We caught up with Lawrence Taylor this week, a singer/songwrite from Birmingham. Influenced by the likes of Fleetwood Mac and Joni Mitchell, Lawrence recently unveiled his debut track, 'Waiting For Your Love', via SoundCloud and was up for a quick chat on the subject. Introducing... Lawrence Taylor.
1. Who is Lawrence Taylor?
A 22 year old singer/songwriter and guitarist from Birmingham.
2. Who are your biggest musical influences?
Most of my influences date back to the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. Live musicians who wrote songs about their personal experiences. My parents music had a huge influence on me growing up. Bands such as Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Fleetwood Mac, through to singer/songwriters like Bob Dyaln, Joni Mitchell and Jeff Buckley. As I grew past my teens I started exploring more into soul, funk, and motown and a lot of more modern music too - although a lot of it is recycled from the past somewhere. Now I’m really starting to find the sound I want, I suppose it’s really leaning into a rock/singer-songwriter genre, but I try not to think too much about it, I just pick up my guitar and make music that I like.
3. You recently unveiled your debut track, 'Waiting For Your Love', tell us a little about this?
This was a track with a chorus idea that I had in my head for a while. I got together with my friend Jason and he really believed in it, so we just started putting demos down. Out of all the songs on my upcoming EP, this one was the most open ended. I had all the verses and chorus’ down but we never really tied the end up, hence why it ends with the solo! Making music to me is about trusting in feelings and instinct, so this is just the way the song happened. We never really questioned much about the structure, it just felt right so we kept it the way its been since day one.
4. Where do you see yourself in five years time?
I dont like to plan these things too much, because I can’t tell when I’ll be in the best frame of mind for making good music, and the quality of the music will decide where I am. All I know is that I’ll be working hard, because in this industry its not about ‘making it’, its about maintaining it. I’m always looking at the future, planning new songs, new concepts, you have to keep inventing new ideas and enhancing your sound. I’d like to think in five years I’ll be somewhere between touring and writing/recording the 2nd/3rd album.
5. What's next for Lawrence Taylor?
In the near future I have some new songs to release individually, followed by a full EP release later this year. I’m also working hard on the album in my own time and really enjoying it.
6. Where can we hear and find out more about you?
You can hear ‘Waiting For Your Love’ on my Soundcloud, and keep updated with me on Facebook and Twitter.