Maddy Ellwanger
Los Angeles, CA | Established. Jan 01, 2010 | SELF
Music
Press
September 9, 2014
We discovered Maddy Ellwanger through the music platform ReverbNation that enables artists and bands to promote their music direct to the music press and public.
They put a word out to their members asking which artist would like to be put forward to be reviewed by us here at Flux.
Out of the hundreds of entries we received one that shone out to us was Maddy Ellwanger. Her music has a drive, passion and uniqueness that smacked us between the eyes and made us want to know and hear more. The influences cited on her own website are Marilyn Manson to Marina and the Diamonds, Jack White to Pierce the Veil which is quite a mix to spice up your musical palette.
Her latest track and video is ‘Carbon Copies’ a hook laden dream of a song backed by a suitably haunting video. I love the driving old-school synth loops that give the track a powerful pulsing heart. The vocal acrobatics are a fine thing to behold. The range is breath-taking and variety of tones quite extraordinary. It comes over to me like Lene Lovich, Ane Brun, Siouxsie Sioux mixed with a touch of Kate Bush throw in for good measure. The lyrics are playful but unnerving and give an underlying tension to the song.
To us all this adds up to an artist to admire and encourage. Have a watch and listen for yourself at the video below. -Lee Taylor - Flux Magazine
"Going into a Foxy Shazam show, I already knew I was in for interesting night full of unique artists, crazy performances, and a diverse crowd. And sure enough, all of my expectations were met and exceeded by the end of the night."
"It was a late show, with only three acts performing, and before the first artist even took the stage, I was intrigued. Judging by the artwork on Maddy Ellwanger’s banner and the tambourine (with bits and pieces of a baby doll attached to it) sitting on the stage, her performance was not one to be missed. And within the first few notes of the Colorado native’s first song, the dark lights really setting the eerie mood on stage, I was sold."
"The thing that really hooked me about Maddy Ellwanger’s performance was her voice. Stage gimmicks, props and everything else aside, this woman is absolutely talented. Though the vocals were a little bit too low for my liking, her chirps and coos and the way that she really pushed her voice throughout her entire set was enough to captivate not only me, but everyone else in the crowd, even prompting a few shouted “I love you”s from some guys in the front. Maddy Ellwanger was honestly just the perfect choice of support for a band like Foxy Shazam – she was just the right mix of strange and talented that kept everyone on their toes and had me cheering on by the end of her set as she threw glitter into the crowd." -Dom Vigil Posted July 27th 2014 - The Prelude Press
"Now for something rather more visceral from the delightfully named Maddy Ellwanger. Her music is rather difficult to define without using the word ‘unhinged.’ And this track, which is free to download, is compelling, slightly bonkers, and occasionally terrifying. If you were to imagine Marina And The Diamonds in a straitjacket jamming with Trent Reznor whilst listening to the Delta Five it might give you some idea of just how off the wall she is. It’s pop music Jim, but not as we know it !" -Andy Von Pip Posted June 27, 2014 - The Von Pip Musical Express
"This is the latest from Boulder, Colorado based alt-rock songstress Maddy Ellwanger, and it knocked me flat on my ass. There is something incredibly bold, dark and twisted about Ellwanger, that speaks directly to both an eye for the strange and a clever, thought-provoking lyricist and entertainer that is brewing just breathe the surface. She could easily exist within the same realm as an artist like Marilyn Manson once did. Eyes pealed for this one."
-Juliette Jagger - A Journal of Musical Things
We absolutley adore Maddy Ellwanger and after you read our interview you won't wonder why. She's quirky, talented and little strange. Her music is great, her voice is one of a kind and something tells us she'd get along great with our favorite pop star Cady Groves. I dare you not to have fun while listening to her unique version of new age/indie-pop. Check out what she had to say to us below, then pick up your free copy of her album Roscoe
Q. You just finished your first music video. What was the experience like?
A. It was a unique experience because it's not the "typical" music video, so I can't really say "oh the people I worked with were really great etc. " because it was all done by me. I created the concept, I filmed it, I was the editor, every single thing was done by me. So it was weird but I can say that all of the stress and the hours of work that were put into it were completely worth it and I wouldn't have had it any other way.
Q. Why do you make music?
A. I'm not very good at expressing my opinions or ideas in face to face conversation and for some reason music allows me to state my opinion without feeling bad about it. I feel like if I'm questioned about it i can just say "it's art" and i don't feel that i need any other answer or explanation other than that. So music just really allows me to show people my mind in a way that they might understand.
