Formula Indie Sessions _ Interview with Max Ceddo
Indie alternative pop/rock/electronic music group based in New York City.
What is your earliest memory connected to music?
I have a brother and sister who are 7 and 9 years older than me, respectively. So I was always aware of what records and bands they were listening to growing up and had the advantage of access to their music collection very early even before I was teenager. Once I got their permission to use the Hi-Fi I was playing everything I could find.
I also started learning to play the piano from the age of 9. And whenever I would get frustrated with the classical homework assignments set by my piano teacher, I would start trying to figure out how to play the contemporary hits from the records that I loved, on the piano. My mother was also a huge influence as she was very musical and would play various songs on the piano by ear.
How did your passion for creating music begin?
I was about 12 or 13 when I wrote my first song. I wrote the song on the piano. It was called “Come Home” and it was not particularly good! But I just never stopped writing lyrics and music from then on. My main influence at the beginning was seeing what Paul McCartney did with the Beatles in all those wonderful songs, especially the ones using the piano. I basically wanted to do what he was doing. And then I realized that I couldn’t carry a piano around to parties at college, so I learned to play the guitar and that really broadened what I felt I could do in terms of writing songs, because now the compositions were not all piano based but originated from guitar strumming and finger-picking. I was in a band in high school (or secondary school) “The Phantom Limb” and had some great songwriting collaborations (Pierre Pradere and Fredrik Haag) while at university, so there was definitely a sense of evolution to the songs musically and more thought was put into the lyrics and arrangments as I got older. My brother David is also a songwriter and he inspired me.
What’s the story behind your current music project?
Currently I am working on the final 2 songs that will complete my second album to be named “Burnable”. Many of the songs were co-written with Fredrik Haag, a Swedish songwriter and guitarist. I released my debut album earlier this year entitled “Excelsior Boulevard.” The second album should be released early in 2026, and I have been releasing the songs from that album in a sequential way every month across the music platforms since April 2025, so many of the songs will already have been released but I will master each track fresh for the album. We live in a digital music word now and the advice is often to release the songs or singles frequently to maintain and grow interest and following. In total I have released 19 singles to date, the most recent single being “Nematode” which was released on November 6th. The next single will be released in early December.
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before?
I think I would describe it as melodic indie rock-pop, alternating between guitar or piano-driven songs, highly influenced by the melodic instincts of McCartney and Paddy McAloon while also having an edge inspired by bands like REM and The Stranglers.
What is one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music?
One of the things I’ve learned as a music creator, is that the real success of it all is achieving your vision of in what you create. You must stay true to your creative instincts, do your best, and be willing to experiment while maintaining your conviction about what you’re doing. Stay the course and if the quality is there, more and more people will appreciate and follow you on your journey. But if they don’t that’s fine too, because first you must make something that you as an artist believe in, before any one else will. Achieving your own creative vision first is what will sustain you to keep going.
What tools, instruments, or software are essential in your creative process?
Piano, guitar, notepad and pen. I leave the engineering, mixing and mastering to the music studio and producers for now. But I am learning more and more about software like ProTools and Ableton. As an artist, you really need to train and hone your own particular skills and crafts, whether it’s vocals, piano, guitar, melody- or lyric-writing. There is always a gifted producer who will record and mix a song better than I can for the moment. I need to focus on the songwriting and arrangements.
Which indie artist or song are you loving right now?
I am very fond of a song called “Taken” by Tracy Eckstrand currently.
How have your personal experiences influenced your music and artistic vision?
I feel that the more that your personal experiences and deepest feelings influence your music and vision, the better the songs will end up being, because you’ve basically put your heart and emotions into them. So whether it’s love or loss, happiness or sadness, all these experiences of heightened emotion and awareness… will make for a song that’s very meaningful to you as a writer, and then perhaps someone else out there in the vast radio-land will also find it relatable.
What emotions or messages do you hope listeners take from your work?
Hope amid darkness, humour in pain, love-lost leads to love-found.
What’s the most important lesson music has taught you so far?
Perhaps that music is a wonderful way to channel feelings and emotions, and that it is an wondeful human expression, that so many people appear to respond to. Music makes life better.
What is a dream venue or festival you would love to perform at?
Any festival venue whatever the size where you can really connect with your audience. I would love to play smaller venue festivals around the world. Basically anywhere that will have me!
If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why?
Paul McCartney or Paddy McAloon because of their enormous influence on me as a songwriter. But there are so many unknown music creators out there to collaborate with. I hear new artists everyday that I am so impressed by. I’m talking about indie artists who are not household names. I hope that the digital music environment will allow more people to discover less well known artists.
Where can our listeners follow and support your music?
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0WIt6vkGtfNZLpp1XaNSVw?si=Mh6XoR9yS6efIB4cK1hirA
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maxceddo/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MaxCeddo
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@max.ceddo
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maxceddo/
Looking toward the future, what’s your dream for the next chapter of your musical journey?
My dream is to continue writing, performing and producing high-quality music that some people may appreciate. How ever many people that may be really doesn’t matter! To create one song that matters meaningfully to just one person is already a dream achieved. Also, because I have worked so long in the studio with my first two albums, I really look forward to playing these songs live and seeing how an audience responds to them.
What do you hope listeners will discover about you along the way?
Perhaps just my sincere interest and drive to write a really great song.
