Your Mind Matters – Maxwell Farrington, Hope And Sorrow In Music

Hello and welcome. I'm Dr. Maria Kempinska. I'm a psychotherapist, and today I have the real pleasure to talk to a fantastic performer called Maxwell Farrington. He's a musician, a writer, and I say chef, he says cook. I'm sure the food tastes exquisite regardless. Uh, and what have I got behind me? I'll put this up because it was such a great, um, Is it the album cover? It's your new album cover, is it? Not just the album cover. Isn't it fabulous? And one of your songs is Old Lang Syne, although it's your version, isn't it? Yeah, I just stole the, the words, well, the, the title. The title. But it's such a fascinating title, isn't it? The Old Lang Syne that we all sing. And the title is always about, you know, should old acquaintance be forgot. And it just makes you think about our— we all do this, don't we? We all think about our past when you get to the new year. Has the year been good? What was it like? And then everything else comes into our vision at the same time. So what made you choose this particular title? Well, I wrote this song very, very, very quickly. And the words Auld Lang Syne just came out, as you know, and I just thought, that's a nice title. So I used that as a song title. Really, there wasn't really much thought. No, I went into it, uh, you know, I've had the pleasure to speak to you before, and I know that— and what I love about musicians, it's almost they're philosophers and poets all into one, that a lot of the world. You pick up the world and what's happening in the world, plus your own lives. But you, when you capture the zeitgeist, if you like, it's because you have messages for the world. And I definitely think that that's what's happening to you for this year. Did you, when you entered into the new year, which we're only a few days in, how did you feel? Did you feel— I know that new stuff going on for you, which we'll talk about, but how did you feel when you came into this year? Well, the first date, very hungover. Oh, that's not a bad thing. Uh, it— I've been too busy to really think about it. I know that this year is going to be pretty full-on because I'm opening up a new restaurant and, uh, I'm doing some more music. And it's— I know that today, this year is going to be busy. So tell us about that. So let's— first of all, let's talk about your album. But you are opening a restaurant, you have a 4-year-old daughter, you've got a partner. And how does this fit in with the rest of your life that's been? But let's talk about your restaurant and your album. Okay. Uh, well, this, this album that I released for Christmas, it's a Christmas album. It's 6— there are 16 songs, all, uh, quite rapidly done and, uh, Yeah, it talks about Christmas and how, you know, family and relationships and a lot of nonsense basically. So that was, yeah, that was, that was Christmas. And yeah, then I'm opening up a restaurant next month if all goes well. So that's going to be intense, I think. But at the moment, I'm just keeping— I had a massage today. Oh, that's good. You're getting it out of your system slightly. Slightly. I'm still, I'm still, I'm still— it was half an hour ago, so I'm still a bit on the floor. Oh, that's good though. That's not a bad thing. But you do include a lot of references to food in your music, don't you? I do a stream of consciousness and obviously I think about food all the time. Yeah. So it has to come out. Yeah. And one of them, it's quite interesting in the Auld Lang Syne song, you slobber on your face, then ask for more. Our mother sheds a few, sheds a tear, potatoes reappear. You see, that's what I mean about you. You know, it's sort of that it's almost that you throw people into I think where a lot of people go through Christmas and times like that, that the world is not just where we are today, but a lot of the past comes in, and good times and less good times come into that moment as well. And you captured it in your words. And then you said the gravy on the floor yields pain and sorrow. Now, you know, that isn't a traditional Christmas song, is it? But it's so powerful. Well, thank you very much. So where does that come from? Uh, the, I just picked it out of the universe and onto the page. I didn't, I wrote these lyrics in less than 3 minutes and I didn't really edit them either afterwards. So, um, tell us where, first of all, where can people get your album? Let's find that out first. Uh, any good music on Spotify, of course, music store. Well, like, you can buy it on, on Amazon, I think, or, uh, local. I'm in France, it's easy to, it's easy to find, but I'm in the UK, it might be a bit more difficult. I'm not sure what the distribution was like. Yeah, of course, because you now live in France and your label is Upton Park. Upton Park. So, uh, and when did you find them, or when did they find you? They— because the album is called Yuletide and I'll Tide with Yan, and Yan is a friend of mine that lives in Plua, which isn't far from where I live, and he was working with Upton Park already, and somehow I think, I think he might have sent them to it. Sent, sent the album to them a couple of years ago when we first did it, and they wanted to release it as a— on vinyl and on CD. And I said, yeah, sure, why not? But it does vary. Now let's talk about the tone of your voice. So as soon as I heard your voice, I had Scott Walker in my head, which is— yeah. And I know that when we were chatting about this, you, uh, corrected me because I said Scott Walker was French, but he's not, is he? No, not Scott Walker. He He sang Jacques Brel, who is not French but sang in French. He was Belgian. Yeah. As I said, when you've got that sort of feel to it, to your work, has got more of that sort of dramatic feel. It isn't just— it is sort of much more that unpicks life, goes into the depth of life. And that's what Jacques Brel did with his work, and that's what Scott Walker managed to do when he eventually left the Walker Brothers