A Conversation with Lily Taylor
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Can you elaborate on how your childhood experiences with music influenced the sound and themes of your latest album, AMPHORA?
My childhood experiences were just the beginning of my music journey; I’ve always been drawn to music, performing, production styles, and physical media like records and tapes. My parents had a small record collection, and I was fascinated with listening to the radio. We lived in Boston during my early childhood, so I was exposed to many public concerts, buskers, and cultural events from Western and Eastern traditions, as well as what was being pumped through the college radio station airwaves. I went on to study music at College of Santa Fe in New Mexico in the Contemporary Music Program, after spending time as a teen in Dallas, escaping my house often to spend time bumming around Deep Ellum. I was too young to get into some of the music clubs, but you could hear the music through the brick walls! I felt cool just being there, knowing the historic musical significance of the area. Occasionally, I’d be able to get in, but they would put a big « X » on the back of my hands. My time as a college student in New Mexico, and then later moving to San Francisco, CA to work as a professional musician as well as arts admin for the dance company FACT/SF and the cultural organization, CounterPULSE made a huge impact on my perspective as an artist. One of my professors once told me that, « It is the responsibility of the artist to explore perspectives ». Having grown up between Massachusetts, Texas, New Mexico, and California, I have been able to understand this concept on a deeper cultural level.
You mentioned using looping pedals and keyboards in your music creation process. How do these tools contribute to the unique sonic landscape of your compositions?
I started using looping pedals in 2008. I had just moved to San Francisco with my partner, from New Mexico where we had graduated from art school together. I had sold my piano to get out there, and was using a keyboard that just wasn’t cutting it. I needed to find a way to build my sound for live performances. I acquired some effects pedals and the looping pedal, which allowed me the ability to harmonize with my own voice, as well as build the keyboard parts. This ended up being great mental training for arrangements of the different timbres I was working with, and later production techniques for building a recorded version of the pieces I was creating. On my album, THE RIDE, you can hear how much I relied on the looping pedal to build the songs. On the album AMPHORA, I was in a professional studio setting, giving me the opportunity to deconstruct the songs from the looping pedal, and then re-build them in the studio with the help of producers Black Taffy and Alex Bhore at Elmwood Recording in Oak Cliff.
In your track ‘J&Js,’ you mentioned drawing out a melody through improvisation. How do you balance improvisation with more structured composition elements in your music?
Free improv is a state of consciousness. You have to surrender. There are no wrong notes. There are no wrong chords. This is the exact opposite of composing a pop song, in my opinion, where there is a lot of thoughtful structure building and leaning on traditions and musical contexts like rules of Western music theory. The balance is being able to freely improvise something that I then build upon, pulling the melody out of the textures or timbres of the looped improv, which scales am I hearing, what themes in the lyrics are flowing? Like the shape of an hourglass, the beginning of the process is wide and more open, then there is a narrowing of ideas, then there is a refinement of the ideas leading to the final listening experience, which I hope is more expansive.
The lyrics of ‘J&Js’ reference artists who inspire you. Could you share a bit more about how these artists have influenced your creative process and the themes explored in your music?
In my experiences, I have gained a lot of knowledge from listening and observing – in general. The older I get, the more I realize how many people refuse to take the time to actually slow down and listen to something for longer than 20 seconds, if that. We’ve been trained to not pay attention, honestly.
Many of my songs reference artists and other characters who have inspired me in some way, opened my perceptions, or offered a lending hand of support. I have been to thousands of live shows, and when you’re standing there, listening and soaking in the music from the performer, there is no escaping how that kind of magic can affect you when you’re open to it. It’s a conscious decision to participate in the moment with the music. Songwriting is similar, it’s a conscious decision to write the poetry, to decide on a key or scale, to commit to crafting an idea and taking it from start to finish, and then live performance (the ability to recreate it). Inspiration can come from anywhere, the hard part is solidifying the abstract into something sonically tangible.
Your music video for ‘J&Js’ was directed by Sean Miller. How did the visual component enhance the storytelling and atmosphere of the song?
