From the moment he stepped into his preschool music class, Max Jury was surrounded by music. While it took him many years later to decide he wanted to make music full-time, melodies and lyrics were just all around him. After releasing two EPs -- Something In The Air and All I Want in 2014, Max will finally drop his debut self-titled album via Marathon Artists. We had the chance to chat with the singer-songwriter about his musical beginnings, the new record and what it was like to share the stage with Lana Del Rey and Rufus Wainwright every night.

What were some of your first memories with music?

I remember as a 2-year-old and being in a preschool music program. I remember sitting around in a circle and being on percussion instruments and sing songs. So that’s my earliest memory of starting to learn about music.

How did you get started in songwriting and becoming a musician?

I took piano lessons as a kid and didn’t enjoy it too much. I rather would have been playing baseball or basketball. But by the time I was 12 or 13, I had developed a pretty serious interest in music and singing in bands and playing in bands with my friends. So I started doing that in my free time. And from there, I started writing songs, which went to writing songs on a weekly basis when I was 13 years old. I progressively became more interested in it until it took up most of my time. By the time I was 16, it was something I wanted to do with the rest of my life. So I ended up going to school for it when I was 18.

You’ve released EPs in the past, but how does it feel to have the full-length record out now?

It feels great. There are 11 of my songs out there, and I’m excited about it. I’m proud of it. I’m really grateful to everyone who helped make it happen, and yeah, it feels really good.

What’s the most memorable song you worked for this record?

I think one that sticks out to me is a song called “Princess” on there. I think that sticks out to me just because we worked on it so much and took into so many directions and couldn’t figure it out for a long time. Then eventually, we figured out the direction we wanted to take it in. But it was a song that went everywhere -- New York, London. It’s just one of those songs. It’s been a long road to get to that good point. Sometimes it doesn’t work out, but this time it really works. The song matter is really personal; so that’s why it really sticks out to me. But in terms of my favorite song on the record, that’s it.

What’s “Numb” about?

I was moved from Boston. I was living there for a couple of years, and I was feeling a bit stuck and lost and unwanted. It started out as a journal entry when I was 19 or 20. Then I put it away for a couple of years. Then when we were recording the album, I took it out and fleshed it out a little bit. The producer working on the record seemed to really like it. So we started to cut it, and it made the album.

You toured with Lana Del Rey and Rufus Wainright last year. What were some things you learned from seeing them on stage?

With Lana, one thing I definitely learned is how she is with her fans. The way she interacts with her fans is very special. The relationships she forms with them is really personal. She would perform for an hour or so, but she would then spend the last half hour going into the crowd and talking selfies and what not. And that’s something I really admire because there are a lot of people who wouldn’t be bothered to do those kinds of things and get so close with their fans and to show their appreciation in that way. I respect her for that.

Rufus is great to tour with. I’m a huge fan. He’s so good live. He’s spot on every night. Every time he would be on stage, everything would be really, really good. Then I would realize that’s something I need to learn. It was a whole show -- not just the songs but talk and chatting between songs. It was really interesting to really experience that much better. So that’s what I learned from him.

There are so many musicians that come out of the woodwork all the time. So how do you separate yourself from the pack?

That’s an interesting question. I don’t really know. As you said there are so many great musicians popping up every day. It’s a very scary time to be a musician with the advent of at-home recording studios and other various things. It’s harder to make it. I don’t really think about how I separate myself too much. I just try to make the best recording possible and try to play live as much as possible. I try to connect to people, and I think there’s plenty of room for all kinds of musicians. I think I connect with people through music, and that’s what I care about.