and went into that world. And obviously then later he changed totally. An amazing voice, as is yours. Thank you. But Jacques Brel's on another level. Yeah, but I wonder what you'd be like singing Jacques Brel, actually. Just a food for thought, because you have that tone to your voice and that ability. You'd just be— I'm just throwing that in for my own sake, actually, if you don't mind. Well, I love singing Jackie, uh, karaoke. Oh, do you? Yeah, it's just such an amazing song. His work was phenomenal. And so how is it for you in France as a musician? Uh, incredibly good. Uh, in Australia— well, I can only really speak about Australia. Uh, it's, it's really hard to be a— well, you can either be a part-time musician or a hobbyist musician or a full-time musician if you're extremely famous. Here you can be a part-time musician and be paid full-time by the, by the government, which is incredible. So people can really focus on something that they love. I just love that. When you told me that, I was sort of blown away because the music industry, much like as you said in Australia, in the UK, it's exactly the same. You either have to be with the label or you have to be doing well so you're up there, or you struggle. And as you say, you called it a hobbyist, and that's exactly it. And now over here, a lot of the venues are shutting, but in France they have a different system. Do you want to tell us about that? Yeah, it's so— we have these things called cachets, which is you get a cachet when you play a gig, and it's the thing that starts at about €80. So when you get, you know, you get paid €80 and then, but the people that have employed you, they pay €160. So they pay the double. So when you're, but they can get, they can get, they can get help from the government to pay correctly anyway. And then when you get 43 of these cachets in a year, then you go on to this system called, uh, l'intermittence du spectacle, and you get paid a minimum wage every month if you continue to make these 42 cachets a year. And I've recently gotten this particular status, and it's brilliant. And how do you get that status, as you say? Uh, well, you have to earn 42 42 cachets in a year and then apply. Amazing. Yeah, it is, it is. It can be hard to get these 42 cachets in a year. I mean, not every— I've got a few friends that are great musicians, but they just can't afford— well, they just can't get these paying gigs. But there are less and less bars that will pay, uh, a group like a, like a band. Yeah. I think 5 people, they won't pay them €100 to play a gig. A lot of people being pressured to pay each individual member of the group correctly. And that way they can, they can pay tax. Yeah. Then it becomes a real business and then it can keep you going because I know that in the music business, it's become a little bit difficult for artists, although it sounded great in 2000. You know, and when the internet happened and everybody— I remember musicians saying, oh yeah, this is going to be great, you know, I can do everything myself, I don't need a label, I can get myself out there, I can, you know, record my own stuff, I can release it. But all that takes time, and it takes time off your creative. But you know, that's creative. But you have actually done it well. Uh, yeah, and I'm Business-wise, I'm the worst person that I know, even though I'm opening my own business. But like, for self-promotion and all that sort of stuff, I'm absolutely horrible. I'm my own worst enemy. I know, but don't you think it's the hardest thing? And in a way, that's life, isn't it? Life gives us these challenges to take up, and part of it is going to be your business that you're going into, and also, you know, sort of self-promotion. But your business will promote you as well, even if you don't sing in there, unless you're singing when you're What role will you have in your business, in the restaurant, by the way? Will you be— or you're not going to be the chef? But I'll be here, I'll be head chef. Head chef. So you'll— will people see you? Uh, yeah, I will. Yeah, yeah, I'll be in the kitchen, but I'll also come into the dining room and say hello. Because, you know, chefs are notorious. You know, they can be notorious, can't they? Yeah, yeah. I remember stories when Marco Pierre White opened, uh, in England. There was a restaurant that he, um, that he had, one of his first, and he— if somebody asked for salt, the story goes, this is the myth, that he used to bring out an axe and put it, slap it into the table and say to somebody, who wanted the salt? And of course nobody said yes at that point. So you have all mythological stories around chefs. I have a feeling you might not be quite that person. No, I, uh, no, I'm, I'm a bit too, too timid for, for all that. Yeah, so we'll come on to that, you know, your personality and so on. But, uh, when did you start playing your guitar and start writing? I was 19 when I picked up, right, when I learned my first 2 chords. Just 2 chords. It was, it was enough. It was an afternoon. I, I just figured, yeah, I'll just give it a go. And then somebody showed me where to put, where to put my fingers on the guitar. So it was just A and E. Is that what you recommend for people to, uh, to play those two chords. Yeah, why not? Do you think that's the best way to learn? Because learning the, you know, the guitar is incredibly overwhelming at times, isn't it, for people? That's what I thought my whole, my whole life. I thought, I'll never be able to learn an instrument, or especially not the guitar, because it's so complicated. And then a friend says, sure, just— I saw, I really looked at a friend playing a guitar. I'm like, what, what are these? Why are you— what's all that? So, oh, they're chords. You just play a chord and you sing over the top. So he showed me 2 chords, and then I looked on the internet what songs are 2 chords that I liked, and I found, um, Part-Time Punks by the Television Personalities. And yeah, in the afternoon I learned