bass guitar), Vitaly (drums) and me (guitar, vocals). For bigger gigs, we invite our talented buddy Slava to play the guitar.

Which bands influence on your music? I swear I can feel the influence of Nirvana, The Beatles, The Vines, The Subways, etc. 

That’s right, all of the above. You nailed it. I would say that my strongest influences were the Beatles and Nirvana. I first heard the Beatles when I was eight years of age, and I was captivated by the voices and melodies. It was pure genius. I got to know Nirvana when I was 15. At the time I was taking my first guitar lessons, and their music gave me the second strong push to grow as a musician. Both bands made really great music. The kind of music that is here to stay.

Who is writing, composing songs for The Antidepressants? Is it you or the whole band?

Well, I come up with the basic ideas for the songs. The guys then add their own arrangements, so it is a team effort. When a song is ready, it has a bit of each of us.

Who writes lyrics for your songs?

The lyrics is something you do not ask from other. This is forbidden ground. Something personal. Even intimate. So I made lyrics my privilege. Guys’ input is limited to minor changes. This is a taboo!

May I ask you one thing, if you had a chance with which famous band or musician  would you like to collaborate?

Well, unfortunately, most of those I wish I could play with are no longer with us. Lennon, Morrison, Lemmy, Cobain are now in a different world. At least, I believe so. And if we look at active performing musicians, I would say Nick Cave. He is unbelievably cool!

How many years are you playing now together?

I have known Sergey “Maestro”, the bass player for 13 years already. Before the Antidepressants, we used to play in two local bands in the city. Later, purely by a very lucky chance, I met Vitaly. He is a great drummer, very musically gifted and creative.

You released an album Music Migraine in 2015. Can you describe your feelings about that?

Hm… Three months of recording. Three different studios. Three sound engineers.  This gives me mixed emotions. On the one hand, the album turned out good. On the other, my attitude really changed during the recording period, I actually started hating those songs. In the last days I had a real music migraine. I could barely listen to these songs anymore. True story.

When did you start to play a guitar? 

That happened when I heard “A Hard Day’s Night” album by the Beatles. I was eight. My father used to play bass with a band, I would ask him how to finger chords and learned some tunes. Soon I was so captured by music I stopped asking him and would just get to it by myself. I am self-taught. I do not have a music education,  which does not seem to be a problem at all.

What are plans for the future, do you plan to release a new album maybe?

Yes, we have finally built our own studio. We had to cancel a few concerts for a number of reasons, though. At the moment, we have recorded five new songs, and now working on the vocal tracks. I believe we will make a full-blown LP disc. I am not really into these new trends like singles or EP. My intention is to make an LP with 10 or 11 songs, composed and recorded in a single sound design, with a holistic concept.

At the end, what would you like to tell to a Slovenian audience?

Our city is only 100 kilometers away from Estonia, and we have been planning a European tour for a long time now. Absolutely, we will get to Slovenia as part of the tour, so see you soon! We are not saying goodbye. Enjoy good music. Best of luck!