Maximal Music Sync is incredibly thrilled to announce that we are representing the North Star Media sync roster and publishing catalog! 

North Star Media is a music licensing and publishing company established in 2001. Since their launch, they have secured thousands of music placements in film, television, advertising, and video games. The NSM catalog is home to platinum-selling hits, the hottest new indie offerings, and everything in-between, including San Holo, Flora Cash, Tommee Profitt, Crocodiles, SEAWAVES, The Blind Shake, Citizen Kay, Party Nails, Aceyalone, Sponge, The Virgins, Bruce Hornsby, and many, many more. North Star Media has boots on the ground in Los Angeles, Detroit, Miami, and abroad (via a network of eight international sub-publishers).

Maximal Music Sync is absolutely fired up about welcoming moody and mesmerizing pop singer and songwriter Merci Raines to our roster!

With a mood that mirrors her home state of Louisiana, Merci Raines writes pop songs with an undeniable dark side. She claims inspiration from all art forms, from Cabaret shows to Shel Silverstein. Her path to music started early, sitting in on her mother’s band rehearsals as a child, and even sometimes being pulled onto the stage herself when she could sneak into a show. Her educational pursuits eventually took centerstage as she studied psychology in college, but it wouldn’t be long before her focus was back on music. Between graduation, Merci decided to join a band and head 80 miles down the interstate to her hometown’s less conservative sister city, New Orleans.

It’s her first year living in New Orleans that she credits for her decision to pursue music full-time. Walking the city at dusk, she was inspired not only by the flood of classic jazz musicians and street performers, but the more alternative, modern acts as well. Merci was just beginning to get a feel for life on the road, playing shows from New Orleans to Austin, when her band unexpectedly decided to part ways. This lead to her teaming up with producers Chris Leon and Elliot Jacobson in Brooklyn, NY, where she would continue developing her sound and would go on to record her first single, “Moon City”. With spellbinding vocals, driving beats, and a sometimes cinematic flair, Merci Raines conjures the essence of a city best known for its eclectic character and mystique. Her songs range from ghostly and enigmatic to danceable exclamations of perseverance.

We couldn’t be more excited to announce that four-time Grammy® Award-nominated singer and R&B legend Candi Staton is the newest addition to Maximal Music Sync’s roster!

Candi Staton has sweetly strutted between several musical genres over the course of her celebrated career. However, danceable music has always been her main groove, as her iconic tracks “Young Hearts Run Free” and the multi-platinum “You Got the Love” attest. The former is a liberating self-preservation anthem that peaked at No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard R&B Singles chart in 1976 (No. 2 on the UK Pop chart). The latter is an inspiring chant that has, through various remixes, hit the British Top 10 Pop Singles chart in 1991, 1997 and again in 2006 – an amazing feat. Staton has just released her 30th album, Unstoppable, a new retro R&B album out via Nashville’s Thirty Tigers label.

The Hanceville, Alabama native got her professional start as a teenager singing with The Jewel Gospel Trio that recorded for Nashboro Records and toured with Sam Cooke and Mahalia Jackson in the 1950s. Eventually, she launched her R&B career at Birmingham’s 27/28 Club, where she won a gig opening for R&B star Clarence Carter, who snagged her a record deal with Rick Hall’s Fame Records label in 1968. Over the next five years, she cut a string of Top Ten southern soul hits such as Grammy-nominated renditions of “Stand by Your Man” and “In the Ghetto.” Staton was crowned the First Lady of Southern Soul just as she was leaving Fame for Warner Bros. and tossed off her tiara to become a disco princess with smash club hits such as 1976’s million-seller “Young Hearts Run Free”, “Nights on Broadway”, “Honest I Do”, “Victim”, and “When You Wake Up Tomorrow.”

 By 1983, Staton had beaten an alcohol addiction, joined a church, and left Pop music. For the next two decades, she recorded gospel music exclusively, including the Top Ten Grammy-nominated projects, Make Me an Instrument (1983) and Sing A Song (1986) LPs. Her gospel classics include “Love Lifted Me,” “Mama,” “The First Face I Want to See,” and “Sin Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.”

