About
Born in Frankfurt in 1985, Max Clouth studied Jazz guitar in Germany and then went to India to learn Hindustani music from Pandit Nayan Ghosh. The double-necked guitars he developed with guitar maker Philipp Neumann are based on oriental and Indian stringed instruments such as the oud or sarod. With his group Ragawerk/Max Clouth Clan, he has developed a musical style inspired by the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Kraftwerk, Led Zeppelin, Indian classical music and contemporary electronics.
Max composes for film and television, including music for “Freibadsinfonie / Blue Summer Symphony” (director: Sinje Köhler, nomin ated for the Student Oscar), “Der lange Weg der Sinti und Roma” (ARD, 2022 – director: Adrian Oeser) and most recently “Das Leben ist kein Kindergarten” (ARD, 2023 – director: Sinje Köhler). A recipient of the Frankfurt Jazz Scholarship, Max has been teaching jazz guitar and ensemble at the FMW Frankfurter Musikwerkstatt since 2022.
“Max’s masterful yet restrained modern Flamenco guitar is set against lush electronic & cinematic elements. This is music that realistically embraces a vision of complex hope in a bright tomorrow shaped by its shadows.” Vernon Reid, Living Colour
“Clouth, who is trained in Indian classical, aptly lays over fretwork that oscillates between sitar-like melodies and jazz progressions on a double-neck guitar.” Anurag Tagat, Rolling Stone India
“The production is epic and left me looking for concert dates in the UK.” BBC Music Magazine
“Der Frankfurter Jazz-Musiker Max Clouth gilt als zeitgenössisches Paradebeispiel für die Verbindung von indischer Musik, deutschem Elektro und Jazz.” Lukas Lautenbacher, GUITAR
“… innovative double-neck guitarist…” Jazzwise
“Clouth’s Guitar sets off on endless runs around the melody, halfway between comes the Mahavishnu Orchestra and full-on prog rock. The module regals Nik Bartsch Ronin at their most pitiless, […] Standke’s drums anticipating the beat, Clouth’s guitar sliding like a veena.” David Honigmann, Financial Times
Concerts
2025
Jan 10 w/ Georg Boeßner Vier – DAZZ Festival – Darmstadt, Germany
Feb 13 w/ Çağla Gürsoy – Saarbrücken, Germany
Feb 27 w/ Vroni Frisch & Ishaan Ghosh – lecture performance @ TSM – Karjat, India
Feb 28 w/ Vroni Frisch & Ishaan Ghosh – NMACC – Mumbai, India
Mar 1 w/ Vroni Frisch & Ishaan Ghosh – Windmills Craftworks – Bengaluru, India
Mar 2 w/ Vroni Frisch & Ishaan Ghosh – Windmills Craftworks – Bengaluru, India
Mar 14 w/ Luis Gallo – rebabel – San Lorenzo de Escorial, Spain
Mar 15 w/ Luis Gallo – Centro Cultural Nicolas Salmeron – Chamartin, Spain
Mar 21 w/ Luis Gallo – Club Bastion – Kirchheim unter Teck, Germany
Mar 22 w/ Luis Gallo – Jazzhaus – Heidelberg, Germany
Mar 23 w/ Luis Gallo – Das Rind – Rüsselsheim, Germany
Mar 26 w/ Çağla Gürsoy – Rudolf Steiner Haus – Frankfurt, Germany
Mar 27 w/ Luis Gallo – Haus der Musik – Dossenheim, Germany
Mar 29 w/ Luis Gallo, Falk Zenker, Lulo Reinhardt – Uni im Bauernhaus – Goßberg, Germany
Mar 30 w/ Luis Gallo, Falk Zenker, Lulo Reinhardt – Depot 15/7 – Eberbach, Germany
Apr 4 w/ Luis Gallo, Thomas Langer – Maximal Jazz Night – Rodgau, Germany
Apr 5 w/ Luis Gallo – Kasinogesellschaft – Neckarbischofsheim, Germany
Apr 24 Caligari Preisverleihung – Ludwigsburg, Germany
May 7 – FMX – Stuttgart, Germany
May 27 – Ragawerk @ JazzrockTV – Köln, Germany
June 7 w/ Ragawerk – Muddy’s Club – Weinheim, Germany
June 13 – Max Clouth’s 4.0 – Brotfabrik, Frankfurt
June 14 w/ Khadim Seck & Tony Clark – Meile der Demokratie, Hildesheim
June 20 & 21 – w/ Wesley G, Alisa Pou Montz, Oli Rubow – Jazzhaus – Heidelberg, Germany
Aug 10 – w/ Ragawerk – KOMMZ Festival, Aschaffenburg, Germany
Aug 13 & 14 – Jazzkeller, Frankfurt, Germany
Aug 16 – Wesley G, Oli Rubow, Dietmar Fuhr – Jazzkeller, Frankfurt, Germany
Sep 18 – Mr Smiths Guitar Club – Wiesbaden, Germany
Oct 3 w/ Luis Gallo – Rüngsdorfer KulturBad – Bonn, Germany
Oct 4 w/ Luis Gallo – Jazz We Can – Bad Marienberg, Germany
Oct 5 w/ Luis Gallo – Kirchberg-Konzerte – Lollar, Germany
Oct 10 w/ Luis Gallo – AGORA – Darmstadt, Germany
Nov 6 w/ Ragawerk – Jazztage – Ingolstadt Germany
Nov 8 w/ Khadim Seck & Tony Clark – Weltklang-Festival – Katzenelnbogen, Germany
Nov 13 w/ Ragawerk – Armer Konrad – Weinstadt, Germany
Nov 14 w/ Ragawerk – Neuer Landweg – Bolanden, Germany
Nov 15 w/ Ragawerk – Schlachthof – Kassel, Germany
Nov 27 w/ Khadim Seck & Tony Clark – Bett & Couch – Heidelberg, Germany
Music
Shop
Entelecheia – CD
16,00
Ragawerk – CD/Vinyl
16,00 / 22,00 €
Lucifer Drowning in a Sea of Light – CD/Vinyl
16,00 / 22,00 €
Return Flight – CD
15,00 €
Studio Konzert – Vinyl
30,00 €
Kamaloka – CD
15,00 €
Guitar – CD
15,00 €
Alternatively, please write an email including your address and the CD/Vinyl you would like to purchase: booking@maxclouth.com
Contact
Booking Max Clouth
maxclouth@gmail.com
Booking Entelecheia, Ragawerk
info@o-tonemusic.de
Record Label
Bellaphon
Neuklang
Wayu Records