Maxim Ludwig - 2017 Marketing Drivers

What You Should Know

  • Libra-Scorpio Cusp is the debut solo album from Los Angeles' Maxim Ludwig.
  • Early support from L.A. Times, Billboard, American Songwriter, Spotify, UCLA Radio, Digster, Paste, Daytrotter, My Old Kentucky Blog, BuzzbandsLA, Monster Children, Indie Current, Garrett Leight and more.
  • Notable past performances: Stagecoach, Austin City Limits, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, SXSW; national tour with J. Roddy Walston & The Business, national and international tours with Robert Francis.  
  • Libra-Scorpio Cusp is out June 2, 2016, on Hit City U.S.A. 

Upcoming Shows

  • 9/2 - Made in L.A. Festival @ Golden Road Brewery

Bio

In experience and attitude, Maxim Ludwig is a man of extremes. He has lived life with violent immoderation, recklessly drunk too much or praised the virtues of his own sobriety, eaten to excess or not at all, slept days away or skipped nights of sleeping, worked obsessively for glory or laid about with unbridled laziness. Out of joy, adventure and abandon, fiercely unafraid of consequences, he is the honest instigator in the tradition of R.P. McMurphy, Serge Gainsbourg and Norman Mailer, a true romantic artist irreverent to all but his craft.

On Ludwig's debut album Libra-Scorpio Cusp, we find our hero at ease by night, brimming with eccentric charisma that's half beatnik, half Rat Pack, showing an uncanny knack for rock and roll with desperate vocals and funky grooves. Through thoughtful arrangements lifted by gritty riffs, expansive keyboards and fearlessly soulful saxophones, Ludwig's first full-length effort stands out as a liberating play. As a songwriter, his lyrics are self-reflective and direct, inspired by the Black Mountain Poets, Henry Miller-esque sexual obsessions, broken promises ("W8 4 U"), creative persistence ("Big White Wall") and some more naughty forms of self-expression ("No One Has to Know"). The melodies are naturally captivating, asking to be sung along to, hair down, ass shaking. On stage, his mad-man performances breed infectious enthusiasm. 

As one of Los Angeles' most promising young acts at 19, Ludwig was hyped early by the L.A. Times as "ready to take on" Bob Dylan's legacy and demanding he be signed immediately for superstardom was surely on its way. But he followed bad advice, signing too many contracts because he liked how his name looked in ink and soon wound up packaging deluxe edition CDs and box sets as an assembly line foreman at a downtown factory.

Now Ludwig is recording under his own name exclusively for the first time. In his return, his artistry is resolute and on Libra-Scorpio Cusp chronicles this poetic descent — tracking true disappointment ("All My Nightmares") and the reality of being a college drop out, drained of creative vision before he's barely legal to even buy a beer ("Assembly Line"). Here, we find Ludwig more inspired and motivated than ever, producing his best work with a clearer vision of himself and the world around him. 

Most amazingly, Ludwig has managed to hold on to his almost mythological fascination with the rock and roll and stay steadfast in his artistic convictions. Rather than conceit defeat, he understands he's brought any hardship onto himself striving for greatness and living as the last of the playboys. And he wouldn't have it any other way. 

Maxim Ludwig's Libra-Scorpio Cusp will be available everywhere June 2 on Hit City U.S.A. 

Press Support

  • "Ludwig’s eclecticism is still in force ... with a grunge-inspired foundation, a catchy and melodic core surrounded by left-field touches from distorted harmonica and neo-psychedelic production." — L.A. Times
  • "Maxim Ludwig is on the road to success." — Billboard
  • "It’s hard to classify Maxim Ludwig’s music, which blurs the already thin lines between rock, Americana and soul. But who needs genre distinctions when the music’s good, right?" — American Songwriter
  • "...invokes the legacy of Dylan, one he seems more than ready to take on." — L.A. Times
  • "His live sets do so many different things right that it's easy to imagine him crossing over into all sorts of fan bases" — L.A. Times
  • "If you like your soul of the blue-eyed variety, then look no further Maxim Ludwig." — My Old Kentucky Blog
  • "The more you dive into Maxim Ludwig, the more you realize how much one might learn from him." — Atwood Magazine
  • "Maxim Ludwig has long demonstrated a propensity for embracing classic sounds and making them his own." — BuzzbandsLA
  • "You’d think that, given a proper chance, [Maxim Ludwig] could leap tall buildings in a single bound, and maybe shred a solo while doing it." — BuzzbandsLA
  • "The hurt in Ludwig’s voice is genuine as he gives us an intimate look into where he’s been and where he is now." — Indie Current
  • "It’s rare to find a musician who believes in rock and roll as much as Maxim Ludwig." — Garrett Leight interview feature.
  • "Maxim Ludwig's songs yearn to be heard! This Los Angeles native has a showmanship of old and a song writing style reminiscent of some of the greats." — Mowgli Surf
  • Indie Current interview
  • Daytrotter session

Photos

Photo Credit: Lera Pentelute

Photo Credit: Lera Pentelute

Photo Credit: Lera Pentelute

Photo Credit: Lera Pentelute

Photo Credit: Lera Pentelute

Photo Credit: Lera Pentelute