Maxwell Cabana was born in a hazy ‘02 Corolla, in the parking lot of a fried chicken joint up in Seattle. It was there that his journey began, and with a basket of chicken and a mix CD of classic Soul tunes, he got to work. Nowadays, his psychedelic R&B quartet includes Seattle native Murray McCulloch on guitar and vocals, Portland's own Noah Puggarana on keys, and Chicago-born brothers Sean and Jamie Higgins on bass and drums, respectively.
Years in the making, Maxwell’s band began to take shape in early 2016, when Murray McCulloch approached Sean and Jamie Higgins with the concept for the project. The three had played together before in the funky hip-hop outfit Sack Lunch, along with frequent collaborator HB, so they knew the chemistry was already there. Soon afterwards, the three began writing and rehearsing their first material in a damp North Portland basement.
After releasing their first project, a self-titled EP recorded at Cloud City Sound Studios in Portland, the band met keyboardist Noah Puggarana, whose soulful melodies and heady harmonies seemed to effortlessly fill in spaces that the music didn’t even know it had. Since then, Maxwell Cabana and his band have been playing shows around the Portland area, studying, jamming, and refining their sound.
In the summer of 2017, the group linked with producer Joey Cox to record Nothing Changed, their forthcoming release. The EP combines the group's love for old-school R&B and Soul with an affinity for Jazz, Hip-Hop and psychedelia. Maxwell Cabana’s influences range from Tim Maia to Madlib, Donny Hathaway to Gorillaz, and beyond.