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We have been big fans of the work of Moldovan artist Maxim Zavidia since he stepped onto the international stage in Moldova’s national Eurovision finals. Since this time, we have featured many of Maxim’s releases on the site – with the star a true international artist, recording in English, Russian and Romanian. The musician is fresh from releasing his impressive romantic electronic pop single Ты весна’ (‘You Are Spring’) and was kind enough to chat to Culture Fix editor Andrew about the track.
Amongst the other topics discussed, Maxim shared his plans for new music, his experiences competing in Moldova’s national finals, and whether he would be interested in any further music competitions. The Chișinău-born star delved into his early life and introduction into the music world, his success on The Voice, and his aspirations to release albums in both Romanian and English.
Before you dive into our chat with Maxim, be sure to connect with his social media:
Instagram / Facebook / Spotify / YouTube / VKVideo
Hi Maxim. Thanks for taking the time to chat. How are you?
Hi Andrew, nice to talk to you! Things are going very well, very active. I really love the summer season — I’m waiting for another vacation, and after that I’ll get back to working on new songs.
You have recently released the brilliant new single Ты весна’ (‘You Are Spring’). What inspired the song?
Oh, thank you for mentioning the song You Are Spring.
Actually, this song came to us quite by accident, but it was just in time. I heard a demo version from some friends, and it immediately hooked me. I rushed over, recorded the first version right away, and realized that I wanted to release exactly this track — especially since it was spring on the calendar. I really liked the style, the lyrics, the rhythm, and I knew this would be one of my favorite songs. I’m very happy that we managed to release it on time together with a beautiful music video. By the way, the video is in rotation on many TV channels, and the song made it into Instagram’s top chart.
What is your favourite part of creating music – writing, recording, producing, or shooting videos and promo?
I think the hardest thing is to come up with / write / find a really cool and worthy song. That’s where everything begins. As for recording a new track — the feelings are always different: some things happen easily, some are much harder. There were even songs we recorded three times, but it was worth it — the final version came out great. I also really enjoy finalizing the version, because I can hear all the pros and cons, and I want the song above all to sound pleasant to me.
Shooting the cover, snippets, or a music video — I also love that process and always take part in it directly. But the thing I enjoy most of all is performing live on stage.
You have come incredibly close to representing Moldova at Eurovision. Is this still a dream you hope to achieve?
Yes, Andrew, you’re right — we prepared three times to win first place and to represent Moldova in the final of the contest. Of course, our best result was in 2019, when we took second place with the song I Will Not Surrender.
And I think the most worthy song was Take Control in 2020.
Honestly, I’d love to take part again, because it was my dream to achieve that, and I know that now I’m ready to walk out on any huge stage, perform with dignity, and leave my mark in music.
Your entries La La Love, I Will Not Surrender and Take Control all deserved to go to Eurovision in our opinion. Which of these is your favourite and why?
Well, I already mentioned some of these songs. I can say that I Will Not Surrender is a very beautiful song, especially the acoustic version.
La La Love is a very summery, radio-friendly song, but not really a competition one.
And the most catchy and memorable is of course Take Control — with that track it would have been easy to make the Top 10.
Would you be interested in taking part in other global music competitions such as Intervision or New Wave?
I’m not against participating in big and cool competitions or projects — but only the ones I personally enjoy.
For now, Eurovision isn’t possible since Moldova isn’t taking part, but New Wave is something that’s really interesting to us.
Can you share with us a little about how you entered your music industry?
But I’ve already told the story about my musical career more than once, so in short, it all started in 2010 when I took part in a vocal competition, won it, then joined a music group and began performing a lot with the guys, gaining experience. For many years I worked in my home country, Moldova, in a duet – it was a very successful project. Starting from 2015–2016 I began releasing songs, and by 2018 I had already moved to work in Moscow.
And to this day, we are moving towards our dream — to the top.
You grew up in beautiful Moldova. Can you share what you love about the country and a little about your early life?
