Songs on Fire • Ben Kunder - Laydown featuring Julian Taylor
'Songs On Fire: A Songwriter Series • Ben Kunder - Laydown
"Laydown" Written and performed by Ben Kunder
featuring Julian Taylor
@thejuliantaylorband
Created by singer-songwriter, Ben Kunder, this new songwriter's interview video series finds Ben sitting down with a diverse cast of musical peers and creators for in-depth conversations, performances and collaborations.
Created by: Ben Kunder
Art Director: Mat Dunlap
Sound: Guillermo Subauste
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Julian Taylor:
Toronto-based singer-songwriter Julian Taylor has been part of the musical fabric and landscape in Canada for two decades. Taylor enjoyed a breakthrough year in 2020, when his second solo acoustic album, The Ridge, earned more than three and a half million plays on Spotify, praise from press worldwide, and airplay from America to Australia to the U.K. Loaded with soulful Americana and country twang, the album was produced by Taylor himself and Saam Hashemi, and was recorded at The Woodshed in Toronto. In addition to winning Taylor Solo Artist of the Year at the Canadian Folk Music Awards, The Ridge was also nominated for: two Juno Awards (Contemporary Folk Album of The Year, Indigenous Artist or Group of the Year), the Polaris Prize Long List, a Summer Solstice Indigenous Award (Contemporary Folk Album of the Year), a Canadian Music Week INDIES Award (Indigenous Artist of the Year), and an additional Canadian Folk Music Awards nomination in the English Songwriter of the Year category.
Taylor, of combined Mohawk and Caribbean ancestry, is a major label veteran, Toronto music scene staple, and musical chameleon. His versatility as a songwriter is signature; one minute he’s onstage playing with his band spilling out electrified rhythm and blues glory, and the next he’s featured at a folk festival delivering a captivating solo singer-songwriter set. Formerly associated with the band Staggered Crossing, he has continued to record and perform as a solo artist and has released twelve studio albums since 2001. With his songs being placed in such TV shows as “Haven,” “Private Eyes,” “Kim’s Convenience,” “Degrassi: The Next Generation,” and “Elementary,” his versatility as a songwriter is signature. He has had four albums on the long list of the Polaris Prize in Canada and has charted on several Canadian and Indigenous Music Charts.
Taylor is as explosive and captivating a live performer as you’ll ever see. Taylor has toured the Canada and the U.S. countless times, sharing the stage with the likes of Serena Ryder, Blue Rodeo, William Prince, AHI, Rodney Crowell, Keb’ Mo’, and has performed at the Festival d’Été de Quebec, the Mariposa Folk Festival, Ottawa BluesFest, and more. Taylor was also invited to perform at the Olympic Games in Salt Lake City and Vancouver.
https://www.juliantaylormusic.ca/home
/ juliantaylormusic
/ juliantaylormusic
/ @thejuliantaylorband
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Ben Kunder :
Occupying a rare but accessible musical space between folk, pop, and Cali-style Americana, Toronto singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Ben Kunder chronicles the ordinary and the extraordinary in luminous detail. With three highly acclaimed studio albums (2019’s Searching For the Stranger, 2018’s Better Human, and 2015’s Golden) and multiple international tours and festival appearances achieved to date, Kunder has amassed a devoted following while establishing himself as a sought-after collaborator and electrifying live performer. A committed social justice advocate, father to two young kiddos and compassionate member of the human race, Kunder consistently yields exquisite musical insights.
This video is funded by FACTOR Canada