Me, myself and whatever guitar I happen to be holding at the time!
Influences
Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Kathryn Roberts, Kate Rusby, Judy Dinning, The Watersons, The Wilson Family, Crowded House and a whole bunch of others I'll add as they come to me!
Tina Taylor has been an active participant in the British folk scene from an early age attending various folk festivals up and down the country, travelling to concerts, folk clubs, singarounds and sessions before making the leap to performer following winning the ‘Fred Jordan Memorial Trophy’ at Bromyard Folk Festival in 2005.
Humble beginnings in an ex-mining village in the East Midlands proved fortuitous when one of Tina’s teachers, also a regular folk festival attendee, realised the talent for singing she had and set about planning in as much class singing time as possible to exercise that talent, this lead to starring roles in school plays and assemblies where Tina would take each song and not only perform outstandingly, but also encourage her classmates to attack the songs with similar gusto.
The same teacher was instrumental in furthering the confidence of this outstanding voice at a singaround at Sidmouth Folk Festival where Tina sung her first song outside of school, she sung the same song at a talent contest the same weekend and won first prize, this experience made her hungry for more and she set about learning as many songs as she could so she could sing again and again.
Picking up the guitar aged 14 furthered the desire and Tina wrote her first song, “Mums”, the following year, a song which has become a firm favourite in the local folk clubs, often requested at gigs and has been recorded on Tina’s debut solo CD, “The Unabridged Version” The CD is a project that has been a long time coming and the comment heard most since its conception is, “It’s about time!”
Tina’s songs stem mainly from personal experience or observation and cover a wide range of emotions and subjects and the style in which she plays can be compared to the influences she credits as most pivotal in her upbringing, Joni Mitchell, Carole King, James Taylor, The Watersons, Kate Rusby, Kathryn Roberts and The Wilson Family.
The Unabridged Version
After many years of talking about it, months of practicing and a few days pulling it all together, my debut album is now here!
The Unabridged version is a culmination of the best of my self-penned and/or self-arranged songs featuring myself along with some amazing musicians whose contributions have helped to make this CD an album to be proud of.
Artists featured on this album:
George Papavgeris - Guitar & Vocal
Tim Mundy - Mandolin
Alistair Russell - Guitar & Vocal
Lisa Covington - Keyboards & Electric Guitar
Erik Faithfull - Uilleann Pipes
Marion Luscombe - Vocal
Also a special mention to Alistair who has done a fantastic job of Recording and Engineering "The Unabridged Version", please take the time to visit his website and also to read the review below.
Tina Taylor
Not the next – the first!
It seems the world of pop music has spent the last year looking for "the next Amy Winehouse”. And sometimes it seems that the English folk music scene is looking for “the next Kate Rusby”.
A quest for “the next” is always doomed to fail – no-one REALLY wants just a carbon copy of what has already been a big hit with the audience (except maybe in the world of TV talent shows!).
Much better is the genuine excitement you feel when you hear something brand new, different, and excellent. And so we give you – the first and only Tina Taylor!
She’s a fabulous singer and guitarist, and a truly original writer of catchy songs full of interesting content. She plays traditional material with drive and commitment, sings delicate self-written lullabies with the kind of restraint that keeps you on the edge of your seat, and everything in between!
On her first album you will hear influences from the English folk tradition, medieval ballads, Joni Mitchell, Nick Drake, even a touch of Victoria Wood! – but most of all, you will be thrilled at how Tina amalgamates all these styles into her own and has produced a unique album whose songs blend together in a seamless unit.
Despite having been the recording engineer and producer at these sessions, I can’t stop hitting the replay button, and I can’t stop the songs going round in my head when I should be paying attention to other things – and I’m sure Tina’s singing and playing will have the same effect on you.
Enjoy your first encounter with the first Tina Taylor!
