Max Tundra, real name Ben Jacobs, is an English multi-instrumental musician… Read Full Bio ↴Max Tundra, real name Ben Jacobs, is an English multi-instrumental musician, singer and music producer. His work is predominantly electronic music but incorporates non-electronic styles and instruments.

Jacobs was born in the United Kingdom and grew up taking piano lessons, but mostly enjoyed playing television theme songs and music from adverts. As a teenager, he bought a Commodore Amiga 500 and began exploring electronic music with it. He still uses this 1985 computer to this day, but only for sequencing. The sounds on Max Tundra's records come from a wide variety of sources, including real and synthetic musical instruments, arranged in dense, complex ways. Warp received one song he recorded titled "Children at Play" and released it as a single in 1998.

He has released three well-received albums for Domino Records: "Some Best Friend You Turned Out To Be" (completely instrumental) released in 2000, "Mastered By Guy At The Exchange" (featuring vocals from Ben and sister Becky from the band Tunng) released in 2002 and "Parallax Error Beheads You" (just Ben on vocal duties), was released in October 2008.

Other than his full length albums, he has also done remix work for bands of varying genres including Franz Ferdinand, Architecture in Helsinki, Kid606 and the Pet Shop Boys. Tundra also hosts a weekly radio show on Resonance FM, called Max Tundra's Rotogravure. He was one of the last ever musicians to record a John Peel Session.

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Lights
Max Tundra Lyrics

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I used to drive for a living
Hairy arms fed the wheel thorough my palms
Twitching feet made patterns on pedals
Reflexes honed in a twice-failed test
The pay man Lance kept me elastic bound
In the echelons of West One
Slim chance of the odd long journey
Kept me clinging to him for too long

Locked in a car all day
Came home and worked on Children At Play
I had no deal then, but I had fifty blank tapes in a bag waiting
Held out for Beckett's Launch, as they held T.J, the kitchen letter flew in
I knew it wouldn't be long before I wrote Carbon Cones

Only last week, I noticed that the colors of the
Lights in my studio are the same as the ones you conjure in my mind
You and me, green pea green, cherry red and red and blue
When my Amiga reads from a disk you know the
Green fills the room and your long summer dress fills my mind

My other jobs were none to speak of "Make a coffee for the man in Avid One
Drop these lunches off then take this Betacam to a place on Dean Street"
Most posts seemed to involve the lifting of heavy boxes
Feelin' great, s-soft drink, or hyperbole-ing finance files
A man of such small frame as I broke into several sweats a day
Whilst failing to procure even the hint of any musculature improvement
Heavy-lifting days are in the bin now, but I still dip into tempting
Wearing the odd suit, attending the odd interview
Subsidizing the drum programming you hear today

Only last week, I noticed that the colors of the
Lights in my studio are the same as the ones you conjure in my mind
Yellow and green, green pea green, cherry red and red and blue
Just yesterday I was woken by a flashing of a
Light from my studio confirming that this time-stretch was complete

Only last week, I noticed that the colors of the
Lights in my studio are the same as the ones you conjure in my mind

Overall Meaning

Max Tundra's song "Lights" tells the story of the singer's journey through various odd jobs before ultimately finding success in music production. The song begins with a description of his time as a driver, working for the pay man Lance in West One. He spends his days "locked in a car" before coming home to work on "Children at Play," likely a reference to his early attempts at making music.

Despite the monotony of his daily life, the singer never gave up on his dream of making it in the music industry. He held onto "fifty blank tapes in a bag waiting" for the chance to record his music. When he finally landed a deal with Beckett's Launch, things started falling into place. The lyrics mention his desire to write "Carbon Cones," which may be a reference to a particular song or album he has yet to produce.

The second half of the song takes a more romantic turn, with the singer describing the colors he sees in his mind when he thinks of a certain person. The "Lights in my studio" match those colors, suggesting that their influence is present in his work. The lyrics are filled with colorful imagery, from "green pea green" to "cherry red and red and blue." The singer's appreciation for beauty in all forms, whether it be in his work or his personal life, is a recurring theme throughout the song.

Line by Line Meaning

I used to drive for a living
I had a job as a driver

Hairy arms fed the wheel thorough my palms
My arms were hairy and I drove with them on the wheel

Twitching feet made patterns on pedals
My feet twitched while I pressed the pedals

Reflexes honed in a twice-failed test
I failed my driver's test twice but learned from it

The pay man Lance kept me elastic bound
My boss Lance paid me just enough to keep me working for him

In the echelons of West One
I worked in the area known as West One

Slim chance of the odd long journey
I rarely got long trips as a driver

Kept me clinging to him for too long
I stayed with Lance's job longer than I should have

Locked in a car all day
I spent most of my day inside a car

Came home and worked on Children At Play
I worked on music at home after driving

I had no deal then, but I had fifty blank tapes in a bag waiting
I didn't have a record deal yet but had blank tapes ready

Held out for Beckett's Launch, as they held T.J, the kitchen letter flew in
I waited for Beckett's Launch music label to release my music

I knew it wouldn't be long before I wrote Carbon Cones
I was confident that I would write a song called Carbon Cones soon

Only last week, I noticed that the colors of the
Recently, I realized that the lights in my studio match

Lights in my studio are the same as the ones you conjure in my mind
The lights in my studio are similar to the ones I imagine in my mind when thinking of you

You and me, green pea green, cherry red and red and blue
The colors I associate with you and me are green, cherry red, red, and blue

When my Amiga reads from a disk you know the
Whenever my computer reads from a disk, you can see that

Green fills the room and your long summer dress fills my mind
The color green fills the room, and the thought of you in a long summer dress fills my mind

My other jobs were none to speak of
My other jobs weren't worth talking about

"Make a coffee for the man in Avid One
I had to make coffee for someone in Avid One

Drop these lunches off then take this Betacam to a place on Dean Street"
I had to deliver lunches and a Betacam to Dean Street

Most posts seemed to involve the lifting of heavy boxes
Most of my jobs involved lifting heavy boxes

Feelin' great, s-soft drink, or hyperbole-ing finance files
I felt great, drank soft drinks, and exaggerated finance files

A man of such small frame as I broke into several sweats a day
Even though I was small, I still sweated a lot

Whilst failing to procure even the hint of any musculature improvement
I failed to gain any muscle mass despite trying

Heavy-lifting days are in the bin now, but I still dip into tempting
I no longer lift heavy things, but I still indulge in

Wearing the odd suit, attending the odd interview
I wear a suit and attend interviews here and there

Subsidizing the drum programming you hear today
I support the drum programming you hear in this song

Only last week, I noticed that the colors of the
Recently, I realized that the lights in my studio match

Lights in my studio are the same as the ones you conjure in my mind
The lights in my studio are similar to the ones I imagine in my mind when thinking of you

Yellow and green, green pea green, cherry red and red and blue
The colors I associate with you and me are yellow, green, cherry red, red, and blue

Just yesterday I was woken by a flashing of a
Yesterday, I woke up to a flashing light

Light from my studio confirming that this time-stretch was complete
The light from my studio confirmed that a time-stretch was complete

Lyrics © DOMINO PUBLISHING COMPANY
Written by: Ben Jacobs

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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