that song and then a couple more chords in the same afternoon, and then I wrote I wrote 3 songs that, that night. Fantastic. Bad, bad songs, but, but it didn't matter because you started, you started off, that was it. Yeah. And then, and then from there it was just a, uh, an obsession. Yeah. It sounds fantastic to be able to think that way. I love that because it becomes, otherwise it becomes a mission and you get put off by these things. And actually, if you learn as a child, which a lot of people do, you know, you've got that time and you've got somebody else encouraging you. But if you start as an adult, you have to do it all yourself. Yeah. So, and it's just, it's just that first step of just sort of getting your head around the fact that it's not that complicated. Yeah. Well, that's because you've got the talent. Maybe. If somebody could say the same thing to me about coding or something, and I, I, I'd say no, no, no, no, and yeah, I, I don't know that about coding, but that's interesting. Um, so before that, you were 19 and you started playing the guitar. Where were you living at that point? I was living on Wedge Street in Brisbane, which was sort of like a— it was well known in Brisbane for being a sort of uni dropout and uni student bohemian Artist Street, and there was, I think, uh, 6 or 7 houses all in a row, and in each house there's 2 or 3 artists or uni dropouts or failing artists or musicians all in this one big street. And at that time, that's when I wasn't really doing much, but I got, I got a really, really great education just with following all the recommendations from these people. So books and film and what music to listen to and just conversation. It was brilliant. And I got really good at darts. Actually, do you know, I am always surprised how much money there is in playing darts, but there are professionals that do it superbly well, don't they? Yeah, if the business, if the restaurant goes under and I lose my voice, I'm gonna, I'm gonna give it a go. That's your fallback, is it? Yeah. Great. So let's call that the sort of pivotal point in your life. So what was life like before that? Tell me about your upbringing. So as a kid, I was really happy and popular at school from age of 5, 6. Then my parents split up. We moved to a suburb in Brisbane. I moved with my sister and my mum, and then she got a, a boyfriend that I didn't particularly like, but didn't really know what was going on at the time. And then they got married. I slowly, uh, got a little bit depressed, I think. And then, you know, 5 until 16, just, uh, a docile, docile at home and a bit of a rat. I was always outside. Basically skateboarding and surfing and then smoking weed. And then at 16, I moved out and just was smoking every day and working at the time. I had some full-time job. I had 3 jobs when I was 16 so that could pay my, and then yeah, got into ecstasy as well. Okay, so before we get into your drugs, you're at that moment, that time, because it does become almost a portal, doesn't it? You walk through into the portal of those, those druggy moments. Yeah, I, I just, because we've spoken about this before, I'm a bit, I'm a bit worried about I'm going too fast into certain subjects. No, no, you're good. Okay, really good. Um, but, um, coming back to your father, and you've got an older sister and a younger sister. Yeah, a young— a younger half-sister. Younger half-sister. And where did they live? So my older sister lived with me until maybe I was maybe 9 or 10, and then she moved in with my dad and My younger sister, she was, uh, she was, uh, my— from my dad and stepmum's. Maybe we're not— I would have been 12 when she was born. So, so your father remarried and your mother remarried, and yes, with your mother. Yeah. Was that conscious? Do we— do you recall? Uh, did you just think, oh, I might as well stay? I was, I was probably asked at the time if I wanted to go with Dad or with Mum. And I probably, as any 5-year-old or 6-year-old, however old I was, I would have said mum and then didn't really reconsider ever until I moved out. So whereas, whereas my older sister, she, she reconsidered, which was probably a very good thing. And how many years older than you is she? 2 years older. 2 years older. So Not much, not much difference. But of course, people are people, and, um, in a way, your mother would have been left on her own otherwise, wouldn't she? Yeah, which would have been horrible for her. Yeah. And maybe, who knows? Do you ever think back to that time when you were younger? Now that you've got a child of 4, do you ever think back to what it was like for you when you were younger, having to make those decisions at quite a young age? Yeah, well, I'm always conscious of my childhood and what or how my daughter could be perceiving things. And so I'm generally pretty, pretty, pretty cool. I don't get angry or I don't shout at her or, you know, I, I just try to be a, a cool, cool and good dad. But are you conscious of your own childhood as well? Uh, you look at her and see things that she experiences and think, oh, I did that, or I remember this part of my life. She's a bit still a bit young, but, uh, I, I can't think of any examples right now, but I think, yeah, sometimes I I can put myself in her shoes. And yeah, because for children, of course, what we look— when we look back on our own childhoods, it's sort of like condensed, isn't it? Until you come to those moments that are heightened, and then we realize how much of an impact they have on us. And they have all the emotions sort of around that particular event. So, um, When your sister left, were you conscious of that? And then you were the only child left with your mother and stepfather. So in effect, you now have two fathers. Uh, yeah. Well, when, when, when my big sister left, I was, I was overjoyed. She was my bratty big sister that always told on me. Did she? So, and you know, at that age, you know, siblings sort of hate each other but in a loving way. Yeah, yeah, it