The track « J&Js » has a dream-like quality to it, and I knew that the aesthetic in which video artist Sean Miller has explored in the past would be a good pairing visually with the song. Miller has made music videos for musicians Black Taffy, Survive, Ethereal and the Queer Show, among others, (all acts we have enjoyed live). He has also made immersive installations building sculptural structures for his video projections. We hoped to make something dream-invoking, reality-bending, and a little unexpected, which I feel we did! I especially enjoy the face-melting in the video.
The concept of duality, time, and introspection runs throughout your album. How do you explore these themes musically and lyrically?
The theme of duality is explored in lyrics as well as my vocal range, using both my « head » and « chest » voice, thinking about my voice not only as the lead vocal part, but also as an instrument. In my early vocal training I was told falsehoods about singing techniques, for example, « never sing in your chest voice, it will damage your voice », which is ridiculous. Why would I not use the full extent of my vocal capability, especially if I am training my voice so extensively? My range is my full range, both high and low as part of the same voice. We don’t tell pianists to ignore their left hand. As I learned more vocal styles and began studying music from all over the world, I realized the silliness of much of my classical training. Balancing dual ideas is about exploration of said ideas, and that takes introspection. Why are we making the choices we make, artistically or not? How can I be aware of these dualities and my consciousness of dual issues existing in the same moment? What is the spectrum that the dueling ideas exist on? Is it broader than I first imagined? These ideas are explored over a span of time, developing, morphing, growing, with each lived experience. So, I felt it only natural to use these themes, of duality, introspection, and time on my latest album.
You described yourself as a « musician’s musician. » How does this perception of your work influence your approach to creating music and engaging with your audience?
More than once, I have been described as a « musician’s musician ». The focus of my music is the music itself. I’m not really all that interested in writing comercial pop music right now, there are robots that can do that sort of thing. I want to create art with sound using the context of my broad understanding of what music can be across the world, while staying true to my own creative expression and perspectives. This is the main reason why I created my own label to release my last album. I own my publishing as well. Luckily, the music communities I have been involved in have embraced the record and my music journey, inviting me to perform, purchasing the record/ tapes, and playing my tracks on their platforms.
As someone who studied contemporary music and has been involved in various ensembles and projects, how do you navigate the balance between experimentation and accessibility in your compositions?
The song tells you! There is a push and pull of free improv and song study, and then attempting to create something new. My process is about performing ideas several times before creating a recorded version of the pieces. Within the contexts of ensembles, I utilize different talents from my tool box, so to speak, to use when the moment is right, in collaboration with fellow musicians. Different ensembles require different approaches and techniques, depending on the circumstances.
Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios in Denton, Texas holds a special place in your heart. Could you share a memorable experience you’ve had either performing or attending a concert there?
This year, I was invited to be a featured musician for the Thin Line Festival that takes place all over Denton, TX, annually. I got to perform on the main stage at Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios with an incredible line up of talent, including Lydia Lunch and a viewing of her film created with Jasmine Hirst, « Artists: Depression, Anxiety, and Rage ». The importance of RGRS can not be overstated. It is a hub of culture; I feel honored to be able to perform there. The door people, the sound techs, the bartenders, the promoters, bookers, musicians, and attendees all create the ecosystem together.
The title of your album, AMPHORA, is quite evocative. How does the metaphor of the ancient vessel relate to your experiences as a musician and the journey reflected in your music?
AMPHORA takes its name from the Ancient Greek vessel, which served as a container for precious liquids. In this case, I am the vessel, delivering a musical experience that is both powerful and delicate in nature. The themes of duality, time, and introspection run throughout the album, creating a deeply personal and introspective atmosphere. The album AMPHORA is a collection of songs, many I performed for years before creating the studio version. The process, the songs, and my experiences have been fluid and precious, so the name seemed fitting on many levels.
Thank you for this opportunity to discuss my album and perspectives more, Lily Taylor www.lilytaylormusic.com