Maxine by Jens Sage

Photography by Jens Sage

Her eyes are still tired, it’s the day after her first ever performance as a solo artist. It’s not like she’s new to the stage: MAXINE KAZIS is experienced in the field of acting. She’s been doing musicals for a longer time. She portrayed roles for years. Now she’s singing about herself. It’s not only a difference – she’s stepping into another world.

‘It’s a big transition’, she explains, ‘You’ve got this protection during acting. Of course I’m trying to be as pure as I can be, but it’s another person. Now I am there, with my lyrics, my story. It’s almost scary. Honestly, I was afraid to do it. My band was a big help. They build me up.’

The important thing for MAXINE is to be honest through her music, even when the truth isn’t always glitter and gold: Her material concentrates more on the darker sides of a young woman’s life. Always with this tiny, dimmed light at the end of the endless tunnel.

‘I’m glad you could hear it. That’s so important to me. Actually the inside of my mind is darker than bright. I am definitely a darkness kind of type. But there’s still this part which believes in standing up and moving on. That’s what I want to tell the people: life goes on. No matter what.’

Her first single as a solo act speaks a different language: ‘Dreck.’ (in English ’Dirt’) is an electro-pop track dealing with the complete damage of your own persona. Hitting rock bottom, feeling nothing but anger.

‘Life goes on. No matter what.’

‘There was a radical change in my life at that time’, the singer reminds, ‘I just moved to Berlin, quit a job I loved, plus a really tough breakup. Everything was so bad and all I really wanted was to start over. The anger during this phase created the song. But it has still this tongue-in-cheek vibe. Very over the top, what I like. ‘Ruine’ (‘Ruin’), another one of my songs, is worse. That’s all about hiding. Running away.’

Her toughest piece among her musical material might be the uplifting ‘Hinfalln. Aufstehn. Weiter tanzn’ (‘Falling. Standing Up. Dancing On.’). A straight reminder of one big issue in western society: eating disorders. A result of the woman’s modern beauty ideal.

‘I wanted to talk about it. I wanted to sing about it. So many young girls are dealing with it, fighting. An eating disorder is the reflection of the industry. Watching model shows where all these girls are so skinny. It’s terrifying. I gave classes to eleven or twelve-year-olds and the girls where complaining about being fat. I mean, really?’

But for MAXINE KAZIS it’s not only a warning to other girls, it’s also biographical. From verse to verse.

‘Yeah, I was a mess during that time. 19 with the goal to become a professional dancer. I worked so hard and ate less. I started a modern dance education, but ballet was also on the schedule. I was such a perfectionist, I still am, but after some time I couldn’t even jump high, I had no strength in my body. A daily workout for seven hours and no meals. My teachers didn’t understand – of course I kept it to myself.’

Due to her instable condition MAXINE lost her sense of physical pain. During one dancing session she fell and suffered a torn ligament, without even recognizing. After a false medical examination she returned to her classes – just to fall again and losing a part of her heel bone.

‘And that was it. Completely’, the artist continues, ‘I had to go back to Swiss, my home, had to stop school. They told me it wasn’t good anymore to work with me. With people who destroy themselves as much as I did.’

Maxine Kazis by Jens Sage

Photography by Jens Sage

‘They told me it wasn’t good anymore to work with me. With people who destroy themselves as much as I did.’

The fear of losing her voice by destroying her vocal chords due to her illness forced MAXINE KAZIS to take a break and go to therapy. Now she’s handling her issues through music. Trying her best to become a better version of herself and give hope to listeners.

‘I’m still fighting. You can’t just fix your head from one day to another. There are moments where I have to remind myself that I am good enough exactly the way I am. Even after all this years. Back then, the worst part was that people told me I looked better. Thinner and better. That is so fucked up in so many ways. We have to stop running down on others and ourselves. We must start talking about it. Artist with a larger range should do it. And I will give my best.’

Giving the best of yours to get the chance to be heard is nothing new in the creative industry, especially for young female artists. One might thing that gender issues had changed for the better, that women have equal opportunities to realize their creative ideas as artists. But we’re still far from that. ’It’s a men-dominated area, definitely. Let’s just take German radio stations: they are barely playing female vocalists from their own country. If you are the ideal of this stereotypical woman, you might have the chance, but if you’re music is a bit outside the box, if you’re slightly different, it’s really tough. I don’t get that. We just have to empower ourselves and fight for it.’

‘The worst part was that people told me I looked better. Thinner and better.

That is so fucked up in so many ways.’

Maxina Facebook

Photography taken from official Facebook Page

Lately tabloids we’re filled with stories about female singers speaking out on male producers trying to take advantage of them – artists like GRIMES or LADY GAGA spoke out on the case after American-singer KESHA assaulted her long-year producer DR LUKE for sexual harassment. MAXINE KAZIS is no stranger to this topic.

‘In my business you’re always meeting new people and you will hear stories. You don’t know in the end what’s right or wrong, but I crossed along many different men and I know that there’s the possibility to give your career a little push in exchange for certain things. You can’t go for it. Just stay away from them. I am lucky because all guys in my team are gay, the only straight one is married. I’m not worried anymore, I’m 26 and I know myself on that level. I’m more worried about all the young girls out there, who doesn’t know better. I hope they are able to say no, like I did.’

‘I know that there’s the possibility to give your career a little push in exchange for certain things. You can’t go for it. Just stay away from them.’

So what’s the advice to all the young artists out there as a female who’s about to step into the business? How’s the fighting plan?

‘I will certainly continue to write and sing about the bad things in life, even when many people don’t want to hear them. They feel uncomfortable with them, don’t want to deal with them, but they are right here. That’s what I’m fighting for.’

MAXINE KAZIS’ first EP is out July 15 this year.

MAXINE KAZIS