Meet Maxime Cholley | Drummer, producer and instructor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Maxime Cholley and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Maxime, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I’m originally from a tiny village near the French Alps. I grew up as an only child, and it was common for music to be played around the house. My dad is a multi-instrumentalist, and while he never played music professionally, he definitely has innate talent with music. I can remember warm summer nights during which we would prepare a wood fire for barbecue while Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and other artists of that genre/era were playing in the background. My mom is also very connected to music and although she doesn’t play any instruments, she would always have music in the car while she was driving me to school. I specifically remember Queen or David Bowie cassettes that we would listen to. Being in that environment must’ve inspired me to somehow tell my parents, at age 6, “I want to start playing the drums”. While they felt quite surprised at first, they went ahead and found a nearby music school so I could start learning. After my first drum lesson, they saw me attempting to practice with some kind of makeshift drum set I made using a random drum we had laying around that belonged to my father’s friend and some pots and pans. Even though they had very modest means, seeing how excited I was about drumming made them decide to find a way to get me an actual drum kit. I found I had a very easy way to connect to the drums, almost like there was a direct line of communication between my brain and the rhythms I would be able to output. Throughout my childhood, my mom would always tell me the French expression “Quand on veut, on peut!” which equates to “When there’s a will, there’s a way”. She always made sure to encourage me to believe in myself, and both my parents worked really hard to enable me to grow the musical side of my life, as long as I kept getting good grades in school… They sacrificed a lot of their time, money and energy to allow me to play more music. For example, they used to drive me to the next town over, which was a 2 hour round trip, so that I could attend a more advanced music school called DEVA. After graduating high-school, I decided to leave my whole life behind to go study at Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA. This wouldn’t have been possible without the support my parents continuously gave me. and how they always encouraged me to believe in myself and to work hard to make my dreams become my reality. Today, I still hold on to that as I navigate the tumultuous life of being a professional musician living in New York City.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My taste in music is very eclectic. I’m deeply interested in all kinds of music ranging from modern metal to North African Gnawa, pop, gospel, Indian Carnatic, and modern jazz. The fusion of these genres informs my sound when playing drums and producing/composing music. I’m always eager to dive deeper into intricate rhythms and find a way to make complex grooves sound simple and musical, to support and serve the storytelling aspect of a song. Another funny thing that truly sets me apart from most drummers is the fact that I’m left handed (and left footed). Though at times inconvenient, I find myself practicing and performing more and more on a right handed drum kit to expand my abilities and get to a place of freedom behind the drum kit, breaking away from patterns that I’m used to.

I believe that one thing that got me to where I am today in my career is keeping a truly open mind about learning from all people and cultures. This mindset brought many incredible opportunities my way. A few that come to mind are: performing with Armenian pianist Tigran Hamasyan, rockstar legend Steve Vai in Abu Dhabi, touring India several times with the Indian violinist and singer RINI, producing for and performing with Lithuanian singer Simona Smirnova, touring China with singer Yun Huang, performing with Paul Winter in a gigantic church in Maine, composing and producing songs for Meta, and more recently hosting the “Spontaneous Jam Session” in Brooklyn with Brazilian bass player Marcelo Maccagnan.

Hosting this jam session has been an exhilarating journey, propelling me to refine not just my musical prowess and improvisational skills, but also my leadership abilities. Steering a jam session entails a multifaceted role – from orchestrating band formations for each piece to ensuring everyone is immersed in a delightful musical experience. What sets our jam apart is our commitment to pure improvisation; no rehearsed standards, just spontaneous creation on stage. Prior to each performance, I engage the audience, soliciting prompts to ignite the band’s creativity. This interactive approach not only involves the audience in the artistic process but also provides a thematic framework for the musicians to explore. The results are consistently captivating, fueled by prompts that spark imagination, such as envisioning a post-apocalyptic feline-dominated world or unraveling the origin tale of Santa Claus. I’ve been lucky to invite remarkable guests to join us on stage like Meg Okura, Sam Newsome, Guy Bernfeld, Jared Yee, and many others, enhancing the magic of our sessions. If you find yourself in New York City on a Sunday evening, join us at pinkFROG café for an unforgettable musical journey!

I’m also always eager to engage and be part of new musical projects, so I’m always open to collaborating with musicians, whether playing the drums or producing and composing!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
This would be a typical to-do list I would write up, in no particular order: – Brooklyn Botanical Garden
– Bar Lunatico in Bedstuy for some live music
– A night-time walk on Brooklyn Heights Promenade in Spring
– Nick & Sons croissants (this one needs to be an early morning wake-up)
– A beach volleyball game at Pier 6
– Biking around Prospect Park (as fast as your quads allow)
– Village Vanguard because you have to
– Taiyaki Ice-cream after pizza (optional: Hellboy squared from Paulie Gee’s)
– Peanut Noodles and Pork Chives dumplings in Chinatown
– Cable-car ride to Roosevelt Island as the sun sets behind the skyline
– A nice 5K run in McCaren Park
– 4 hours of intense Badminton games in Flushing followed by some Malaysian food
– At least one good Broadway show

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
The first people that come to mind are my parents, Evelyne and Pascal. I would’ve never ended up where I am now without their continuous support and encouragement. They’ve sacrificed so much and I can never thank them enough. Additionally, my music teachers have always pushed me to get better, from my earliest drum teacher in a tiny music school in France, to my Berklee College of Music teachers. Chronologically the list goes as follows: Nicolas Vincent, Fabien Malgrand, Florent Robert, Florian Colin, Anis Bahmed, Cyrille Chambard, Yoann Kempst, Geoffrey Secco, Isel Rasua, James Murphy, Tia Fuller, Alain Mallet, Neal Smith, Dave DiCenso, Christiane Karam, Marco Djordjevic, James Bradford Certain people also trusted my artistic vision and decided to support my career, and without them, I wouldn’t have been able to get to where I am now: Jean-Louis Sevez and Savoiexpo, the Fondation Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet and Carl Riley. Lastly, certain musicians in New York City have continuously inspired me to get better and keep pushing forward: Ben Wendel and Nate Wood.

Website: https://www.maximecholleymusic.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maxcholley/

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@MaximeCholley?si=0s0GT5YR-MqC0Vh7

Image Credits
Mikhail Lipyanskiy