Lilja, known as one of the most versatile and adventurous cellist of all times, is a Finnish cellistand composer. Max Lilja is also co­founder of legendary Apocalyptica and touring member of Tarja Turunen (former Nightwish).

In Max Lilja’s Morphosis, the master of the electric cello utilizes a wide spectrum of analog and digital effects to build strong identities for the sounds originating from the cello. In the nine instrumental songs you can hear influences from trip hop to electronica, from rock to classical, all morphed to the amazing cinematic images through Lilja’s cello.

Morphosis is an album where all the music is written on the cello. Max found inspirations in the melodies which wrote themselves on jamming sessions. Also, he used different approaches to the instrument by using different tunings, "A possibility that is sadly and very commonly ignored" says Max.

"When I record I’m balancing in between the possibilities of the instrument added with the electronics and the challenges of doing it all on cello." says Lilja "Some of the lines require a very classical approach and in others I need to completely reform the original cello sound. I really enjoy going deep into the sonic possibilities, tweeking the knobs of analog effect devices and finding the perfect sounds for all the parts of the arrangement.

Lilja was touring while at the same time recording and mixing the album. Lilja thinks it made the process more intense. "Making a music album is an intense but rewarding process and especially when you do almost all yourself. Working on the vision, writing, producing, performing, recording, mixing and being involved in the mastering. In all the steps I’m working with material that is born deep inside me and is highly emotional to me. It’s very challenging to find inside me all the different roles needed in the process and respect when the producer tells me that the arrangement sucks... so many decisions to be made and all have an influence on what the listener will hear and feel."

Morphosis is probably not the easiest music album in the world but the artist thinks that he has achieved something truly unique that the world has never heard before. In the album, the master of the electric cello utilizes a wide spectrum of analog and digital effects to build strong identities for the sounds originating from the cello. In the nine instrumental songs you can hear influences from trip hop to electronica, from rock to classical, all morphed to the amazing cinematic images through Lilja’s cello.