Max Cooper shares new single “My Choices Are Not My Own”

Taken from his new album On Being, Max Cooper’s latest single, “My Choices Are Not My Own,” is a raw and immersive response to a poem by May Kaspar—submitted anonymously to the project’s database of confessions.

The track features a powerful vocal performance from Tawiah, building on Cooper’s original ambient composition and pushing it into dense, emotive jungle territory. The result is a soundscape that captures the tension of modern life—layered and overwhelming.

Speaking on the creative process, Cooper says:

“This track initially began as a slow tempo ambient piece, but when I heard Tawiah’s powerful voice it pushed it into some classic jungle realms. I wanted to convey the idea of the barrage of conflicting influences that we live amongst, so I layered the spoken words upon one another, and for the Atmos mix with Richard Burki each comes from a different direction to give the feeling of a crowd of narrators.”

Mixed in Dolby Atmos by Richard Burki, the track is paired with a new video by Donato Sansone, built from frenetic hand-drawn sketches and distorted doodles—all reflecting the mental noise and emotional overload that inspired the project.

“Donato took a connected approach visually, with hand drawn sketches referencing the quotes from the database of thoughts forming the ‘On Being’ project. He built an evolving thoughts barrage sketch book full of feelings and stories, and representing the idea of the noise of all the things which try to influence our thoughts and values day to day, from our external environment as well as our internal processes.”

Sansone’s visual work draws directly from the On Being quote archive, echoing the handwritten, vulnerable submissions that helped shape the record.

“My Choices Are Not My Own” is out now via Mesh.