About

Like a zodiac sign rising in the East, the first notes open up shimmering spaces, permeated by complex harmonies and contrasting timbres. Sometimes composed, sometimes spontaneous, live electronics contrast with erupting guitar solos.

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, nominated 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

“ (…) immer ist es eine große Freude, Max Clouth beim Spielen auf seiner erstaunlichen zweihalsigen Gitarre und seinen dezenten, präzise gedachten und ausgeführten händischen und elektronischen Klangvariationen zuzuhören.” Hans-Jürgen Linke, Frankfurter Rundschau

“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