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Sean Taylor
www.myspace.com/seantaylorsongs
The Band
Sean Taylor - Vocals & acoustic guitar
Born, bred and still based in Kilburn,
North London. I began playing guitar when I was 15 and then
started to put songs together almost immediately. Whenever I tried to
cover songs that I liked - Oasis were a big influence - I'd find myself
wandering, digressing into areas where I could develop my own melodies,
improvise, or try out different runs and chord changes.
I'd grown up on a diet of soul music: James Brown, Marvin Gaye and
Norman Whitfield- era Temptations; plus, the guitar players that I
leaned towards instinctively, were the likes of JJ Cale, Stevie Ray
Vaughan, and John Martyn.
The more I played, the more I moved outwards. I came across Skip
James and Rainer Ptacek; folk players like Martin Simpson and John
Renbourn; Tom Waits and Neil Young; African musicians like Ali Farka
Toure
I began playing gigs in summer 2001, when I was just 17. The first
venue I played was the Virtually Acoustic Club and since then I've gone
on to play at all the major independent venues in London - the 100 Club,
the 12 Bar, the Elbow Room, the Hope & Anchor, the Half Moon, the
Garage, the Dublin Castle, the Bull & Gate, the Bedford and so on...
Wherever I've played I've been asked back.
Since 2001 I have played over 350 gigs
mostly in and around London, but also in Manchester, Liverpool,
Birmingham, Coventry, Brighton, Loughborough, Oxford, Nottingham,
Southampton, Stratford Upon Avon, Bristol, St Helens, Petersfield,
Norwich, Great Yarmouth, Leeds, Bradford, Newcastle, Winsford,
Stockport.
Last year I broke into Wales and played Aberdare, plus a number of
festivals including Eastern Haze, the Kingston Green Fair, and the
Tanners Music Festival.
In 2003 I was
included in the Chromium Records project 'Liquid Dreams' which was
described as a collection of '19 of the best new artists from the UK and
beyond'. The album has been distributed throughout the record industry
and at major stores such as HMV and Virgin. A live version of my song
'Danger' is track 12.
I did a number of live radio broadcasts when I was at college. I've also
performed at Art events and exhibition openings.
All the stuff I perform is on my own and in 2004 I put together an EP
'Johnny Pants', which I started to sell at gigs. I've sold over a
thousand of these over the last couple of years, and have been
approached by a number of producers who have wanted to work with me. The
reviews I have been getting as a live performer have been brilliant, and
the EP has been really well received. I was a featured artist in the
Daily Mirror's entertainment magazine, The Ticket, had good reviews in
the Guardian, and Time Out, plus a number of very positive articles and
reviews from the press outside London.
All of the tracks from 'Johnny Pants' were incorporated into an
experimental Shakespearian film called the 'Folio Project'. The film was
a trippy collage of Shakespearean encounters performed in a variety of
London locations. There are two more film projects in development at the
moment, plus I'm performing the more ambient, trippy stuff, on a regular
basis via the 'Carling Live' scheme on the London Underground.
Live I play guitars, occasional harmonica, and sing. On recordings I
also play piano, keyboards and percussion.
Discography
2006 Corrugations (independent release)
What the Press Say
'... unique ... wonderfully crafted ... reminiscent of Bob Dylan' - FOLK RADIO UK
'Sean Taylor sits comfortably in the genre created by Tom Waits but this masterful album is unique ... The contrast of guitar and keyboards adds light and shade to a great musical performance' - BLACK CAT MUSIC
'Songwriting perfection that absolutely takes your breath away... a sonic journey of immense proportions... a huge talent' - NATIVE TONGUE
'A beautifully crafted album that showcases Sean's virtuoso guitar playing and haunting vocals... imagine an indie film that won every festival going... 'Corrugations' is its soundtrack' - CHERRY BANG RECORDS
'A multi-faceted blend of instruments, genres and moods... a brilliant debut album' - LEXITRICITY FILMS
'A hugely original album... outstanding... a musical rollercoaster' - FUTURE RADIO
'... a brilliant singer/songwriter...'Amazon' is one of the best guitar instrumentals ever' - ENIGMATIC FILMS
'...something special... exquisite, beautiful' - PLANET ANGEL
'...music with indefatigable grace... 'Amazon' a masterpiece of modern composition' - OLIVER MCGHIE CLASSICAL GUITAR MAGAZINE
'Sean Taylor's stunning 'Corrugations'... falls somewhere between John Martyn and the late great Elliot Smith' - HAM & HIGH
'Amazing guitar technique... our tip for the top' - 100 CLUB
‘'Fantastic playing ... one to watch for 2007' - FATEA MAGAZINE
