Julian Taylor set to release Anthology Vol. 2 this week, featuring single Hunger
By KAT BERGERON
Longtime East Toronto resident and musician Julian Taylor will be releasing his latest album this week.
On Anthology Vol. 2, Taylor features songs that he had previously recorded at different times in his life over his more than 25 years of making music and revisits those earlier concepts in a new way.
The music on Anthology Vol. 2 includes early-career material first recorded with his band Staggered Crossing and also more recent collaborative works performed with Jim James of My Morning Jacket.
The feature single, Hunger, was recorded with Rae Husbandes, Siân Monaghan, and Michele Stodart (who are longtime friends from his United Kingdom band) live with real instruments. Hunger was written by Graeme Williamson (of 1980s Toronto band Pukka Orchestra).
“When I first heard the song, it was the lyrics that really struck me,” said Taylor in a news release announcing Anthology Vol. 2. “With everything going on in the world right now, hunger remains such a devastating and unnecessary reality. There are people with enough money to eradicate it in 24 hours, but they choose not to.”
Taylor was inspired to record Hunger after it was shared with him by friend Frank Davies, a music producer, publisher and member of the Canadian Songwriting Hall of Fame.
“Frank and I decided that we would donate a portion of the song’s sales to the Band Aid Charitable Trust,” said Taylor in the news release.
He said he was extremely happy with the recorded version of Hunger and its “full-band” sound.
“It was recorded in one day at a studio in Great Britain on a lovely property where we all got to stay for a couple of nights. We weren’t really sure which direction it was going to take, but I’m really proud of the one that it went. It’s haunting, it’s mysterious, it’s touching, and it’s real,” said Taylor in the news release.
Taylor has earned numerous honours over his music career including Canadian Folk Music Awards’ Solo Artist of the Year with a nomination in the English Songwriter category, two Juno Award nominations in 2021, and a nomination for the Polaris Music Prize. His albums The Ridge and Beyond the Reservoir brought him career-defining recognition and international attention.
“It’s really important to venture in all sorts of new directions,” said Taylor in the news release. “But you should always go back to see where you came from – so that you can forge a path to where you’re going.”
Taylor has ventured in new directions and gone back to his own roots, in West Indian and Mohawk cultural influences, building his music career as a solo artist from his own lived experience. He has cultivated his sound through a combination of folk, Americana, soul, and rock genres.
Anthology Vol.2 releases on Friday, Jan. 23 on all major platforms. For more information on the release and downloads, please go to https://juliantaylormusic.ca/music
For those looking to see and hear Taylor live in concert, he is now on tour in Ontario until Jan.. 28. For more information on the tour, please go to https://www.juliantaylormusic.ca/shows
