Max Erler

Mainly playing guitar and singing, I also play bass and ukulele.

My sound is rooted in reggae-rock with a spiritual core. I'm influenced by Tribal Seeds, Stick Figure, Mike Love, and Steel Pulse, as well as older reggae legends like Max Romeo. These days I'm listening a lot to Apple Gabriel, i-taweh, and The Viceroys.

For me, music is not just entertainment — it's an artistic and spiritual expression. What I love about Stick Figure's lyrics is the subcontinental (Asian) way of thinking they carry, the mindset found in Buddhism and Hinduism. And I deeply appreciate much of the Rastafari faith that reggae is rooted in.

That said, I keep my own spiritual distance from orthodox Rastafari — I take what resonates and leave what doesn't. The messages I stand for: liberation from oppressors of (...) Mehr anzeigenany kind, against discrimination and racism in all its forms, Ital nutrition, love, peace and harmony. I share reggae's critique of consumerism and capitalism, of power held by the few over the many, and of top-down hierarchies.

Out of respect — and honesty about my own roots — I don't imitate a Patois accent or adopt classic Jamaican expressions. That would feel like imitation rather than being true to where I come from. I sing in my own voice, from my own roots.

I understand reggae in the spirit of One Love, and I see clear parallels to today's world: manipulation through advertising and centralized social media, dependence on big corporations. I stand for decentralized power, a world free of discrimination, full of tolerance and as much harmony as possible — for democracy and spiritual reverence. That's what I want to express with my music. Weniger anzeigen