In 2004, Staton returned to the Pop music scene to promote Honest Jons’ Candi Staton compilation of her 1969-1973 Fame recordings. It sold over 100,000 units and reached the Pop charts in England, France, the Netherlands, Japan, and Germany. Since then, Staton has released two critically acclaimed Americana albums, His Hands (2006) and Who’s Hurting Now? (2009). The latter won the Academie du Jazz in Paris’s Best Soul CD of the year in 2010. In 2014, Staton released Life Happens, which debuted at #10 on Billboard’s Top Blues Albums chart and earned her appearances on “The Late Show with David Letterman.” The album boasted the radio hit “I Ain’t Easy to Love”, featuring Jason Isbell and John Paul White of The Civil Wars. Rolling Stone magazine hailed it as one of the 25 best country recordings of 2014

As 2018 closes, Staton is promoting her soulfully empowering, upbeat album of anthems, Unstoppable. The production was steered by Mark Nevers, who produced Staton’s critically acclaimed His Hands and Who’s Hurting Now? albums. Staton’s son, Marcus Williams, a seasoned drummer, co-produced the project.  “This is one of my favorite albums,” she confesses. “Even though we tackle some serious issues on it, it’s still upbeat and inspirational.”

We're delighted to welcome the fabulously talented Portland-based folk duo Lenore. to our Maximal Music Sync roster! 

The coming together of Rebecca Marie Miller & Joy Pearson as Portland, Oregon folk outfit, Lenore., is serendipitous, to say the least. After individually hitting rock bottom — Pearson following a divorce & Miller after a period of destitution in LA — the pair separately turned to songwriting in the search for a still point in their turning worlds.

After years of lending their abilities to other projects, including Saddle Creek’s The Mynabirds & Portland’s High Water Jazz Band, they finally found themselves spinning on the same axis when a chance meeting through a mutual friend, Pokey LaFarge, sparked an immediate connection. A drunken night ensued & before they’d even scoped each other’s material, they had committed.

Now, two years since that fateful evening & Lenore. can boast having performed at legendary PNW venues including Revolution Hall, Mississippi Studios, Aladdin Theater & Doug Fir Lounge in Portland, as well as the Sunset Tavern, Triple Door & Tractor Tavern in Seattle. They've opened for Gomez, Eric Bachmann, Laura Gibson, Blitzen Trapper, The Mynabirds & have shared the stage with Peter Buck (R.E.M.), as well as Chris Funk & Jenny Conlee (The Decemberists).

Since forming Lenore., Miller & Pearson have gained full-time collaborators in seasoned Portland musicians Edward Cameron (classical guitar) & Jessie Dettwiler (cello), who have contributed significantly to the evolution of Lenore.'s sound — a dreamy melancholic blend of harmony-driven folk with an ever-present sense of hope. More recently, Lenore. welcomed Austin Christ (bass guitar) to their musical family & they are often joined by Daniel Hunt (drums).

Lenore. released their debut self-titled album produced by John Askew on 9/15/2017 — it's available everywhere you find your music...

We are incredibly thrilled to welcome Austin-based indie soul rockers Swimming With Bears to the Maximal Music Sync roster! 

Prior to releasing their debut EP in 2016, the Austin based four-piece, Swimming With Bears, had been working tirelessly to hone in on their unique alternative soul sound. Following a run of residencies in several Texas cities, as well as appearances at some of Austin’s most renowned venues, the band was invited to open for Weezer and Panic! At The Disco in early June. With a newly released, self-titled EP, the band is set to embark on their first ever national tour throughout July and August. The EP, which features lead single “Shiver and Crawl,” was produced by Matt Novesky (Blue October).

On February 15th, 2018 Swimming WIth Bears released their new single "French Girls" produced by Gabe Simon (Dua Lipa, Kopecky).

Swimming With Bears consists of Joe Perry (vocals/bass), Alec Conte (guitar), Jon Kerr (guitar) and Ryan Hannasch (drums).

We are so very excited to welcome Nashville-based indie-pop duo Towne to the Maximal Music Sync roster! 