Q. Who would you love to collaborate with someday?
A. I'd love to collaborate with Jack White, he's a musical genius in my eyes. His music is so simple that it's complex. I feel like he's very open to knew ideas but he's also very set in his ways at the same time. I feel like he would be a very interesting person to collaborate with.
Describe your sound in three words or less.
-Quirky
-Clever
-Controversial
Q. If you had a catchphrase, what would it be?
A. "You're the bee's knees, the cats pajamas, a top notch quality human being"
Q. Are there any instruments you don't currently play that you'd like to learn?
A. Is mayonnaise an instrument?
Q. What's in store for you?
A. I'm working on my next album right now and I'm really focusing on how i want my live shows to be and really creating an atmosphere for people to be in when they come to shows. I'm really excited for the future i feel like all of the things I've been working on are finally coming together and hopefully I'll be on tour soon!
Q. Is there anything else you'd like our readers to know about you?
A. My day isn't complete without watching an episode of "Golden Girls".
-April 5, 2013 Punk-Nation - PunkNation
A self-taught guitarist, Maddy Ellwanger has earned fans by posting YouTube covers of bands such as Owl City, Foster The People and Cage The Elephant. The Boulder, Colorado, singer/songwriter has simple, yet brave, goals: “I want to be able to change people’s point of view on the music industry,” she says. “Nobody appreciates real music anymore.” Ellwanger says her influences are “constantly changing”—which bodes well for her dream to play at major festivals such as the Bamboozle and Warped Tour in the future. - Alternative Press
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
Photos
Bio
Maddy Ellwanger is a quirky, clever and controversial entertainer with thought provoking lyrics that match her outlandish yet catchy music. Influenced by multiple music genres and musicians from Marilyn Manson to Marina and the Diamonds, Jack White to Pierce the Veil, her music is nearly impossible to pin to one specific sound. She creates a brilliant and shocking atmosphere that you will always remember.
Currently she has over 30,000 Twitter followers. 10K Instagram followers and growing. Maddy Ellwanger writes songs in a very visual way, to her music is visual. She creates songs based on colors or specific words that she is drawn to. She gravitates towards things that scare most people away and appreciates shock value and that's why her songs are very odd and have a creepy weirdness to them. Maddy is a big fan of movies like Beetlejuice, The Addams Family and Edward Scissor Hands, because of the creepy and awkward comedic sense. When it comes to creating her own music she is influenced by Alfred Hitchcock and Tim Burton more than she is influenced by any musicians and that shows through her music sound and lyrics and is one of the reasons why it's very unique.
Maddy Ellwanger announced in July 2014 that her band is now officially sponsored by her favorite shoe company T.U.K. Footwear the same company that sponsors (Green Day, Paramore, U2, No Doubt).
She attended 2014 SXSW music conference and festival in Austin, TX. She performed live at a downtown venue that reached full capacity and they had to turn people away.
Maddy Ellwanger has been working hard creating music videos for each new song for her upcoming EP this fall. She makes the costumes, builds the backdrop(s) and any props from scratch and captures the timeline of each music video production to share with her fans which gives them a behind the scenes look.
In 2013 Maddy Ellwanger released her 2nd full length album "Gruesome Minds" which was independently written, produced and engineered by Maddy Ellwanger. Her album is currently available on iTunes and other popular sites for sale. Her fans describe her as "a little strange", "clever and creepy", "one-of-a-kind" and her fans describe her sound and lyrics as "simply brilliant", "quirky", "some of the best songs I have heard in a while" .
She was very busy in 2013 performing in front of live audiences at large venues and outdoor festivals in the Denver area.
Maddy Ellwanger has performed at famous and legendary venues in the Denver and surrounding areas such as Herman's Hideaway, The Bluebird Theater, Dickens Opera House, Summit Music Hall, whose stages have been rocked by talents such as Imagine Dragons, Awolnation, Dave Matthews Band, Phish, 311, Widespread Panic.
She has shared the stage with indie-pop sensation Never Shout Never, Koji, Renee Yohe, and Kurt Travis of Dance Gavin Dance in 2012. More recently Maddy Ellwanger opened for Foxy Shazam on their 2014 Gonzo Tour.
She has been interviewed and featured in Alternative Press Magazine both in print and online. Punk Nation adores Maddy Ellwanger and has compared her voice to one of their favorite featured pop artists Cady Groves. Rock and Roll Journalist, Juliette Jagger recently reviewed Maddy's song and music video "Pity Party" and said "There is something incredibly bold, dark and twisted about Ellwanger, that speaks directly to both an eye for the strange and a clever, thought-provoking lyricist and entertainer that is brewing just breathe the surface. She could easily exist within the same realm as an artist like Marilyn Manson once did. Eyes pealed for this one.
Band Members
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