Playlist: Max Windows

Through his career Homespun/STITCH, editor Max Windows has collaborated with some of the industry's top directors, including Nez, Noah Harris and David Wilson, and cut promos for the likes of Royal Blood [below], Rudimental, Julio Bashmore, Naughty Boy and many more.

shots caught up with the editor to discuss his influences, his extra appendages, and what's on his Playlist.

What’s the best promo you’ve seen recently and why?

I really liked, DJ Shadow’s Bergschrund featuring Nils Frams. Which was out just before the New Year, it was a lot of fun. Nice simple narrative executed extremely well with some top performances.

I also loved Ilya Naishuller’s video for Leningrad Kolshik. It’s amazing. Feels totally different to because for the Russian music. There are some killer moments in there and the reverse narrative is so well done with lots of cute comedy moments. 

What’s the first promo you remember being impressed by?

I loved MTV back in the day, when it was really popular and focused more on the music, so I used to watch a lot of videos, the main reason for me doing what I do now. I remember my day Dad finally paying up for cable TV, my brother and I used to hit the MTV channels hard.

The video that really sticks in my head, which is such a popular choice was Drop by the Pharcyde. It blew my tiny little brain, so simple and so effective, I really wanted to understand how they pulled it off. I thought it was going to be really complicated, but it turned out to be one simplest techniques that they nailed so well at the time, it still looks so effortless.

Another one I couldn’t get enough of was the video for Bullet in your Head by Rage Against the Machine. My older brother had recorded the late show on BBC2, when they performed live and this turned into the official music video. Such a killer performance, that bass line, Tom Morello on the guitars and Zack de la Rohca [vocals, Rage Against the Machine] doing his thing. I wanted dreadlocks after seeing that video, I didn't happen, I bottled it, if you know me, you’d know how crazy I would look with them. I did by that T-shirt though.

And what’s your all-time favourite music video?

I don’t think I have an all-time favourite, there are many I have loved over the years:

Queens of the Stone Age - Go with the Flow

Aphex Twin - Come to Daddy

Beastie Boys – Three MC’s and One DJ

Pretty popular answers, but they were biggies. Just mega cool ones at the time that have inspired me to work in the medium. These have the repeat test now as they did back then. I remember watching, Go with the Flow and it amazed me and my buds at the time.

What other directors/artists do you look to for inspirational?

I get inspired by lots of things, not any one thing in particular. It’s great drawing inspiration where ever you see fit. What is great is the music video community as a whole. It’s not that big and the UK scene is particularly awesome and a lot of the time the people inspiring you are your peers and the people you work with. I love that the industry is still so strong, tightly knit and full of great people.

What are you listening to at the moment?

D.D. Dumbo, Blood Orange, The XX, Temples, Thee Oh Sees, Drake, Tribe Called Quest.

What’s your favourite bit of tech, whether for professional or personal use?

My Laptop, so many uses. Work and pleasure. Or combined.

What artist(s) would you most like to work with and why? 

I would want just to work on good music, doesn't really matter the artists as long as the track is a good, this makes the process so much more fun and easy. I would love to do a huge artist and with amazing creative on the project. That I imagine is the ultimate, a great vid that is enjoyed by all, my peers, family, friends and the public.

How do you feel the promo industry has changed since you started in it?

It’s always been great, and hopefully always will be, as people generally have a real passion for music which makes them inspired to make great videos. I just hope everybody will still get behind them for years to come. That means everybody, Artists, Label, Commissioners, Production Companies, Editing companies and post companies.

Hopefully we can all work together to make great things. There was a worry that they may become old hat at one point, but the explosion of internet video channels has meant the complete opposite and now all moving image mediums are embraced so all praise to Vimeo, Youtube, Noisey, SBTV etc. Hopefully integration of the videos into Spotify and other platforms may happen in the future and increase the need for better videos resulting in them being taken even more seriously.

Music videos have had a resurgence of late; where do you see the industry being in five years’ time?

Hopefully even better off, I hope that budgets will rise, giving the directors more freedom to have bigger ideas. What is great about music video is an amazing idea can be produced on the smallest of budgets allowing talent to rise to the top. Long may it last.

Tell us one thing about yourself that most people won’t know…

I have 6 toes on both my feet. Its fucked.