Diverse backgrounds in life and music could have taken Towne’s Steevie Steeves and Jon Decious in two very different directions. Instead, their love of songwriting allowed for their paths to cross. “Jon was a breath of fresh air. We were two peas in a pod. We’re really fortunate to have developed the friendship we have. We definitely have each other’s backs,” says Steeves. Their stylistic collision has resulted in Towne’s unconventional sound - demonstrated in the duo’s upcoming releases. “His punk country mixed with my pop soulness is a very interesting dynamic, and it is what it is. It’s definitely different.”

With Steeves from Pennsylvania and Decious from Tennessee by way of Kentucky, the two came from vastly different musical backgrounds - the only similarity being their affinity for the art form itself. “I was in a punk rock band called the Pink Spiders when I was younger,” says Decious. Though successful (the band found a spot on the Geffen Records roster), Decious found his more natural placement in country band Dixie Whiskey alongside friends and fellow musicians Kelby Ray Caldwell (Cadillac Three), Dillon Napier (drummer, Margo Price) and artist Caitlin Rose. “Everyone was like, ‘well, if we want to start a band, we have to write songs.’ We wound up writing an EP, which was written up by the Nashville Scene as one of the best releases in Nashville that year along with Paramore and Kings of Leon… None of it was remotely planned.” With that, Decious found a new love in songwriting.

For Steeves, music was an essential. “I was always trying to write music. It was a really fun, cool thing to do,” says Steeves. “I was a really shy person when I was little. If I sang, it was my form of communication. I never really expressed feelings, but anything that had music behind it helped me flourish a little bit.” In high school, she found further passion in musical theater. “I was obsessed with it.” After high school, Steeves bypassed college to join a band. Realizing a music career in her native Pennsylvania could only take her so far, she made the move to Nashville. “I had a huge fire lit under my ass - I came to Nashville with a purpose. I started writing right off the bat. I waitressed, and sang demos for money.”

Though each had a successful run at music independent of the other, their partnership began rather serendipitously when both got scholarships to Skip Ewing’s Horse and Writer songwriting camp in Wyoming. “I’d written with a few guys back in Nashville that had encouraged me to apply for Skip’s writing seminar... I met Jon, and I liked him right off the bat,” says Steeves. They crossed paths quickly progressed into a partnership driven by a powerful musical connection. “We quickly realized we lived across the street from each other in Nashville. We began writing and performing together, and here we are,” says Decious.

Their difference in musical background lead to a sound that lends itself to several genres. “When I think of great songwriters, I think Rodgers and Hammerstein, or Andrew Lloyd Webber,” says Steeves. “I think more about the great country songwriters,” says Decious. Sonically, Towne offers a sound that can only be described as a harmonious blend of alternative, folk and pop. Steeves’ powerfully raw lead vocals are balanced by Decious’ smooth and steady harmonies.

Their new EP, Audacious- out now!- is just the start of the sound’s unveiling. “You get the New York Broadway and back roads country,” says Steeves. “That’s why we’re called Towne. We came from two different places, different musical backgrounds. But we meet in the middle. We’re both songwriters with very different influences.” And with confidence in sound and a name to fit the bill, Steeves and Decious have never been more secure in their path moving forward. “Everything I’ve done has prepared me to be in a band with Jon, and headed where we’re headed,” says Steeves. “All of my experiences have prepared me for this.”

Maximal Music Sync is extremely pleased to welcome English singer-songwriter Ralegh Long to our roster! 

Ralegh Long released his debut album Hoverance to critical acclaim in 2015. Leaving his adopted London, Long returned to his childhood home to write an album of singular grace and simplicity, steeped in natural imagery and "Spooky pastoralism" (MOJO). Hoverance and its follow-up E.P We Are in the Fields (2016) won praise from The Guardian for their “twilit ambience and demented beauty” and from Sky Arts as "calling to mind the atmosphere of Nick Drake". Both records received support from Spotify as well as from BBC6 Music presenters Lauren Laverne, Guy Garvey and Gideon Coe.

