Ludic

Photo Credit: Raunie Mae Baker

Perhaps indie’s new holy trinity, three people (two brothers, one friend) make up the band Ludic. The group got its start in the beginning of 2017 when brothers Max and Rhett joined forces with Ayla, who put out a Facebook post looking for artists to jam with. Immediately clicking, the trio’s been together ever since, releasing six singles in the last two years. Their music is invariably catchy, self-described as “SOULFUNKJAZZPOP” or “alien motown,” both of which, oddly enough, make perfect sense. With such a unique sound, we can only assume they’re on the precipice of something special, evident in the fact that not a single one of their songs has under 140k Spotify streams. We recently spoke with Max, Rhett, and Ayla about the development of their one of a kind musical style, their aspirations, and more! 

How did you get started making music?

We all cite video games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero for introducing us to the magic of “playing an instrument”, which definitely ignited a passion in all of us for wanting to actually play an instrument (no quotations needed anymore). From there, we all grew up exploring various instruments and being surrounded by music. Max and Rhett have been playing music together from the time that they both could play an instrument, hence the telepathic communication they have with each other. Ayla grew up playing music with lots of different people and trying to be part of many different bands, but since the beginning of Ludic has been working towards tuning into the Cunningham telepathic radio station as well.

How did you guys develop your eclectic musical style?

We all really value so many different styles of music from so many periods of time and so many different cultures, so whatever we create when we get together to write music is the natural product by way of osmosis of a life of music consumption and appreciation! We love to take inspiration from all of our favorite old-school classics, as well as the amazing artists in music currently who are pushing the boundaries of creativity, production and song-writing as we know it.

Who’s who in your typical creative process? Can you talk us through it?

A song usually begins with either Max or Ayla coming in with some type of song idea, maybe a chord progression with a vocal hook and some lyric ideas. Max usually brings in a demo with some sweeeeet production on it. Rhett really helps to build and solidify the groove and feel of the song, and once we’ve all flushed out an arrangement and a more defined sketch of the song, we’ll bring it to our wonderful producer Ryan and get his thoughts! 

What do Ludic’s members do in their free time?

Ayla’s a big fan of reading and going for long walks down in the farmlands by her house. She also really enjoys “memorizing things” for some reason, whether it be something completely arbitrary like digits of Pi or something more useful like geography or music theory. 

Who’s been the biggest help to you guys with your career?

A ton of different people have been extra amazing and helpful to us. Our parents have always been incredibly supportive and have allowed us all to really go for it. Without them we would not be even close to where we are now! Another big figure is our producer Ryan Worsley. He’s helped us tremendously in so many aspects of the music. We really found our sound with him and he’s continually supported and pushed us to improve every aspect of our music. It’s almost like Ryan is part of the band in a way, we make jokes about him playing a keyboard solo on stage or something. It might happen, you never know. 

Who’s joining you guys in a dream collab?

I think all of us have a love for Hiatus Kaiyote so it’s really the first to come to mind. They’re a BIG inspiration for all of us. Some others would have to be Prince (RIP), Daft Punk, Lianne La Havas, Brittany Howard, Erykah Badu and the king Stevie Wonder.

Is there anything in the works?

Yes! A lot! and it's all a secret (hehehe). I think it’s safe to say we have a mountain of content we’re sitting on right now so take what you will from that! Songs, videos, etc. We’re really excited.