didn't— yeah, no, it was— for me at that point, I was just like, yeah, cool, but I didn't really give it that much thought. And so what was the difference between your father— because you used to go and stay with him— what's the difference between your father and your stepfather? Uh, my, my father is Super cool, intelligent. He's generally got good taste in music and funny. My stepfather, no swearing. I'll try. You're gonna try to say it without, but Go ahead if you have to. No, uh, he bigoted, small-minded, manipulative bully. Yeah. And he expressed his bullying physically? Physically and emotionally. Yeah. And how was that for you? And did you observe your mom at that point? Uh, yeah. The, the physical bullying with my mum I'd never witnessed, but I did like the, the— I could see, I could see he was, he was a mental case. It was really, really, really awful. And he used to bully you? Yeah. And is that why you wanted to be outside all the time? Or it certainly helped. But yeah, just— and if I wanted to express myself, I never did because it would be, you know, make him even more aggressive than what he already was. So I just sort of learned to not say anything, especially in the face of, uh, at that point, terror. Yeah. And how did you cope with that? And how was it at school? How did, how did you mix with your friends at school? Or did it, uh, on that? Well, I sort of kept, kept the two things separate, but at school I never really had any super close friends. I had groups of friends that I used to just sort of never really— I used to just get along with everybody, but never really, uh, I don't know, how do you say, um, yeah, without ever having like a strong relationship with any of the kids at school. And did that make it easier to leave? Because you— did you leave at 16 then? Well, I finished school because I, I was born late in the year, so, and I think I started early. I finished, I did all my exams, and I, yeah, I finished school and then started working. But yeah, no, I, I've, I haven't kept in touch with anyone from school. Once I left school, that was it, gone. Yeah. So you then left school and you left home, and I, yeah, I left home. And you worked, as you said, 3 jobs. Yeah, I was working in a hotel, a cafe, and a restaurant. And taking a lot of drugs, or as many drugs. What was it, a lot of drugs? It was the smoking was every day. But the, as I got older and older, The drugs, I'd say from late 16 to 19, ecstasy was almost every, every weekend, let's say. And was that a ritual amongst you and your friends, the ecstasy taking? The friends, uh, I had a couple of friends, but it was just a group of people that were interested in that. If when you, when you took to take the drugs away, they're not really, they're not really, not really friends anymore. No. Yeah. Um, and, uh, what was the turning point for you? Um, loss of reality. I had a, I had a, you could call it a panic attack, but it was definitely psychotic, uh, I was driving and then the whole 3D world in color sort of zoomed out and then got sucked into a black hole in my mind. And then I was just nothing for, I don't know, a few, a few seconds or maybe 5 minutes. And luckily my friend was there to sort of take, take the wheel. And yeah, and I somehow managed to put the brakes on. And how long did that last for? So that happened, and then I sort of slowly crept out, but everything was in black and white and in 2D. And that lasted for 2 or 3 days. And then I slowly sort of got a bit better. But from that, after that, I stopped smoking weed and stopped ecstasy. And did it affect you? Do you look back on it and do you say, yeah, yeah, for years, for years I had, I had panic attacks for years after that. Did you? Yeah. And never got help. Ah, do you regret that now? I, I did. I tried, I tried once. I saw a psychologist and he, he wasn't any good. He couldn't understand what— and yeah, it was really— at the time, it was really, really hard to articulate what was— what, what just happened, or what happened a few months ago. Uh, yeah, so I just sucked it up and kept going, but it was hard with the panic attacks. It was hard to work. So I was luckily in Australia at that time. There was the DOLL And that's when I moved to this great street in Brisbane and started my sort of bohemian education. So tell us about that. So there you are, you're 19, you've learned 2 chords. Did you start writing as well at the same time? Straight away. Wow. I was, I was already writing raps. Yeah, really. Dirty raps. Okay, I was, I was, I was, I was, I don't know, I was into Jonathan Cooper Clarke and yeah, and, uh, yeah, so it just raps. It was, you know, quite a fun, kind of funny, but that also helped with writing lyrics really, really quickly afterwards. Yeah, not remembering them though. That's always, I've always struggled with remembering my own lyrics or any lyrics really. Uh, yes, I was just— I learned guitar, started learning, uh, writing songs, and then played, started playing. And when you were on the street, where did you used to play? Whether did you sit on the street? What was it like, your street? Because over here we've got Portobello Road and Various places, actually. It's all— everybody's become— we've moved away from that sort of external nature of entertainment. So you could go to Camden at one time and the Camden Market people would play, or you'd get a busker. Did you ever do that? But, you know, a lot of people are pushed inside. Well, on this, on this particular street, it was, it was a cul-de-sac. So playing guitar, I was either in my kitchen On the roof, on the street. We had these beautiful things called, shit, what are they called? I've got terrace in my head, not a balcony. At the front of the house, you, shit. Like a veranda. A veranda. Oh, that's the word. There you are. I read your mind. Thank you. So I, I, on my neighbor's veranda, and then my neighbor became, uh, that's where I started living as well. Anyway, anywhere on the street, and I