MXM and Wolf Cousins are a pair of Swedish songwriting and production organisations, founded and established by songwriter and record producer Max Martin. MXM Studios and its affiliated producers are based in New York City, and Wolf Cousins Music in Los Angeles. Both MXM and Wolf Cousins are headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, where their works originate, as they both derive from the works of Maratone Studios and Cheiron Studios.
These studios have formed a music collective around many of Max Martin's affiliates. The MXM team consists of Martin himself; Rami Yacoub; Savan Kotecha; Carolina Liar members Johan Carlsson, Peter Carlsson and Rickard Goransson; Cardigans guitarist Peter Svensson; and Elvira Anderfjard. This also included Dr. Luke up until 2014.
History Denniz PoP and Cheiron beginnings The origins of Cheiron Studios trace back to Swedish record producer and disc jockey Denniz PoP. In 1986, Pop and a group of local producers formed the remix collective Remixed Records, releasing underground reworks of popular songs. Their growing recognition in Europe attracted nightclub owner Tom Talomaa, who supported the team’s transition to professional production. As their work expanded, the collective split into two divisions: Basement Division for underground projects and SweMix Records for commercial releases and new artists.
By 1990, SweMix Records had begun to sign several artists, including Kayo, Leila K, The Cool Runnings, Dayeene and Dr. Alban, the latter of which granted Denniz Pop his first chart entry as a producer with "Hello Afrika", peaking at number 7 in the Swedish Singles Chart. The song was later made part of Dr. Alban's debut album Hello Afrika, which was entirely produced by Pop. In 1991, Remixed Records was sold and made into an official label, signing artists like Solid Base and Sonic Dream Collective. Furthermore, SweMix was split in two: SweMix Productions and SweMix Record & Publishing. SweMix Productions most notably went on to sign on Swedish DJ StoneBridge, who shortly garnered attention with his remix of "Show Me Love" by Robin S.. SweMix Records & Publishing was eventually sold to Bertelsmann Music Group and became SweMix's parent label. As a result, Denniz Pop and Tom Talomaa took over as chairman and creative directors and renamed it Cheiron and began working in the studio.
In 1992, when Cheiron was established, Denniz Pop had parted ways with the SweMix collective due to creative differences, wanting to concentrate solely on the operations behind Cheiron. During that time, Pop received a demo from Danish company Mega Records of a song recorded by then-unknown band Ace of Base. He was not initially impressed by the demo but after repeated listens decided to transform it into a reggae song. The song was eventually recorded at the SweMix Studio and was given the title "All That She Wants," becoming an unexpected hit for both parties. Later that year, record producer Douglas Carr was employed at Cheiron Studios to help carry Denniz's initial sound and mix it with other genres.
By 1993, Denniz's idea of publishing and promoting records went downhill and decided to concentrate solely on writing and producing music. He was pursuing a more dance-heavy sound when Tom Talomaa recognized the work of glam metal band It's Alive, whose frontman and founder was renowned record producer and songwriter Max Martin (known by his former stage name Martin White). The band was eventually signed to Cheiron and Denniz served as the creative director for the band's second album Earthquake Visions. The album fell short of commercial expectations. In spite of this, Denniz took Max under his wing, encouraging him to continue writing songs. He also gave him the name Max Martin in place of his previous stage name. After joining, Max stated that it took him around two years to get used to his new occupation.
Mid-'90s success Cheiron Studios and its members were in high demand in 1994 and the requests for Denniz PoP's expertise and services had experienced an increase from people worldwide as more new artists wanted to work with him. To handle the offers, he wanted to hire more people to work with him and the interested parties at the studio. Alongside Max Martin, who, at the time, was experimenting in music production with him, Denniz hired Kristian Lundin and John Amatiello, who together produced music under the moniker Amadin, as songwriters and producers, given that they were signed to Dr. Alban's label Dr. Records and have had songs released through Cheiron beforehand. Two people that eventually became close affiliates with working at the studio were David Kreuger and Per Magnusson, who gave a hand at working closely with upcoming artists. As well as hiring new people, Cheiron also began working with Zomba Label Group, owned by BMG, to expand their clientele and reach out to international artists.
Within the year, Denniz and Max produced their first song together, entitled "Pumping (To The Rhythm)" and was released through Cheiron under the moniker Draxx, which combined both of their stage names to make one name. This is considered to be one of Max's first credited appearances in music. Both Lundin and Amatiello joined Denniz to produce Dr. Alban's third album Look Who's Talking!, which attained a gold certification in Sweden. Denniz also set up a meeting with Swedish musician E-Type, where he and the entire Cheiron team agreed to produce his debut album Made in Sweden, including the hit singles "Set the World on Fire" and "This Is the Way", the latter of which became Max's first chart entry, peaking at number 1.
