CDfuse.com

Hometown: Detroit, MI, USA

Influences: David Bowie, David Sylvian, Nick Cave

Website: http://johnludi.com

Our Story:

John Ludi is a TRULY independent Recording Artist, Writer, Social Critic, and Paranormal Researcher. He has long held to the currently unfashionable notion that music can change people's lives and broaden their minds. John Ludi functions outside of the major label music industry by choice! Ludi writes, records, produces, manufactures, and distributes his music on a cottage industry level, thus he is not beholden to the wishes of the music industry and can say and play what he wants to (all of which makes him far more "dangerous" to the powers that be than any of the pre-packaged models of rebellion the music industry regularly spits out).

John Ludi is the latest (and likely, last) stage name of a recording artist born in the lovely city of Detroit. After a standard-issue inner city childhood consisting largely of poverty and squalor, the individual destined to become John Ludi discovered music as a means of both emotional release and a way to communicate ideas and concepts that are rarely addressed in the day-to-day world of superficiality and mindless trivia.

Ludi spent his early to late teens learning to sing and to play various instruments, both common and obscure. Attracted to Progressive Rock (King Crimson, Yes, Return to Forever), Avant/Experimental music (the Residents, Fred Frith) and late 70's Punk Rock (the Sex Pistols, Clash and Ramones), Ludi recorded a large amount of willfully obnoxious music as a solo artist and as a member of a unit called Pliny The Elder.

Gradually growing in musical aptitude (and realizing that not ALL commercially successful music is rubbish) Ludi joined a Detroit area band (Soft War) as Lead Vocalist/Lyricist/eventual Rhythm Guitarist. This band put out several releases to general positive critical acclaim, received a generous amount of airplay on the college radio circuit (back when it was a lot more open to indies), and played extensively in the Midwest, near South, and East Coast, playing a politically motivated brand of post-punk (sort of like a highly caffeinated Midnight Oil). During this period Ludi released his own recordings on a label he had started with his songwriting partner in this group.

After 5 years of the usual highs and lows associated with being in a band, Ludi quit to record on his own. Ludi worked on his own material and produced several area bands. He moved to Minneapolis after roughly a year and a half where he started another label, recorded several projects, and created a soundtrack business.

After 7 years in Minneapolis, Ludi moved to Chicago for a little over 2 years, and then to Rhode Island for about a year and a half. Ludi moved back to the Detroit area in early 2003 and recently finished his latest album, Rise Above or Fall Below. Aside from his own music, Ludi is involved in several other recording projects.

Ludi advocates a lifestyle of voluntary simplicity, frugality, and avoidance of debt. He lives in a one-bedroom ivory tower with his cat, his musical equipment, and a mountain of books. Ludi meditates and practices yoga daily and recommends these practices to anyone trying to keep their balance in an increasing unbalanced world.

No videos have been posted by John Ludi