Chicago composer Maxx McGathey, best known for his work with the doom funk band Gramps The Vamp and his original live scores for classic silent films for presenters NPR/WBEZ, The Music Box Theatre, and the Chicago Park District, will be releasing his debut solo album Imaginary Eyes via San Francisco Bay Area label Nudie Records on on Friday, September 27th. McGathey first teamed with the label for the 2022 Spaghetti Western album Dark Canyon and Imaginary Eyes marks Nudie Records’ 25th full-length vinyl LP.
Imaginary Eyes is a sweeping, ambitious work that conjures an enigmatic sound-world with soaring strings, heavy grooves, mysterious flute melodies, triumphant brass and McGathey’s expressive touch at the piano. From the frantic thump of the “The Staircase” to the melancholy film noir of “Midnight,” to the wild twists and turns of “Nothing will be as it once was…,” his compositions feature dramatic shifts as solo piano moments evolve into lush orchestral arrangements.
Maxx began composing the music featured on Imaginary Eyes in 2020 during long periods of isolation, turning to his childhood upright piano for solace. “These all started as solo piano works,” says McGathey, “but during that lonely time, I could feel a subliminal yearning in them to be played with as many musicians as possible.” Leaning into that idea, he drew on the talents of nearly a dozen up-and-coming musicians in Chicago’s jazz and classical scenes to create an epic studio-orchestra sound for this record. “Creating this album and getting the people together to make this music was a big part of my recovery from those tough times. There’s a lot of darkness in this music, but also a persistent sense of hope for a light at the end of the tunnel.”
The first single from Imaginary Eyes is “The Staircase” (its title inspired by the ominous use of stairs in Hitchcock’s films), a frenetic, up-tempo thriller with somersaulting flutes, epic strings, a mind-bending guitar solo, and a heavy, unrelenting piano riff that drives the orchestra forward.
More info: Maxx McGathey website