His second album, Upwards of Summer, was released in June 2017 and won the HMUK Emerging Artists Award. CLASH declared it "the sound of an artist revitalised and brimming with enthusiasm". Written during a time of personal change, when Long was unsure if he was going to continue making music, and recorded with his touring band, Upwards of Summer is a revelation. The somber string and woodwind arrangements of Hoverance are nowhere to be seen; the melodicism of his debut is instead fused with the jangle of chorus guitars and anthemic hooks in a thrillingly confident return. The album has received acclaim from Elton John, as well as support from Spotify and UNCUT, who likened it to R.E.M and Beck's Sea Change.

In January 2018, Long released a new single, the fragile, reflective, and minimalist "Am I Home", which made Apple Music's Singer/Songwriter A-List, as well as Spotify's 'The Most Beautiful Songs in the World'. He followed this in March with "Super Blue Moon", which debuted on Spotify's New Music Friday and Apple's Best of the Week worldwide, and in June with the intimate "Where You Are", which landed on Apple's Singer/Songwriter A-List as well as Spotify's flagship folk playlist 'Lost in the Woods'.

We're so psyched to welcome Connecticut-based electronic/synth-pop artist Living Phantoms to the Maximal Music Sync family of artists and songwriters! 

Living Phantoms is the solo project from American composer, producer, and audio engineer Will Benoit, who has been recording music for 18 years and counting. Since co-founding independent artist collective Radar Recordings in 2001, he has spent the past decade exploring music through touring and making records as singer and guitarist for Constants, as well as production work and touring with artists like Ellie Goulding, Caspian, and Junius. He loves to write songs and make noise, and enjoys nothing more than when the two magically coalesce.

With an arsenal of analog synthesizers, drum machines and effects, “the one time metal head and Jesu associate serenely slowdives into shoegaze” (Spin.com) with the debut full length from Living Phantoms. Since the project’s inception 3 years ago, producer Will Benoit has released a series of remixes for artists like Ellie Goulding and Bad Rabbits, and also explored new sonic territory with remixes for underground luminaries such as Caspian and Rosetta.

After a short run cassette release in 2013, Benoit set out to define his sound; a dark, but often uplifting journey through lo-fi 80’s inspired grooves and the dense sonic textures that have become his signature. Recorded and mixed using analog gear entirely at his own solar powered The Radar Studio, there is a hypnotic weight and depth to Living Phantoms that “staggers the ears as well as the heart” (The Onion AV Club).

We're thrilled to announce the addition of outlaw country rockers Black Mountain Whiskey Rebellion to the Maximal Music Sync roster! 

Founded by multi-award-winning producer/guitarist and primary songwriter Mitch Merrett who has gathered his long time musical friends and peers in Mike Little, Erik Dylan, Corbett Frasz, and Greg Carroll to create a musical awakening that walks the line of boundless melodic prowess and raw unapologetic grass roots truth.

Together combining a fascination with the history of the North American moonshiner and love of Southern power chord guitar rock into a collection of fictional smoky backwoods musical tales, the result is an album that looks inward and speaks from the soul with tracks that are dark and brooding, complete with lyrics abundant in grit and uncompromising in their delivery.

We're over the moon to announce that Seattle band The Gods Themselves are the newest addition to the Maximal Music Sync roster! 

The Gods Themselves are a disco punk band from Seattle, WA. Formed in 2014, the foursome craft modern dance rock songs evocative of the no-wave and new romantic movements of the early ’80s.

Vocalist/guitarist Astra Elane, vocalist/guitarist Dustin Patterson, bassist Cory Foster, and drummer Larry Joireman are longtime musicians whose callings were revealed in this collaboration. Exuding art-punk bravado, the band fashions illustrious club grooves mixed with seductive melodies. Raw angular guitars shimmer atop disco undertones as provocative lyrics by Elane and Patterson add tales of sexual encounters and self-confidence.

TGT releases its new EP Glamour and Grime on June 15, 2018. Check out “Marilyn Monroe”, their first single from the EP, out now on Spotify. The four-song EP comes on the heels of their 2017 album Be My Animal, featuring the anti-gentrification song “Tech Boys”. Paste Magazine says, “This track unsuspectingly crept into my head and it refuses to leave!” The catchy Seattle anthem has captured many a cheer and ear, including television personality Anthony Bourdain, who invited the band to appear on his show Parts Unknown. In the “Seattle” episode, TGT made their exciting international television debut.