As per government regulations all patrons, volunteers, artists, and staff will be required to wear an approved mask and provide either proof of COVID 19 vaccination or a negative COVID test. More info is available at: https://blendersmusic.ca/covid-safety/
On January 28 – 30, 2022 Blenders is pleased to partner with The Lyric Theatre once again for Winterruption 2022! Kicking off the festival will be Toronto’s Julian Taylor.
Only the best of artists are able to transition from being a soother one minute to a soothsayer the next with relative ease, confidence, and expertise. That’s exactly what Toronto-based singer/songwriter Julian Taylor has done with the eight deeply intimate songs that comprise his 12th and latest album, The Ridge.
Listeners will instantly notice the breadth of Taylor’s lyrical acumen on The Ridge, something born out of the more personal approach the man has taken toward the album’s core subject matter. “Words are very important to me, and I’ve worked really hard on my lyrics here as this entire album is about my family,” he reveals. “I would go for walks in the forest for meditation, and I made videos of myself talking to all the important people in my life like I was writing them a letter. I’d talk about the things they did that might have hurt me and vice-versa, as well as the things they did that were amazing. So, this record is really just like full-on confessionals to the people in my family.”
That particularly intimate touch lent some deeper weight to a number of the lines and vocal choices Taylor made to get his feelings across in each song. “Everything I write about on this album is a true story,” he confirms. “Yeah, I did make up a few stories on some of the other records I’ve done, but I decided to stop doing that. Everything since then is something that happened to me, or to people I know. Everything is true.”
Taylor’s inherently cinematic approach to his storytelling has a lot to do with his heritage and upbringing. “It’s an interesting thing to be part Mohawk and part West Indian, because I’ve always had this feeling that I never fit in anywhere,” he admits. “As a mixed person, it’s like, oh, where do you go, and how do you connect with people? That’s all I’ve been trying to do, and my life experience as a person who is mixed helps me do that. These stories are all coming from a person who tries to fit in, but doesn’t quite fit in. That’s really what my work has always been about — that longing to be a part of something.”
Ultimately, what the music within the grooves of The Ridge conveys is that you cannot label or confine Taylor to any given genre box — and that’s exactly what he prefers. “That’s always been my thing — not wanting to be put into a box,” he acknowledges. “My work has always reflected that. Once people find out how that thread runs throughout my career and with all my work, they’ll notice I never wanted to play the box game. They’ll find out I really love all kinds of music and I just want to make music that I love — and I think The Ridge brings all of those things together.”
Indeed, one could even say The Ridge has been Taylor-made for listeners to connect with songs and stories they already know instinctively by heart.
juliantaylormusic.ca
Blenders thanks Evolve Fitness and Embers Hair Design for sponsoring this show! Tickets to the January 28th Blenders show are $35 and are available at eventbrite.com or Swift Current Pharmasave. Doors open at 7:30pm, music at 8:30.