could walk into anybody's house. And oh nice, so you open? Yeah, I knew how to get into every house from the back door, or they gave me a key. Oh well, that sounds like a pretty cool street. It was the coolest street you can imagine. Is Australia still like that? Uh, I haven't, I haven't been back for almost a decade. Yeah, but it's not like that in the UK as far as I know. If somebody knows of a street like that, let me know. But that sounds pretty cool. It was really, really cool. So, and you said that was your sort of second education. So you learned the three Rs, arithmetic, writing, and what was the other one that they do, religion or something? Something, 3 hours. And now you're really going into your artistic life. What did you learn? Uh, well, I was given lots and lots of books to read, and I was given lots and lots of films to watch. Uh, and I was also, because my friends all worked, I was on the dole, they had record players, so I just go to their house and listen to their records. And generally with a few beers. And that's, yeah, I listened, I listened, I read and I watched, but yeah, mainly listened. And then when they got home from work, we'd talk about. So which ones spring to mind that you recall, which books and which music inspired you? You know, when you put something on, do you do that? Do you put on a record over and over again? Oh, oh yeah. Yeah. So which ones would you put on over and over again? Um, Scott Walker, obviously. You see, I didn't know that until we— till I mentioned Scott to you separately. I didn't know that he was an influence, but you do have his tone. You're slightly deeper tone than him, but he has You've got that ring about you as well, which is fantastic. Yes, thank you. In my head, he's a— he's a— well, he is an icon. Well, he was. He's a paragon. He's a— like, there's no way I'll ever, ever sing as, as, as well as he. Uh, but yeah, I just listen to Scott Walker, 1, 2, and 3 and 4, and then Night— uh, Night Flights as well. That's— it's I think it was the last Walker Brothers album. Marty Robbins, uh, a bit of French music like Françoise Hardy, um, Leonard Cohen. Leonard Cohen, yes, of course. Blondie, I really like it. Great. Yeah, but basically, and, uh, but I think that the main, the main one was Scott Walker. Once I heard that once, it was just, whoa. Yeah. Uh, and I just couldn't get enough of him. So do you think you attract, like yourself, do you think you, you know, an individual can attract, uh, the type they're attracted to, the type of music they represent? Because you just said, you know, I didn't know you listened to Scott Walker when I said to you initially Yeah, our first conversation, that you sound like Scott Walker. And yet now you're saying, oh, that's who I was attracted to. I wonder if that's something that we as people do. Just out— it's just an interesting question, really. Well, before I knew of Scott Walker, I used to sing Frank Sinatra karaoke. Oh, did you? And yeah, because, because it suited my voice. And then I was, I was just, I was always racking my brain, why isn't anybody singing like that today. Or I couldn't think of any groups with a baritone lead singer. And then, yeah, somebody showed me Scott Walker with weird lyrics and this beautiful voice and incredible arrangements. And yeah, it just blew me away and I was obsessed. It was so— it just worked for you. And I love that. It just clicked. Yeah, because if anybody hasn't— is listening to this and hasn't heard Scott Walker, take time out and listen to his work. And of course Maxwell's work. Yeah. Because that's why we're here, to talk about you, which is so exciting. And give us a book that you remember. Was there a book that you really made a profound impact? Yep. Down and Out in Paris and London. Right. By, by Orwell. Yeah. George. Uh, so I was, I was reading a lot of Bukowski, and then I don't know, yeah, I've read this Down and Out in Paris and London, and I think that's where I got the, the idea of, yeah, moving to, moving to London or, you know, France. Whoa. And also the fantasizing about poverty. Okay. Because I was already really poor and I figured— What was your fantasy? What was it they enabled you to explore? What was the theme of that? I think just sort of going without and there wasn't much drinking in the book, but Then there was Bukowski, who drank a lot. So it was sort of really, yeah, it was just the adventure of doing stuff with nothing. Yeah. And don't you think that is the creative adventure of life as well? Yeah. Well, something spoke to me with that book. Yeah. And I think I read it 2 or 3 times. You've got to make life happen anyway. Yeah. Quite profound. And I think we have come through a time recently where we've had the opportunity to have more. And, you know, some people take that— I'm not saying they take it for granted. We were allowed to take it for granted. People were allowed to take it for granted. And now we're being thrown back into a time where people have less, so they've got to rethink their lives. And I think you're right about, you know, reading George Orwell or Bukowski or any of those that talk about it's the creation of your own life, which is in fact what you do. And what you're doing. Yeah. And did they inspire you to do that? Yeah, of course. Well, it's a journey. I lived, I went through extreme poverty and, you know, all that sort of stuff. I wouldn't want to go back, but I'm super happy that I did it. Yeah. And okay. So while you're talking, you might come up with the answer to this. What did it leave you with? So if you don't have the answer, it might just sort of sit there until you come up with an answer. But you moved away from there and you moved to London. Yeah. Tell us about that reason. Uh, so I was living in Melbourne. I had a, I had a really nice band with some really close friends. And, but that's about it. I was on the dole and living in a, in a cupboard, basically. And I got an email from the ex-girlfriend of one of my friends