Justin Taylor

Many respectable music listeners crave the fullness of a band and the synergy and musicality, which occurs between the various instruments. But many hold a deep appreciation for a song in its most vulnerable and raw state, un-seduced by the temptation to become 'better'. This is Justin's music, the untainted sound of the acoustic guitar and his vocals creating beautiful melodies strung together with thoughtful lyrics and truly engaging live performances. Seeing him play you may hear traces of John Mayer, Dave Matthews and James Taylor. But out of his influences he rises as someone truly original and sincere, a must see for the acoustic music lovers.

Justin Taylor was born September 12 1982, in Cape Town South Africa and came to settle in Johannesburg with his parents in 1989 where he sat inspired at the feet of his father who was also a musician, drummer and guitarist. He developed a passion for the acoustic guitar and taught himself to play from age 14 inspired by artists like the GooGooDolls, The Dave Matthews Band and John Mayer. He grew up playing in the odd concert at school until eventually after school having rummaged through some other options started playing as a session musician for other bands. During that time he played for projects that opened for bands such as Fall Out Boy, Evanescence, Hoobastank, Staind, 3 Doors Down and others. After some time, his fellow musicians spurred him on to follow his dream of writing and performing his own material which, in July of 2007, he finally decided to do, starting with the recording of his 1st album.

Justin Taylor's debut album "From Tienie Street", recorded by friend and outstanding producer J. Oberholzer, is as raw and honest as they come. Recorded with a single acoustic guitar and a single vocal, the songs were written with the intention that they would be able to stand unassisted by production. The album deals primarily with one theme – or should I say one girl. Of the ten songs on this album eight of them deal specifically with Justin's story involving one particular girl. The songs have been placed almost exactly in the order that they were written and ease into each other like a story, refracting emotions and themes in a traceable progression.

Following the initial printing of "From Tienie Street," Justin caught the interest of international indie label Candyrat Records, which features artists such as Antoine Dufour, Don Ross and Andy McKee. He signed an album deal in early 2008 and travelled from South Africa to the States to record some live video performances to promote the album. Justin's videos have received some 284,000 views while his album has continued to sell steadily. Justin also won 1st place in the Folk Category of the 2008 West Coast Songwriters' Competition as well as gaining radio play on 14 Stations in the last 2 months. A year subsequent to his first album Justin continued to write and has put some new material together for his second album called "Farther". Farther speaks of the distance Justin has come since Tienie Street (the album) and from Tienie Street (where he grew up), it also represents the distance he endured when he and his, now wife spent more than a year apart while he lived in South Africa and she lived in The States and most of the album talks about their story during this time. Starting with the first song he wrote for her "By June", Justin writes about her leaving South Africa where she had lived for two years and wondering what might have happened between them if she'd stayed. In spite of her having to leave, their relationship progressed and as the album unfolds, so does their story...