Joe Taylor: the soul between love and loss
Alejandro De Luna
Isn´t love and the loss of it what motivate (or discourage) human beings? Isn´t this the reason why blues, R&B or soul started as a form of expression?
“Some of my earliest memories were of me and mum dancing around the living room to The Temptations, Bob Marley, David Ruffin and Marvin Gaye”, says Joe Taylor, a 24-year old artist whose debut EP, Blossom Avenue, provides a fresh recap through the African-American music legacy. Three tracks – all different from each other – influenced by the sounds of early R&B and soul, and “lyrically written as a concept that covers loss, the hard road after and the place you arrive when you’re back on track.”
Coming from the northlands of Yorkshire, his path through music was “funnily inspired” by a rock tape compilation given by a friend of his mother at the age of 9. He grew up mesmerized by timeless tunes from Motown Records and listening to other R&B/soul greats. From Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Sam Cooke, The Four Tops to Curtis Mayfield and Ray Charles. Later on, this man who despises more than anything soggy broken biscuits in his tea, found spiritual inspiration on Bob Marley´s “ethics on life and the way he cared for, and united people.”
Before relocating to London and releasing his debut, Joe Taylor spent his last few years in north west Yorkshire experimenting with another of his musical passions: EDM and house music, but without leaving being the hard but intimate road of the soul while working as a session musician, playing live and studying at the Leeds College of music.
It´s the loss of love what crafted Joe Taylor´s Blossom Avenue, probably an approach influenced by some of the greatest songs ever written and performed like in The Temptations´ ‘Ain´t Too Proud To Beg’ – his favorite recorded vocal of all time. “I’ve really tried to capture that American 60’s and 70’s sound with the brass, strings, bluesy guitar”, recalls Joe Taylor in a debut – written and composed in its entirety by the man himself – enriched with brass arrangements.
Blossom Avenue feels like a short story of love and loss transiting in different moods – each one of the tracks has a different feeling. The opening track, ‘Losing You Was Everything’ bring us back to Curtis Mayfield´s funky vibes and brass arrangements while lyrically, it starts to assimilate the loss; but where Blossom Avenue gets darker and brings the true statement of the EP a step forward is with ‘Long Hard Road’ – the most introspective track – full of melancholic arrangements (Taylor was also heavily involved in the production) and lacerating lyrics. Finally, it is in the closing homonymous song where this fan of the Blues Kitchen in Camden, leaves the dark corridors from the previous track to bring a little bit of hope overlapped in a classic R&B sound.
“It’s always just been about the music for me. I’m always going to be unique in myself; I’m always going to carry on the legacy of soul music”, finishes confident that soul and R&B music will make a massive comeback this year. As a reference he takes Pharrell Williams´ “serious Ray Charles-like vibes” in ‘Happy’ or the likes of Sam Smith and Gregory Porter.
Isn´t love and the loss of it what motivate (or discourage) human beings? Isn´t this the reason why blues, R&B or soul started as a form of expression?
Joe Taylor´s ready to hit the road. He will present Blossom Avenue on May 22nd at The Finsbury in London.