from that, that's that famous street, Wed Street, who I'd always had a crush on. And she said, hey, would you ever be interested in donating sperm? Uh, it did mean that you'd have to come to London, but I can pay. Okay, so I thought about it, looked at, you know, what I was doing, which was not much. And it was, yeah, it was just a— I thought it was a good idea, so I did it. Came to London with $80 in my bank. And yeah, so I was, I was living with her for 2, 3 months, 4 months maybe, or 2. It wasn't quite manufactured. It wasn't quite so mechanical as it sounded. Well, uh, like, there was, there was obviously a bit of, you know, I was happy to help. No, what I'm saying is, you know, it wasn't just a sort of one-night stand and off you go. There was something to it. You lived with her? Yeah, I saw— I slept, you know, on the couch downstairs. But yeah, no, it was, it was, it was fun, but in super expensive London. I tried to get work. I couldn't get— I asked everybody that I met if I could work in their cafe, or— it was just, yeah, really difficult. Anyway, I A friend of mine was living in Leeds and they said, why don't you come up to Leeds? I said, yeah. So I went to Leeds. I arrived, my big, my backpacker's backpack. I got off the train or the bus. From the bus station, I walked to their house through a park and I was greeted by 7 or 8, um, young lads that wanted to— wanted me to go back to London, and they had knives. So it was broad daylight, but there was nobody in the park, and I was shit scared. So from there, I just, I just, you know, sprinted as fast as I could. Did they actually manage to hit you? No, they were throwing stones. Oh, thank God. But scary. It was. There wasn't— they didn't touch me really, but it was just the threat of me being so vulnerable in a place that I, I didn't know anyone apart from this, my one friend. So yeah, anyway, I made it to, to her house and I was shaking, and that shaking didn't go away in the next 5 minutes. It stayed with me for, uh, at least 2 weeks. I couldn't, I couldn't leave the house. And, uh, yeah, then I sort of, a couple years later, I realized what it was. It was PTSD. I think, I think the first thing when I was 19, the whole plus that, that just sort of the cherry on the icing on the cake. And that explosion, and then what happened? And then my dad emailed me saying that he's in Italy, and then I moved to— I went to visit him for a week, and then he gave me some money, he lent me some money, and I went to Marseille where I had a couple of friends. And yeah, stayed there for a year. Yeah. And then I met my— in that time I met my girlfriend, my current girlfriend, and moved to Toulouse. And now I'm in Brittany. And that's where you are at? Yeah. And thanks to my girlfriend, she got me psychiatric help at the— when I was living in Toulouse. Okay. Yeah. And what did that consist of? Drugs. Oh, did it? So, yeah, something to calm you, or was it Prozac or something like that? No, it was, it was for PTSD. Okay. Uh, I can't remember the name of it, but it was a, it was pretty strong. And did it help? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I did it because I didn't speak French really. And seeing a psychiatrist that spoke broken French— broken English, sorry— we didn't really have enough communication to sort of work it all out speaking. So it was just a, here's a prescription, come back here in a month, let me know how it goes. It's for 6 months. Okay. And yeah, so I did it for 6 months, put on, I think, 10, 15 kilos. And yeah, now I'm better. You know, because it's always very different. Every individual has their own, obviously, makeup, you know, and you have your own psychological structure, your own sort of dynamic inside with your own experiences, but also It's what helps. And that's interesting that that helped you. Are you happy that that helped you? Is— was it the right thing for you? Uh, I'm— I've never got— I've never lost the, the 10 kilos. It's just sort of gotten— I'm fat now, so fat, fatter. I regret that, but apart from that, no, it, it worked. Oh, that, you know, weight you could lose, but you can't lose what's in your mind so easily. Yeah, yeah, yeah, no, but, uh, it's— it helped, uh, it helped a lot. So yeah, I'm very, very happy because, well, you know, sort of all your experiences, they— I do, you know, sort of, as I say, everybody is so different, but it did sort of go back to an abusive stepfather. I think so, yeah. Yeah, because your mother had to leave him in the end, didn't she? Yeah, for— yeah, or escape him, should we say. Escape, yeah. So it gives you an indication, or it gives everybody an indication of how— what he was like if she had to escape him. Yeah. And yet here you are Without those traits, you're not a bully, you're not, you know, physically violent in any way. And you could have been. So you're a father now, and you've got— so in a way, there's 3 fathers we're looking at here as we're talking about your father. Okay. Yeah. Character, your stepfather, and you. And as people grow up, they can internalize a lot of the pain which is what you did. I think I'm still doing it, I think. Yeah, and that's not surprising because when you're the only child and you're growing up in that way, it's so profound and it's magnified for children. You know, even adults— look how bad it is for adults, let alone children. Everything is so big for children. So it's how do you— so does your music help you? Does it? Because it is an expression As you talk about that, you know, sort of when you talk about that part of your life in your music, do you think that helps you express it? I, I don't really write about my childhood. Well, no, but do you think unconsciously it does? It might, you know, that just that line which I am going to read again because it's so profound, you know, about you, you know, about the mother and The potato and, um, the gravy on the floor yields pain and sorrow. And do you know what, actually, I do wonder whether the best