Ben Taylor
Ben Taylor is set to return at the end of the October with his brand-new album Listening; his fourth album.
We caught up with the singer-songwriter to chat about the new album, recording the record five times and what lies ahead.
- You are about to release your fourth album Listening, so what can fans expect from this new record?
It is pretty eclectic in terms of its influence. However, I think that it is a modern album because I think that the production was geared for every song, rather than being a production style for the album.
So there are quite a lot of different styles in it, but it is made cohesive because I am common to all of them, but we also sequenced it really well. You get that with a lot of record now as they are a collage as opposed to an album with a single sound.
- That does lead me into my next question. There is quite an eclectic feel to this album as there is a bit of folk and pop on there so I was wondering how you found yourself going down this path?
I recorded the album five times (laughs) and then I picked my favourite version from all the different recordings. At the time, I wasn’t really considering the work as an album as I was thinking about releasing them as singles or a couple of EP’s.
Such a long time had gone by that I had a new batch of songs to record, so we put these together on Listening. I am pretty proud of it, I have to say.
- This is your first album since 2008, so what has taken you so long to get back into the studio and working on new material?
Recording it five times, most of all. The biggest double edge sword that I contend with is being the master of my own destiny. I think if I had a record label other than myself, or I had someone saying that I had a deadline, that would be easier enough for me to do.
If I am my boss, I get to the end of a project and say ‘that was fun, let’s do it again’. I guess perfectionism and procrastination probably play into it, but I do have too much fun in the studio.
- Why did you record this album five times?
Once I get close enough to a song, where I wrote, and I have played it on stage a couple of times; you don’t really hear it as song until you play it for strangers. I take it through that process, and then I take it into the studio and record it.
Usually by the time that I have finished recording it for the first time I don’t know what I am listening to anymore - my ears are burnt out and hit their quota on that song.
What I learned from the last album that I made, which did take me four years, in the future I need to have someone who has executive powers to veto my suggestions.
It’s not that I don’t like what I record the first time it is just that I want to try something else on the songs.
The songs that I write are very introspective, personal and often autobiographical, and they really feel like kids - I don’t have kids so my songs are the closest things that I have. When you have kids, you want to try different clothes on them.
- There are still a few weeks to the release of the album but how have the new tracks been received so far?
I haven’t. But to be honest I am a miserable correspondent who doesn’t check my social networks and I don’t read my own reviews.
Once I get done recording the tracks, I feel that I no longer have any power over them to change them, and I have to accept them for what they are and let the people have them. So I try not to pay too much attention to it.
- It’s interesting that you say all of your songs go through a lengthy and evolving process over a number of recordings. I was wondering if the songs change and take on a whole new sound once you take them live?
It depends on what order you to it in. Quite often I fall into the trap of being in the studio and being inspired by the creative process, and so I write a new song. I will be excited by the new song that I will have to record it there and then.
But I should have been more patient, and I should have road-tested the song before I put it in the studio. Once I have it recorded, I have it out on an album, and now I have put it on stage and realised that I have got the words wrong.
The best way to do it is to write a song and to get it on the road for a year. Once you are clear that it has finished writing itself, and then you put it in the studio.
- You have produced this album with your long term musicians Larry Ciancia, Ben Thomas and David Saw so what made you want to work with them again? How do you find working with them? It does seem like a good collaboration.
I am a family man; the only way I have ever known how to live is to be around the closest people to me. Since I have been a professional musician it works out that the person that I spend the most time with are Larry, Ben and David; we live right down the road from each other as well when we are not touring.
I think that comes through more than anything else when we play together as we know how to play together really well.
- Is there any particular reason why you decided not to bring another producer on board for this record?
Foolishness I think (laughs). I have been getting my skills together as a producer as I have been learning how to record and edit audio and play different instruments; so it was just very compelling to me to be able to do that.
I think the next project that I produce will not be my own because, as I said, by the time I get a song written and recorded my ears are pretty useless. But, that is the lesson that I learned on this album.
- This does actually touch on my next question. I was wondering how much producing is a side of making a record that you enjoy? Do you feel that you should be in control of the sound of your own music?
I feel that it takes a lot of discipline in a way that I had never figured to be able to do it. I will produce albums for myself in the future, but I think I will have to pick and choose the songs that I have a handle on and the songs that are above my pay grade.
- As I said earlier this is your fourth album so how do you feel that you have developed as a musician and a song-writer from that debut album to this?
Fewer notes and fewer words, hopefully. As a young artist, you are just so full of excitement, and you want to try out so much. You know all of these words, and you have all of these notes in your arsenal of music, and you just can’t wait to play all the notes that you know.
I think some of the greatest songwriters of all time are the ones that manage to take fairly big ideas, both musically and lyrically, and put them across in a very simple way.
Since I have grown up, I think I am enjoying the space between the notes a whole lot more than I am enjoying the notes themselves.
- You have grown up in a family of musicians so how much is this the career that you always saw for yourself?
I resisted it until I was going to need to find a job that I wasn’t going to like as much (laughs). I was in my mid-twenties before I even decided to start writing music.
I had done all the formal education that I was going to do, and I got to a place where I felt I needed to put my time and effort and spirit into a career of some sort.
The only one that I could find that seemed worthy of all of my time, effort and spirit was music or being a Jedi Knight; I don’t know how to sign up for the latter.
- You are also keen on the importance of educating young people with music and about music. So can you tell me why you feel so passionately about it?
I feel, not to get too broad and existential on you; the thing about the human experience is we are the pinnacle of individuality, and yet we recognise that fact that we are part of the oneness from wench we came and will return to.
Once you go back to the oneness everything is good. However, as a human being when you are the dichotomy of individuality and the oneness all at the same time, you have the opportunity for creativity that you may never have again.
I might go as far to say that that is the reason for being human; for me, it certainly is. I have gotten quite broad on it. In terms of tools that we can give future generations to be able to express ourselves and take advantage of this creative opportunity, I think music is really prime among them; it is possibly the most creative tools that I have ever found.
- Away from the music you are also involved with Island Grown Initiative so can you tell me a bit about that? And how you got involved?
I like it when people make food well; I love good food. I don’t care what it is and I don’t care about the ingredients, I like food that was prepared with a tremendous amount of care, love and spirit. The local food movement came important to me.
I found these people where I live who were trying to raise money to put greenhouses in all the elementary schools, so we could make agriculture a part of the curriculum.
I live on an island and so part of the thing about living there is that there aren’t too many good grocery stores, and everything is extortionately overpriced.
You are better off growing your own food there. The fact that we have worked with some of the people in state Scholastic Protocol department to try to find a curriculum, where would try to incorporate things that were important to the state into the agriculture curriculum.
It really worked out well, and we have kids growing their own food for the cafeterias.
- Finally, what's next for you going through the rest of this year?
I am going to put this album out here, and I am going to finish the album that I am recording at the moment. Then I am going to tour like a mad man.
Ben Taylor - Listening is released 28th October.