Submitted by Sandy Graham
Award-winning Americana/folk singer-songwriter Julian Taylor has
released a new single, “DEDICATION,” (Howling Turtle Inc).
“Dedication,” the first single from Taylor’s forthcoming
Anthology II (September 10th), is out now on all major platforms. The
official accompanying video is available on YouTube.
Co-written with longtime collaborator Robert Priest, 5x JUNO-nominated
singer-songwriter Julian Taylor’s “Dedication” is a song born from real love
and persistence. “Whether that’s in love, in life, or in your passion, this
song is a declaration of that kind of wholehearted commitment,” says Taylor.
With a laid-back pace and a rise-and-fall melody in the verses, and a chorus
with a more hard-rockin’ approach, “Dedication” sounds like something The
Verve’s Richard Ashcroft and Lenny Kravitz might come up with if they wrote
a song together. Recorded with Taylor’s U.K. touring band – Michelle Stodart
on bass, Raevennen Husbandes on guitar, and Siân Monaghan on drums –
“Dedication” moves from delicate, catchy electric guitar parts to crunchy
power chords, and benefits from compelling vocal harmonies throughout. As
befits Taylor’s consistent lyrical approach, the song is about moving
through the world, and relationships, with the intention to increase love.
Listen to Dedication on Spotify here: https://open.spotify.com/track/7eEtXPKGdndcBVIowLD1Sy
DEDICATION
If you want dedication
Just look and see
I’ve got Double dedication
More than you’ll need
I said wait stop.
Take me along across this crosswalk
Take me along
You want dedication
Just let me start
Double dedication
Two times in my heart
I said wait stop.
Take me along across this crosswalk
Take me along
I got more if you need
I got more if you want
I got more of all this love
It’s all that I’ve got
You want dedication
Baby let’s roll
Double dedication
Two times in my soul
Without hesitation
I’m all up to speed
I got double dedication
Let me put you at ease
I said wait stop
Take me along across this crosswalk
Take me along
La da da da da
I got more if you need
I got more if you want
I got more of all this love
It’s all that I’ve got
“Creating this piece was exceptionally fun,” says Taylor. “It was a song
originally written a few years back around 2012 and it was given new life
when I was in the U.K. while doing some shows with these three incredible
musicians. On a whim we decided to jump into a studio in London on our day
off. This is what we recorded and it was truly a remarkable experience that
brought us all closer together.”
Award-winning, 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 five 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. The
nominations and awards kept coming in 2022, with Taylor winning best male
artist in the International Acoustic Music Awards and scoring five Native
American Music Award nominations. In 2023, Taylor received a nomination in
the Country Music Association of Ontario Awards in the Roots Artist of the
Year category, and a further nomination for a JUNO Award in the Contemporary
Indigenous Artist of the Year category.
Taylor 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 12 studio albums since 2001. With his songs have been
placed in such TV shows as “Haven,” “Private Eyes,” “Kim’s Convenience,”
“Degrassi: The Next Generation,” and “Elementary.” He has had an album on
the long list of the Polaris Prize in Canada and has charted on several
Canadian and Indigenous Music Charts. Two songs from The Ridge album, the
title track “The Ridge,” and “Human Race,” went to #1 on the Indigenous
Music Countdown, while the Julian Taylor Band song “Back Again” hit #3 on
the same chart.
Taylor is as explosive and captivating a live performer as you’ll ever see.
He’s toured 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, Summerfolk, Ottawa BluesFest, Winnipeg Folk Festival, and more.
Taylor was extremely honored to perform at not one but two Olympic Games, in
Salt Lake City and Vancouver.
For more information visit: https://juliantaylormusic.ca/