
Julian Taylor is an audience favourite at CKUA. His 2022 album, Beyond the Reservoir, was #8 in that year’s CKUA Top 100 albums list. Now as he prepares to launch a new album, Pathways, he’s reflecting on his creative process, and why he thinks of songwriting as “almost spiritual.”
Pathways was created at Jukasa Studios in Ohsweken, Ontario, a dispersed rural community located within the Six Nations of the Grand River. Taylor then worked with Colin Linden at Linden’s own studio in Nashville, to add some tracking and overdubbing. He describes this collaboration as “a pure marriage of the two of us,” adding, “You can hear my influence and his.”
After working with a variety of different labels and being in a number of bands, Taylor says that the business side of a life in music is a constant challenge. “I’ve worked with several labels, and I have managed myself for quite some time. I always found that the best practice was to forge ahead when you had the energy, and then go in another direction when you need to. Everyone creates music for similar reasons. To be heard. The fact that commerce is a part of that is a daunting reality. Music is much better done in person. That is why I like performing live.”
One song from the new album, called “Weighing Down,” is a call for gentleness in a harsh world. “I was in my attic, where I write a lot of my music,” says Taylor. “’Weighing Down’ is about the stresses we put on ourselves, from past mistakes, and choices that we regret. We are only human, so one of the things I like to bring to people’s attention is that every person has experience that relates to the human condition. We all need safety, food, shelter. We are the only beings in this realm that get in our own way as much as we do. It’s hard to look in the mirror and say, ‘Wow, I’m not the person I wanted to be.’ How we walk through that is what the song is about.”
When asked about his creative process, Taylor says, “I don’t think about audience when I am writing songs. I think that is why my music is all over the place. Writing songs is kind of like being a parent. It’s almost as if they choose you. They can relay meaning from the other side. It’s the place of creation. It can almost be spiritual. And we just do our best.”
The Julian Taylor Band will perform in Lethbridge on October 24, in Calgary on October 25, in Sherwood Park on October 27, and in Red Deer on October 28. Find info at juliantaylormusic.ca