Max Cooper Makes His Miami Debut at the Electric Pickle

If Max Cooper stops landing club gigs — no problem. He has his genetics research career to fall back on.

Before transitioning to a full time global DJ/producer, Cooper worked in a lab and studied the evolution of genetic networks. His approach to music is scientific and academic too, but don’t get it twisted — Cooper’s a retired raver and will throw it the fuck down. And he'll do just that for six hours as he makes his Miami debut at Electric Pickle this Saturday.

The connection between DJ and scientist isn't as far a stretch as one might think. After all, a DJ set is a scientific system, and different formulas evoke different feelings. Perhaps Cooper’s background will help him be able to control people’s mindsets, make their bodies do things they didn't know they could do. It's sort of like the fabled “brown note,” an infrasonic frequency that will allegedly cause humans to lose control of their bowels, but, instead, Cooper manipulates sound to make everyone fall madly in love. 

It's hard to speculate just what, exactly, Cooper will do. As he told us, he doesn't like to be predictable. “I don’t stick to a particular genre, nor do I sit inside a scene, and luckily I’m able to make money,” he says.

His remix of “Third” by Hiatus will most likely make the early portion of the set list. “I enjoy playing ambient tracks to get the night going. It’s nice for everyone to sit, chill, have a laugh, and drink early in the night."

As the evening progresses, “Mass” by Vaetxh could make an appearance, and Cooper’s remix of “For” by Nils Frahm may follow. Originally from Belfast, London has been Cooper's home for the last six years. He’s a big fan of JoeFarr, Throwing Snow, and Rob Clouth. It was the Depeche Mode, New Order, and Erasure electro-pop holy trinity that spiked his appetite as a youngster. Countless trips to Ibiza later, Cooper’s sound has matured, something that is represented in his remix of “Spectate” by JoeFarr and his original track, “Seething.”

“One thing that’s important to me and that’s interesting is that electronic music has always been about technology. It fueled the birth of this thing," he says. "It opens up ways to interact with machines. I bring this into my music and like to build systems and programs."

Miami is the final stop on his 11-date American tour and is one of four markets where he’s playing an “all-night long” set. A dance floor scientist and experimenter, Max Cooper is an uncompromising and individual musician. It's still unclear whether or not this is the result of some scientific formula beyond our comprehension, but either way, prepare to fall in love with someone at the Pickle.

Max Cooper. 10 p.m. Saturday, June 11, at the Electric Pickle, 2826 N. Miami Ave., Miami; 305-456-5613; electricpicklemiami.com. Tickets cost $15 plus fees via residentadvisor.net.