work— and this is only a discussion point, not an absolute— is, does the best work come from that pain and sorrow? We don't have to be conscious of it. Poetry is unconscious. The words are unconscious. It comes from somewhere very deep, doesn't it? Yeah, I'm, I've got no idea. And it'll be interesting for you, you know, at some point we might carry on talking at some point to see, because we all store things that come up later on. And, you know, we get on with life, don't we? We have to get on with life. And it's great that you've got, you know, your future. So, um, tell us about your restaurant. What that— what's that going to be like? Uh, it's going to be a natural wine, uh, well, we'll have a natural wine menu with— I'll do 2 entrées, 4 mains, and the mains will be fish. I'd like to work with offal and maybe one vegan and two desserts. Simple. And it'll change every— the menu will change every 2, 3 months with the seasons. And do you look— everything locally sourced? I was gonna say, so that's a local source. Yeah, that's quite a nice thing to have, isn't it, with people? Yeah, yeah, and there's some here in, well, in here where I live in France, there are small producers and lots of them. Oh, it's really, really cool. Oh, that sounds fantastic because really, I mean, this may be me, I'm sure there are people who know a lot more about France than I do, but you know, when we get the news, it's always about something in Paris or something, so you don't really get the sense of the smaller areas. So what is the name of your restaurant? It's called Le Neptune. Ah, Neptune. The Neptune. Yes. From the sea. Yeah. So that's why I have to have fish on the menu. But I, my passion would be working a lot more with offal and the cuts that people don't particularly Oh, interesting. Eat every day. So it's more of like a— because here, when I go to a restaurant in France, the best, the best, uh, restaurants always have— do really great offal, like tripe. There's this thing called tricondy. It's from, uh, near Bordeaux. It's just, uh, you get a slice of tripe about that long, and then, oh, pig's tripe, and then they boil it in like a stock and then they char it on the grill, and it's with a sort of mustard sauce and, and, and chips. It's really— we've moved away from that over here. There's this big sort of movement towards don't touch that, don't eat it. But, you know, tripe used to be in every butcher shop. Yeah, I think my grandfather's favorite thing was tripe with malt vinegar. Yeah, because this is quite common. My background's Polish. So, you know, when we— my parents, you know, I came— my parents were Polish refugees. So they came in post-war. So we also had tripe growing up because it was cheap. Yeah, you could buy that and offals and everything like that. And so they knew how to cook all of that. So that's great, that's going on your menu. Yeah, and, and, and one vegan. And one vegan, of course. And that must be— how do you feel about that? That's going to be quite an interesting project. I know it's a business, but it's also— well, it's, it's also a status. Yeah. So I'll be a restaurant owner, like a— when I was younger, if I met a restaurant owner, I'd sort of go, I just love that. That's what I was just saying about it, you know, sort of with Marco Pierre White. And, you know, Gordon Ramsay over here, and you've got some magnificent chefs, you know, and you've got people that are so well thought of. And, you know, as we know, El Bulli and all those restaurants that become— and particularly France, you know, it is so well known. So how did you get into the craft, the art of cooking? Uh, my mum. Ah, but not in the way you'd think. She's the worst cook on the planet. Okay. So as soon as I learned that, you know, you can boil water and you put pasta in the water and then you can just use a jar of sauce that's already made, I said to my mum, all right, that's it, I'll do my own. Really? So how old were you when you started cooking then? I would have been 11 or 10. Well, 11 or 12, I'd say. Right. When— that's when I started. Just— that's, that's where— when I started, I'm, I'm doing all my meals. Don't you worry about it. Excellent. So you've always had that ability to stand alone. You know, the difficulty often I have with clients— obviously you're not a class, but we're, you know, doing this interview. It's always quite interesting. But when I observe clients, there's something in everybody's upbringing and when we look at ourselves, that actually leads us to where we're meant to be in a very odd way, not always an easy way. So the fact that you didn't move in with your father that you get on with, and you had this really violent stepfather that you observed, you know, and your mother that couldn't cook, if you were to say, oh, look, this could lead you to these steps, you wouldn't think about that at the time. But That's what it takes sometimes to lead you, A, to leave the country that you were born in, B, to travel around Europe, C, to start cooking and now become a chef and a restaurateur. And you know that your dad loved music, so it gave you all the ingredients that you chose to run with in some way. Although you had that period where your second university, if you like, where you were learning everything, was preparing you for now. Yeah. So, Old Lang Syne, and this year is going to be the year for you, isn't it? Well, I hope so. Well, that's what I said. It's exciting. I, I really, I really believe that because you're going to do something so amazing. I mean, it is difficult to run it. Not difficult. You have to be passionate to cook, I think. You know, and people talk about love going into food, and I think that's true. It is true, you know, because you have to love the taste. You have to want the taste to be the best that you can represent. Yeah. So what is your favorite menu? What is the favorite thing that you, if you were to say, right, that's what I want to give to all my close friends, which one would it be? My