In a city that cherishes music, burgeoning artists find spaces to blossom into accomplished creatives. Such is the case with Tulane University senior Max Fellheimer. 

Under the stage name “Mwell,” he has made a name for himself in New Orleans as a skilled DJ, performing at venues such as The Hangar and opening for musicians like Swae Lee. Now, Fellheimer is making the transition from DJ to producer with his upcoming track, “Free Fall.” 

Fellheimer’s musical roots began at — of all places — tennis camp. While attending the summer clinic as a 13-year old, a rainy day forced him and his fellow campers off the courts. To pass the time, the camp facilitated alternative activities for the children, one of which was DJing. 

“They actually had like a really nice setup,” Fellheimer said. “They had a professor there — or DJ instructor, not technically a professor.” 

The instructor taught Fellheimer the basics of mixing, and Fellheimer fell in love with the musical technique. He bought the controller from the instructor and continued to work with it throughout the summer. 

“I just kept learning by myself and kept doing that. Then, I attended some other summer camps about DJing,” he said. 

When he got to high school, Fellheimer would end up using that same deck at house parties, using each night to build upon his skillset. His hobby followed him to Tulane, where he got his first big break freshman year. 

“[At] every bar I went to, I asked if I could speak with their management team,” Fellheimer said. “I sent them a mix with my phone number in case they ever needed DJs.” TJ Quill’s was the first bar that expressed interest in his mixes, so he DJed there for the remainder of his freshman year. 

Emboldened by his success at TJ’s, Fellheimer followed up with the rest of the bars around campus, hoping to land another placement. The Boot was the next bar to invite him to play. With the pandemic still looming, Fellheimer played to a limited capacity crowd. However, his set was so successful that enthusiastic students lined the sidewalk trying to get in.

As luck would have it, Fellheimer seized numerous opportunities to spin the decks in front of larger gatherings. After collaborating with a friend’s promotion company, he’s been able to expand his network, as well as his audience. He’s even landed a partnership with Red Bull to spin tunes at sponsored events around the city. 

Yet, as his DJing credentials are growing, Fellheimer is hoping to switch primarily to producing. 

“Now, I’m a producer/DJ, but the producer comes first,” he said. “I’ve started to put an emphasis on my own music rather than mixing others. I love mixing other peoples’ music, but [producing] is just something special.” 

Turning toward a new musical path takes confidence, but that’s something Fellheimer doesn’t seem to lack. He’s grown his DJing chops so far while excelling academically as a finance major. 

“I feel like there’s the business side and then there’s the creative side … I devote equal time to both,” he said. “I don’t know what the future holds, but I know music will be involved with it. I’m always going to make music.” 

He described his transition process as challenging, but rewarding all the same. It involved countless hours spent listening to Martin Garrix and the likes for inspiration, toying around with different audio units in his digital audio workstation and learning proper sound design. Fellheimer even surprised himself with how well “Free Fall” turned out. “It’s really cool at the end to just see an idea that you had in your head fully fleshed out,” he said. “Sometimes you’re like, ‘Oh, my God, how did I actually make that?’” 

Mwell’s debut single, “Free Fall,” is described by the artist as his own spin on progressive house, complete with rhythmic layers and powerful vocals. The track will be available on streaming services March 15.