ImJudas interview on duality and betrayal and brand new ‘I Love You Go Away’ EP
ImJudas
In our latest interview, Maxx Maryan, the creative force behind IMJUDAS and co-founder of HELALYN FLOWERS, delves into the intricate dualities of his recent EP, “I Love You Go Away“. He discusses the thematic contrasts between tracks like “Go Away” and “I Love You,” reflecting on personal experiences and broader human emotions. Maxx also shares insights into the collaborative process with remixers, the fusion of diverse musical influences, and the visual artistry that defines IMJUDAS’s identity.
This interview is part of an ongoing interview series that we do in collaboration with Spleen+ / Alfa Matrix for the massive 7CD post-punk / coldwave / minimal electro boxset “Resurgence”. You can order this fine set as a 7CD set or as a download via Bandcamp. This release will NOT be available on Spotify or any other service, except for Bandcamp.
SL: “I Love You Go Away” presents a striking duality between the aggression of “Go Away” and the melancholic vulnerability of “I Love You.” What inspired this contrast, and how do these songs reflect your last album “Viscerheart” and your personal journey in general?
M. This is a duality that reflects the conceptual basis of the album itself, starting from the title, “Viscerheart”, which ideally sees in the heart the point of congestion of everything from below (the viscera) that still cannot free itself and ascend to our superior, “celestial” part. The songs “Go Away” and “I Love You” are only apparently dichotomous, probably because of the different sounds that each of them proposes, because both are based on resentment and the inability to forgive and love unconditionally.
SL: The EP delves into themes of betrayal and false friendships. Was there a particular experience that influenced the lyrics, or is this more of a universal reflection on human relationships?
M. I don’t think I’m usually one to write hate songs, at least on purpose. I don’t go around “shopping” for things against which to show off presumed hatred or anger. In the case of “Go Away” it was very simple and direct: yet another scroll on Facebook, you find yet another post from one of the people you know very well for who they really are, one of those people who only think about accumulating people in their life just to gain approval. Then I feel nauseous, and I think: “ok, you’re like this but I’m the exception to your rule, I’m not part of your human inventory, GO AWAY”. And so on with the song. It’s an honest song, in which the curtain of common sense and diplomacy of human relationships falls; “go away” is a real go away, gritted between the teeth and with the eyes fixed on those of the hypocrites.
SL: You’ve brought in an impressive lineup of remixers, from PEOPLE THEATRE’s dreamy electro-pop to IMPLANT’s industrial grit. How do you feel these reinterpretations expand on the original themes of the EP? How difficult is it to have other people “touching” such personal songs?
M. Honestly, it’s not something I think about much. I appreciate these remixes for what they actually are musically. There was a time when I used to be much more “jealous” of my songs, and very sensitive towards possible nuances and stylistic choices or arrangements by some remixers, but probably because still I hadn’t learned to “close” my work once the mix and master were done. Today I have much more fun in this sense, because, regardless of everything, doing these remix things is mainly fun.
SL: IMJUDAS blends elements of Dark Pop, Post-Punk, and Cold Wave, often evoking artists like THE SOFT MOON or GARY NUMAN. How do you balance these influences while keeping your sound uniquely your own?
M. Simply by not thinking about it! When I start writing new music for ImJudas I let myself be guided by the feeling I have for this project and by the emotional and rational reins that keep me tied to it. There are undeniable influences, like Gary Numan that you mention, but when I write I don’t think about this. If anything, it’s a pleasant game to find in hindsight the various artists whose presence is somehow felt in my songs. My background lies mainly in the music of the 80s, a lot of heavy metal and electronic pop or dance of those years, and in sacred and operatic music.
SL: Your music often carries a strong visual and conceptual identity. Can you tell us more about the artistic direction and imagery behind IMJUDAS?
M. There is no desired evolutionary line. I let myself be carried away every time by the concepts linked to my albums. For example, with the debut, “YrJudas”, I based everything on pop art, taking inspiration for the cover image from a Tattooed Lady by the artist Peter Blake (the one from the cover of “Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” by The Beatles, to be clear). Revolving the album around the idea of the tiredness of carrying the weight of culture and history, I found it providential to have come across the mix of the current album in this art history book with the print of this canvas. Synchronicity! The pictorial choice of the album, with the outlines of the body’s silhouette split in different colors, comes from Andy Warhol and especially from the cover of the double LP “Love You Live” by Rolling Stones that I have always adored. These “phase shifts” of lines and colors for me symbolize the peace of our higher self that awaits us, not far away but one step away from us. With the second album, “Viscerheart”, I went in the opposite direction; no more pictorial and artistic stuff but rock artist photos in which the concept is made by the choice of location, namely a canebrake. The cane is a symbol in nature of instability because it is hard but fragile at the same time. It represents our uncertainty, and so the whole concept of the album. This canebrake that you see in the photos is behind my house.
SL: Out of curiosity. Now that you and Noemi both released solo albums. Can we dream of any come back of HELALYN FLOWERS for 2025?
M. I would like to say yes, but at the moment I see it as very unlikely. There has been a lot of talk between Noemi and me, we even have an archive full of voice memos and even something tracked on DAW, but we feel that it is not yet the right time to return and that, rather, our solo paths still have a lot to say. Being Helalyn Flowers is not easy. This is not one of those projects in which one person does everything and the other just sings, absolutely not, and in this sense I think everyone now has before their eyes and ears the evidence of Noemi Aurora with her debut album, “Kintsugi”, in which she did everything by herself, from writing and playing to mixing and mastering, because it has always been like this in Helalyn Flowers: everything was done and established in equity. And, believe me, it is not easy for two hotheads like us! Today we feel relieved in not compromising anything of our stylistic and musical decisions and then we do not have to argue anymore. Remember that we are a couple even in everyday life and an argument in the studio is also an argument outside the studio. As Helalyn Flowers we have made 6 albums plus a ton of EPs and mini-releases in which we really think we have never contained ourselves. And above all we have done everything staying in the present and never looking back. Today it would be different, because, in light of what we have done, the first thing that comes to mind is how to account for all our work and how to continue with respect to it. And this is not good because it would hold us back. After all, Helalyn Flowers is Noemi and I who have a lot of fun making our music. And it will surely happen, but not now.
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