The new track is now available on all streaming platforms.
Max Drazen makes his recording debut with "Let Me Down Slow." Released today by Field Trip Recordings, the pulsing breakup anthem throbs with power vocals, scorched guitar and keenly observed lyrical details. The Los Angeles-based songwriter wrote the track with Dave Villa (FLETCHER, Daughtry), who also produced, and Tim Riehm.
"This song has so much meaning to me personally. It's the first song I've written that really captured how I was feeling at the time," explains Max Drazen. "It's a song about holding on to something you know is not good for you but not being able to let it go. For me personally that was a relationship that affected me mentally for years. I'm thankful I had music and writing that allowed me to get to the other side of it. I hope people can find closure to their own experiences through my story."
Drazen met Dave Villa during a flurry of pandemic-era Zoom studio sessions with artists and producers. The still-unreleased "Caffeine" also dates back to their earliest collaborations. Bursting with enthusiasm for the songs, Drazen leaked the soulful "Caffeine" on TikTok - and the clip amassed half a million views in just 24 hours. Within days, he was sitting across a table from Field Trip Recording's Zack Bia, who invited him to join the label in its first wave of signings, which also included Yeat, SSGKobe and Mallory Merk.
Born and raised in Connecticut, Drazen's first influences came from his parents' record collection - Elton John and Billy Joel. As he got older, he fell in love with artists like Smino, J. Cole, The 1975 and Two Door Cinema Club. The pieces would connect during his junior year of high school, when Drazen went over to a friend's house and wrote his first song. Recruited to play soccer at Middlebury College, Drazen found his focus shifting to songwriting. He developed a sinewy, genre-agnostic voice and centered his authentic perspective as a kid from the 'burbs, adeptly swinging between R&B, pop and rap.
"'I'm trying to come out with big pop songs that everyone can relate to," he says. "Songs that are super listenable, that people want to sing along to, but also have value in terms of storytelling and songwriting."
Listen to the new single here:
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