About Me
Max Clarke Bio
Injecting Electro house with a Latin twist into the Australian dance scene is Max Clarke. The 29-year-old brings a passion and vigour to the craft of DJing that’s goes beyond the simple practice of beat mixing. From infectious house, to arse-shaking funk and sexy slices of disco, electro and uplifting Latino vibes, the skilled vinyl spinner drops it all with stealth-like precision.
Born in Argentina, Max (christened Max Martinucci) had a passion for music running through is veins from a young age. Together with his disco-loving parents, Max would travel near the Brazilian border and immerse himself in the captivating rhythms and drums of RIO style carnivals.
Moving to the Australian city of Melbourne as a 7 year old, Max’s love affair with music continued, embracing the likes of Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones and Prince, as well as some of the early R&B and hip hop. Once the late 90s hit, legendary Melbourne radio stations Kiss FM and Hitz FM had the young music fan captivated by the rising dance movement.
In 2000 Max headed back to Argentina for a 10 month long sojourn, working hard to propel the local Argentine dance scene. His passion and drive saw him land a nightly show called ‘Zona Dance’ on one of the provinces largest commercial radio station La Rocka FM, reinforcing his commitment to the burgeoning music scene. Max’s enthusiasm and growing network of contacts saw him venture into event production – with incredible success. The Exquisita and Recuerdos Del Futuro events were run from January 1999 to August 2000 that year and attracted over 1000 punters and showcased a number of different DJ’s from within the provinces.
Upon returning to Australia in 2001, Max took a 4 year break from the music industry to focus on his other dream of purchasing a home, all the while knowing that his passion for music and his need to produce his own material would bring him back to the industry he loves.
He would return with a re-energised bang in 2005, landing a residency at Melbourne’s über cool Decorum Bar, with the club employing Max’s exquisite vinyl skills to guide them through a marathon 8 hours of laidback disco funk right through to jamming Latin club house. The gigs would continue to flow, with the man’s floor-moving skills scoring himself a series of corporate shindigs for Australian Telecommunications giant Optus, as well as guest spots at revered Melbourne clubs Qbar (Thursdays), Room (Supafly event), The Motel (NYE ’06 and Mayday events), GPO (NYE ’06), Fix (‘Musica’ Mayday event) and Saratoga (‘Zinc Lips’ Australia Day Eve event).
Melbourne dance floors know a good thing when they’re onto it though, with Max’s white-hot form seeing him secure residencies at both Baroq and GPO on Fridays and garnering legions of fans with his energetic blend of electro/hip house.
While embracing CD technology, Max still uses vinyl when he DJs, preferring the warm richness that comes from playing acetate. Indeed this is a principle that guides his performance – one of feeling. No one set is ever the same, with the spinner dropping ear-catching acapellas with his patented eclectic house sound to create his own bootlegs and ensure the continuing originality of his DJ sets.
With production work next on Max’s list of things to conquer, there seems little doubt that the talented man’s dedication and passion will see him bring Latin heat to club, festivals and parties all across the world.