closest friends or your partner? My, my partner, she doesn't eat Like, I, I'd love to say beef tongue. Okay. In, in like a— well, today I did a pho, the Vietnamese soup. Okay. So beef tongue with pho with lots and— yeah, that's, that's what I'd love to give to somebody because there's so much. It takes a long time to do the, the, the the stock. It just takes a long time and a lot of— it's easy to do, but just takes a long time. And you're thinking about it, you're thinking about it and thinking about it, and then you actually eat it and it's— and tasting it and tasting it and making sure that the quality and the quantity and the depth— and it's— and soup broth, like a bone broth, is so nourishing for— and so good for you. Yeah, yeah. And for women, it has a great deal of collagen. In fact, for all of us. Yeah. So I think that's what I'd love to cook for my, for my closest friends and loved ones. Amazing. Well, you know, I'll definitely come over. Um, music. Which song then do you love singing? Do you think I've got to always do this in one of my sets? One of your own and one of somebody else's. One of my own. I had it all. That's the one from— so that's a co-creation with my good friend, le Super Omar. And one that I love that I'd love to do with one of my sets. Uh, Jackie. Yeah, I'd love you— oh, you see, I'd love to hear you sing that. Yeah, because I haven't, I haven't sung any Scott Walker or Jacques Brel live. No, I've done it a little bit on karaoke, but never— but that would be so interesting with a real orchestra. Oh no, but who knows? Yeah, who knows where you will go from here. I just think it's so exciting, the journey. You know, we do— I said that term journey has become so flimsy, it's become a cliché, but it's true because you are, uh, you know, sort of in that Neptunian way, you are moving with the tide in a way, aren't you? Yeah, there has always been that element of you that knows You could have just sat there and not cooked, let's say, at 11 or 12, but you decided you were going to cook when you were invited to London. And, uh, I take it the woman, did she have your baby? No, no. So, you know, all these things, you know, you do have that ability to move forward that is within your, your, your personality, your character. Yeah, and I did it all with just thinking I'm going with the flow. Yeah. Which is— but you, you know, you're not just being pushed by the tide. You do take the flow yourself. Yeah, I've got a little sail. Yeah, and you, you can, you know, sort of— what is it? The rudder. You do, you do steer your— you might feel a small boat, but I think we all feel that at times, that our boats are very small. But it's significant when you take that moment, you know, and you make that decision that steers you in a totally different direction. Yeah. And yet here you are with your little girl. And, um, when you look back onto your world and you've got— obviously you do something with, um, yodeling, don't you? And country music. Uh, yeah, well, uh, In this street where I was living, I learned the banjo as well. Ah yeah, yeah. What else did you learn? Because that— you use all those in your album. Uh, banjo, drums, yeah, keyboards. I, I don't play any of these things well, but I just— I can get, get tunes out of them. Yeah, but that's amazing that you could actually do that. Well, I see people that can actually pick up instruments and just go with it, with it, and it doesn't matter how well they do it. Well, it's great. Yeah. Well, once you, once you learn one, you can sort of pick the rest up a little bit faster, like languages. And you're obviously, your French is good now. And just touching on the difficulty setting up the company. Illegal. Yeah, it's a different language completely. Yeah. And so, so I, my girlfriend helped, not just a little bit, a lot. Yeah, because that is where everything comes together. That's where you start, isn't it? That's like, that's like a marriage. Yeah. Some people don't realize it, but everything you, you write, no matter how small, you know, is that contract that is made. And it's great that she could help you with that. So you've obviously, you know, sort of got all of that organized super well. Um, just remind everybody of the name of your album, where they can get it, where they— so this, this Christmas album is called Yuletide and Altide with Jan, and you can buy it on Amazon. I think, especially if you're in the UK, I think Amazon's probably the simplest. Amazon's a good one. Yeah. Otherwise, they should also look at Le Superomar. Maxwell Farrington and Le Superomar. And that you can get that in any, you can get that at Rough Trade East in London or— Oh, that's good to know. Also, do you have a vinyl? They're all on vinyl. Oh, they're all on vinyl. That's amazing because I was thinking that cover is so fantastic for, you know, the COVID that's on the back of here. Yeah, isn't it an amazing cover? Yeah, so this is the guitar— the guitarist in my other band, De Verre, did this. Amazing. Yeah, so that is so cool because it's so, it's so captivating. So everybody can find you on there. And also you are on YouTube and you have a great interview on there in French, which I didn't understand except the name Scott Walker. Oh yeah, yeah, that was a great interview as well. But Maxime, uh, thank you so much for this interview and good luck with your vinyl and your album and the new year, your restaurant, being a restaurateur, and your music, and you're settled in France and your gorgeous daughter and your lovely partner. Thank you very much, Maria. Because you have come through so much and people don't realize— I think we do realize now more and more what it takes to make it that sort of internal, you know, sort of take that rudder of our own little boats and steer it somewhere interesting. And that's what you've done. You've changed your life and that is super fantastic. So Happy New Year to you and thank you so much for doing this interview. Thank you very much, Maria.