Well, Moldova is my homeland, Chișinău is my hometown – so I will always love it and always miss it whenever I’m far away. I have many friends there, many colleagues, lots of favorite places and memories, and I really hope that direct flights will resume soon, so in just three hours I can easily fly there. Before music, I remember how I went through all my school years, then university years, different trips. By the way, when I was a student, I even managed to travel to the USA for the whole summer season – that was really cool. My first love also happened in my hometown 🙂
You had great success on The Voice. Can you tell us a little about the experience of working on the show?
The project The Voice was also one of the best periods of my life – I made it onto the show, I sang a very powerful song, “Say Something,” and did it quite well. Three judges turned to me, and I chose the team of Eurovision winner and very popular singer Dima Bilan. I remember how, after that broadcast, I began receiving an enormous number of messages from my friends, both from Russia and Moldova – they were proud of me. That was very touching, but the happiest of all were my parents.
Of course, this project has its nuances, since everything really depends on your vocal preparation and the stability, individuality, and uniqueness of your voice. If on the day of your performance you feel unwell, lose your voice, or get sick – that’s a serious problem, because here there is no staging, no show elements, no dance troupes — you have to carry everything with your singing alone. Plus, as you know, because of copyright rules not every song can be chosen and performed, which reduces the variety of repertoire. Another factor is the producers’ and mentors’ selections – if a certain type of performer has already been chosen, another similar one might have fewer chances to pass, even if they perform really well. So luck plays a very big role here.
You have released several remixes of your singles – what is that draws you to the world of dance music?
As for remixes – I believe this is a very smart move for any artist, because we all know cases when global hits became popular not in their original version, but exactly thanks to remixes. That’s how it happens. So it’s best to release two versions of a song — the original and a dance version — thus giving the track a double chance for success. Besides, I’ve had club performances where remixes worked perfectly, and I absolutely love that, so we continue making bold moves.
Can you share any news about any of your upcoming music?
We won’t reveal the secrets about the new songs just yet, but I’ll say this – we’re preparing a rebranding.
Are there any plans to release a full album?
Regarding a full album – I’d really like to release one, but I think it should be done this way: gather the songs I’ve already released as singles and put them together into one album, and only after that release a completely new album, because logically that would be the second one. I hope this works out.
Otherwise, if I release a completely new album now, it might seem as if I hadn’t released any songs before. So, it’s all a bit tricky.
Your Russian language pop is incredible, but we also love your English language releases. Are there any plans to record more music in English in the future?
By the way, I really like the fact that some of my songs exist in different languages – Russian, English, Romanian. I enjoy every version, and of course, that’s an x3 audience. I also like my English songs, and I have the idea of translating all my Russian releases into English and Romanian, and vice versa. For example, we recently translated the song Чёрная Роза (Black Rose) into Romanian and released it under the title Viva Magenta. What I definitely want is to release a completely new album in Romanian, and maybe in English too.
Are there any artists that you admire that you would like to shout out to our UK readers?
Oh, I have many favorite artists, mostly international and American ones. Some I’ve loved for 20 years, some for 5 years, but I truly admire them all. I follow many of them and sometimes try to take inspiration. Lady Gaga, Celine Dion, J.Lo, Adele, Destiny’s Child, Whitney, Bruno Mars.
You are a passionate global traveller. Where are your favourite places in the world to visit?
Yes, I really love traveling – it has truly become the best way for me to reset and recharge. I’m very glad that since January I’ve managed to visit new countries – Thailand, Austria, Tanzania and Zanzibar, and the Maldives. It has already become a part of my life – I always want to fly away. But my favorite places on Earth are those with a warm climate, the seaside, palm trees, and silence.
Thanks for chatting to us! Do you have any messages you would like to pass on to your international fans?
I promise you that I will come back with material in English, maybe even with an international duet! The most important thing is to keep moving toward this goal. And to all readers, I want to wish a warm autumn and pleasant moments with your loved ones.
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