PATHWAYS
A CONVERSATION WITH JULIAN TAYLOR
Throughout his acclaimed career, whether it be with Staggered Crossing, with the Julian Taylor Band, or in his solo work, Julian Taylor has been a dominant force in Canadian music. He has established himself as a brilliant and versatile musician who continuously captivates listeners with his heartfelt and earnest storytelling, passionate vocals, and dazzling instrumentation. His latest solo album, Pathways, is no exception and continues to demonstrate Taylor’s dedication to his craft.
“I wanted to name it after one of the songs on the record. I like doing that because it certainly connects with people in a different way. Pathways just felt like it was the correct way to go, no pun intended. It’s basically a 30-year journey in music for me now. It’s led me to this. A culmination of all these things in my past and just trying to bring them forward to this current and present moment.”
The creative process for Taylor is always different, but usually, he notes, “I’ll come up with a few chords and melody things that I think are cool and seem to work… Sometimes, I’ll write the lyrics first, and that dictates where the melody goes. It’s an interesting thing. You want to fit in all these words, and that’s a wonderful way to write songs, too. I do enjoy collaborating with other people. There’s a few co-writes on this record.”
Taylor is incredibly proud and happy with the final result of Pathways and hopes that listeners can connect to it in some way. “A lot of emotion went into it. There’s a lot of feeling in there. I hope that they feel it. What they take from it will ultimately be theirs. I want people to always take away something that I put out into the world and relate to it their own way. I hope that the words that I convey and portray show hope, understanding, resilience, and the connection to the land, water, nature, and all living things. I hope they feel that.”
This emotion and feeling that Taylor talks about is evident in “Sixth Line Road”, which was inspired by the story of hockey player Herb Carnegie. Despite his massive talent and love for the game, Carnegie never got the opportunity to play in the NHL as they refused to allow him to play because of the colour of his skin. Taylor says, “I was watching a documentary on Herb Carnegie when that came to fruition. I was just on an exercise bike and the documentary just moved me to tears. To have this person who had such a gift and talent for hockey and a love of the game and to be refused to be able to play it and be paid properly for it. Not only that, but the racist remarks and physical abuse thrown at them. And we’re talking about the 1930s. This is not that far away. It really hurt me deep inside. I played hockey myself, and I remember the comments and the fights I would have to get in to defend myself because of the colour of my skin. I related to it very deeply.”
PATHWAYS ALBUM REVIEW
Taylor teams up with fellow Canadian musician Allison Russell for “Pathways”. The song is a remarkable and thoughtful display of songwriting and features beautiful vocals from both of them. “Allison is brilliant in every single way imaginable. She is such a force of positive energy in the world. She and I have become friends, and I am so grateful for her friendship and support… I sent her the song, and her first response was ‘it’s immaculate.’ That’s such a wonderful compliment coming from her.”
Taylor is of West Indian and Mohawk descent, and that heritage means a lot to him. “I’m very proud of who I am and proud of my family… It’s not always been a smooth ride, but they’ve always been there to lend a hand to be supportive and loving, and that’s the most anyone could hope for. With my heritage, I come from a background of storytellers. In both cultures, oral traditions are very prevalent in their teachings, beliefs, and spiritual connection to everything.”
Taylor, along with his Staggered Crossing bandmates and other Canadian musicians and artists, had a role in amending Canada’s bankruptcy law. Lawyer Peter Steinmetz and the musicians and artists fought against the law that allowed companies that go out of business or bankrupt to use and sell unpublished works or intellectual property of an artist as an asset to pay off their debt. They ended up winning the case, and now artists are able to retain their unpublished works of art and intellectual property. It was a huge win for Canadian artists. Being part of this special moment is something that Taylor is very proud of.
With the rapid rise and use of AI, Taylor is unsure yet if it puts artists in a similar position pre-amendment in that AI could steal their works or if AI could potentially replace artists. “It’s much too early to tell. I would love to see artists get paid for what they’re worth, but I think that’s a bigger issue. I mean, I’ve used AI for certain things, too. I’m curious. I want to know what it’s about. Do I agree with it 100%? No, I don’t. I think everything needs to be regulated, and I think artists need to be paid properly. If they were paid properly, the use of AI would probably be quite limited. I think it’s about trying to teach people that things aren’t for free, especially art.”
A music career can, at times, be a bit daunting and disheartening due to the constant changes that force artists to continually adapt and learn completely new things and the lack of compensation and royalties they receive. However, Taylor notes, “If you’re in it for the right reasons, I think you’ll be in it for the long haul. Look at Gordon Lightfoot. He was in it for the right reasons, and he was in it until the last days of his life. Follow your heart, follow your soul, trust your gut, and keep on pushing.”
Julian Taylor is currently on tour promoting his new album. “The two hours you get to perform is absolutely brilliant. Connecting with people that way; that special spiritual connection that you have with fans and your bandmates. I love going to new places, seeing places I’ve been to before, connecting with old friends and making new friends.”
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Main Photo Credit: Lisa MacIntosh | Background Photo Credit: Robert Georgeff