In 1995, Herbie Crichlow, who had already been writing with the team a couple years prior, began writing material with Denniz and Max for his debut album Fingers, which included the songs "Right Type of Mood", "Big Funky Dealer" and "I Believe". The basis of the album formed a working partnership between Herbie and the Cheiron team in the years to come. They also produced the song "Wish You Were Here" by Rednex, which reached number 1 in several countries around Europe and, therefore, became Max's first certified hit as a producer. Around the beginning of the year, Zomba welcomed then-unknown boy band Backstreet Boys and flew them to Sweden to record material at the studio. Three songs were recorded, one of these being their debut single "We've Got It Goin' On", produced by Denniz and Max. The song was widely successful on European charts, peaking in the top 5 in several countries, but did not find the same success in the United States, peaking at number 69.
Alongside the artists mentioned, Denniz was reunited with Ace of Base to record and produce material alongside Max for their third album The Bridge and with singer-songwriter Robyn on her song "Do You Know (What It Takes)". Denniz continued to work with prominent artists, including Michael Jackson on 3T's song "I Need You" with Jackson providing featured vocals. In 1996, Cheiron helped record album material for Papa Dee and E-Type and a few songs from Leila K's third album Manic Panic, including the hit single "Electric". Most successfully, Max and Lundin produced "Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)" by Backstreet Boys, which kickstarted the boy band's success in the United States. Additionally, Denniz and Max produced NSYNC's debut single "I Want You Back", which was a hit for the act. In 1997, songwriter Andreas Carlsson was hired to the team and began working with them on Denise Lopez's second album I Do.
Max, Rami, and Maratone Studios In November 1997, Denniz PoP revealed that he had been diagnosed with stomach cancer. At the time, he was working with Max Martin and Kristian Lundin on material for Five, as well as his then-girlfriend Jessica Folcker's self-titled debut album, who previously appeared as a backing vocalist in previously released Cheiron songs for Ace of Base, Dr. Alban and Leila K. In the turn of the year, Max began to take creative control of most of the records being produced in Denniz's absence. However, while in the hospital, Max would frequently visit him to get feedback on the songs he was working on.Interview in Swedish Radio, 1999, Sveriges Radio When released, Jessica's album became an instant Swedish hit with the singles "Tell Me That You Like" and "How Will I Know (Who You Are)" and gained Folcker a nomination for Best Newcomer and Best Female Artist at the Grammis. Furthermore, Denniz and Max received a "Special Grammis Award" and "Special Honor Award" for restoring the world popularity of Swedish pop music and making Sweden the third largest music exporting country in the world. Denniz however, could not attend the ceremony due to his illness. Denniz PoP died of cancer in August 1998, aged 35, with many recognizing his contributions posthumously. In an interview, Lundin opened up about his struggles in and out of the studio since Denniz's passing, "...it's been difficult for all of us to get any work done here. It's taking us a lot longer than usual." In the wake of his death, Max took over as director of Cheiron Studios, alongside Tom Talomaa.
During the time that Denniz was absent from Cheiron, Max began getting closely affiliated with record producer Rami Yacoub, who was already known for his work with Lutricia McNeal, and was hired just before Denniz's death. Rami cited him as his music industry "godfather" and mentor throughout his career and stated that it was an honor to finally get to work with Max and his creative partners at Cheiron. Rami began working directly on numerous projects, beginning with Solid HarmoniE's single edit of "To Love Once Again" and also producing "...Baby One More Time" with Max, which kickstarted the career of Britney Spears. Some of the sessions with Britney in particular were done in collaboration with Denniz, recording a number of six songs for her debut album ...Baby One More Time, but none of them made the final cut. The song became the most successful song in Max's career and in Cheiron history and peaked at number 1 in every country it charted in, which made it one of the best-selling singles of all time, as well as making Rolling Stone's list of the 100 greatest singles of all time.
In 1999, they contributed to four other tracks from Britney's album, including the equally successful singles "(You Drive Me) Crazy" and "Born to Make You Happy", and worked on album material for Gary Barlow and Westlife. Max, Lundin and Andreas Carlsson also took part in Backstreet Boys' hit single "I Want It That Way", which became a staple of the band's discography, and Celine Dion's hit "That's the Way It Is", which sonically took to a different direction than most of her other hit songs over the century which labelled it as "more up-tempo". In the turn of the century, Max and Rami recorded and produced more material for Britney's second album Oops!... I Did It Again, spawning hits like "Stronger", "Lucky" and its title track, which was made the lead single. Cheiron's final projects covered artists like Jessica Folcker, Westlife and Backstreet Boys until Max and Tom Talomaa decided that the studio should close its doors. In August 2000, they announced on the studio's website, "Cheiron was created with the intention of having fun, making a few hits and not getting too serious about it. We feel the 'hype' of Cheiron has become bigger than [the studio] itself and it's time to quit while we're ahead."