dark-net superstar and a wild little trip in Aspen

Max Toth is a 20-year-old Producer, singer, songwriter, and designer from Los Angeles. he's also the mind behind the febrile, strange, and innovative dark-net superstar, a nascent music project combining elements of outsider bedroom pop and trap music to make something truly evocative of the chaos of the information age

“I get most excited to record when I’m in the moment having fun with my friends… and that’s exactly what happened with this song.”

Max began playing instruments at 7 and played his first arena at 12 years old. This past year he has spent his time in the studio developing artists as well as starting his own artist project: dark-net superstar.

Max's debut single is called "LSD In Aspen" and it is quite the trip. The song references an Acid trip in the titular city while painting a picture of a jet-set rockstar life, blurring the line between dream and reality with its truly surreal and somewhat uplifting soundscape.

Vocally speaking, Max leans on a soft and deeply melodic performance that gives an unerring charm to even the harshes bits of his lyrics. His phrasing and cadence lend themselves to some sort of happy-go-lucky attitude, almost like a limerick of sorts. The track opens on an almost industrial Wub that takes on lighter tones just as soon as Max's voice comes into play. Using very clever and subtle cues, "LSD in Aspen" evokes the inescapable presence of technology and video games through its sound Palette, this is of course entirely intentional as demonstrated by the music video, which is a colorful and entirely DIY pastiche of mid-decade and current year imagery interspaced with shots of Max's free-form dancing and singing in the vulnerable space of his bedroom.

MEET THE AUTHOR

Samuel Aponte is Venezuelan-born raised and based. 

I joined Rival Magazine after a few years of doing PR work for independent musicians of all stripes; understanding their struggles to be heard in a sea of constant  ADHD noise and paywalled access to platforms, I now bring a willingness to always appreciate and encourage the effort and creativity that artists put into their work . Can also find some of my writings on LADYGUNN and We Found New Music