English folk music has all the vitality and appeal of it's Celtic cousins. It's fight for recognition continues to gain pace and as it does so, fresh names and faces will come to the fore. Judging by the quality of her debut album, Tina Taylor is a name that you'll become very familiar. Inspired by 500 odd years of music, Taylor delivers an album that includes, unaccompanied, just her and her guitar, a band, self penned songs and interpretations. She even manages a smile or two. Tina Taylor nails the songs with a vocal performance that captures the essence of English Song.
And so another bright young performer/singer/songwriter dips her tentative toes in the murky waters of the shiny sales-tool… no, in fact Nottingham-based Tina has plunged confidently over the parapet of that “unabridge” into those shark-infested seas. But not before she’s thought long and hard about what material to include and how best to perform it here, and taken advice from some respected folk people. And good for her, for that last sentence has been her saving grace I’d wager, and she’s produced a thoroughly desirable debut CD. Sure, there are bound to be aspects of her performance that will be more persuasive given time (and I’m sure that Tina herself would be the first to agree), but there’s nothing on this CD that I’d consider “a mistake” or any material “worthy of exclusion” and even though it’s not – nor is it intended to be – a musically radical or cutting-edge “sit up and take notice” offering, it‘s a fine first-stab of which any performer would justifiably be proud. Again it’s a mark of her self-confidence that she’s chosen to feature predominantly her own material for this debut, even though she turns in some persuasive covers in her live sets.
As for Tina’s own songs, these are simply heartfelt compositions which deal with very real topics – from a young person’s perspective, sure, but a mature and considered one. Ride With Me and Fairytales Are Not For Me concern the result of following one’s dreams, whereas Rules Of Age reflects on being considered old when you’re still young. Each of Tina’s songs has something to commend it, from Someday, a poignant song written for a friend whose husband was killed in Afghanistan, to the self-confessed fun throwaway Mums (which to its credit manages not to be the disc’s twee “must-skip”). Three of the tracks use words from elsewhere: the bittersweet lullaby Lay Low is the standout of these, whereas I’ll Have A Collier takes a Rusbyesque approach to words found in a library book and HMS Foudroyant is a setting of an Arthur Conan Doyle poem.
Tina’s a really fine singer, with a clear and expressive voice that demonstrates her understanding of what she’s singing about, and she acquits herself well on these songs; she also provides her own attractive harmony vocal lines. Her guitar playing, while a little rudimentary, is unpretentious and still generally more than adequate to the task, but she cleverly engages other musicians to provide sparing and gently supportive embellishments on most of the tracks, and the effect is most appealing. For the most part it’s Tim Mundy on mandolin or Lisa Covington ..board and electric guitar, but George Papavgeris, Erik Faithfull and the CD’s co-producer Alistair Russell also make fleeting appearances.
The disc’s sympathetically recorded too, making the best out of Tina’s effervescent but thoughtful musical personality.
Some other good things people have said:
"...possessed of a truly impressive voice - husky, powerful...its great to see a young writer attempting to engage with the world she inhabits" - Al Whittle
"Impressively singing unaccompanied on stage, her beautifully rousing voice managed to penetrate every nook and cranny of the room" - Will Holt, Sandman Magazine
It's at the Nottingham house lol, Annesley to be exact! I knew you wouldn't pass up beer haha! heading into town at night aswell so get ur glad rags on xx
Tee.... fancy bringing your guitar along to my bday bbq doing a bit of live music? :) course you will how can you refuse your unbiological sister!! 4th july it is, put it in your diary! x
This years festival is headlined by Billy Bragg (Friday), Seth Lakeman (Sunday) and Peatbog Faeries (Saturday) with many more top artists also performing incl the award winning The Demon Barbers.
Well done on getting Southwell, Tina! Do come and see Tom and Gren tomorrow night if you can. I will be in hospital again, so will miss them but say hello for me. Sue xx
Hi. Come to this gig, please. All the bands would like a good crowd, and it's for the benefit of the homeless. You get music and beer so that they can get soup.
Hello honey....you're just sounding better and better! we're gonna be in saltburn and whitby briefly tween chrimble and new year....any chance you might be too?xxx
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