17 Nov 2023
A lot has changed for one St Albans musician since the days of being dropped off by his parents to sing as a chorister at the Abbey although Mat Taylor maintains that it was that musical education that has led to him finally releasing his own album.
Graphic designer Mat has written, arranged, recorded and produced Pushing Against The Tide which was released last month on Bandcamp and he cannot wait for people to hear the accumulation of decades of hard work.
On songwriting Mat said: “A lot of it is semi-autobiographical because it’s stuff that inspires me or is a way of working through my emotions.
“They are not necessarily exactly as it is. Because these songs are a collection from over the years sometimes now – as a happily married man – I have to write about other people’s heartache instead,” he mused.
He explained that being settled into family life is less tumultuous than days gone by and sometimes it’s the pain that makes for a good song, a sentiment shared by many great musicians over the years.
Becoming a dad to Lena-May, now six, also changed things a little: “Her being born put a stop to all my musical inspirations really due to being so tired and the song was a bit of a kick-start into reinvigorating my passion for creating this album.”
Mat is talking about a track he was inspired to write for his daughter of the same name. He said: “It is super-important to me to be able to find time to do music.
“As a creative person I found it very frustrating over the first few years not to have the mental or physical energy, time or headspace to be able to indulge my creative passions. Obviously, the birth of a child is an enormous and incredible thing, and I figured I would pick it up again one day.
“My song ‘Lena-May’ was written almost entirely in my head! I was so pleased that the imagined arrangements all worked when I finally found the time to sit and sketch it all out at the computer.”
Mat, 52, grew up in the city and went to Verulam School. His family moved from Wheathamstead when he was little so that he could live nearer the Cathedral where he was a choirboy for six years.
He said that the choir boy experience – singing daily for six years, spending a year learning how to sing and studying music theory – really gave me a superb grounding for the music that was to follow:
“Without being part of the Abbey Choir, I wouldn’t be the musician I am now. It was my entire musical education.”
It was at Verulam where he then discovered the drums. He said: “I was down The Horn using the school drum kit to perform before I was probably allowed to be in The Horn and certainly before I was allowed to drink in there.”
You may even remember Mat from his success in the band Curvy Nature. Curvy Nature won The Horn’s Battle of the Bands competition in 1999 and the prize was to record a demo album. They went on to do that and played at other venues like The Pineapple and The Mermaid before breaking into the London scene.
He added: “After Curvy, I realised that I was not a bad songwriter and concentrated on doing my own solo stuff. I love it but it can be lonely and I kept getting side-tracked with other projects. I thought ’I must finish this off – I’m not getting any younger’ – and so that is what I did.”
Mat went on to expand on the loneliness that being a musician can bring. He said that going it alone after being part of a choir or a band led him to gravitate towards more collaborative projects.
This album gave Mat the opportunity to work with some close friends and even his wife.
Guest spots include other St Albans musicians such as guitarist Darren Hudson and Dom Pusey on saxophone, guitarist and singer Christian Taylor, guitarist and singer-songwriter Richard Hignett and bassist Simon Upstone. His wife, Jo Walker, designed the cover of the album.
So what else has influenced the album other than parts of Mat’s life? He said: “I’m writing music that I would want to listen to. I grew up in the ‘70s and’ 80s and you can definitely
hear that in the music. I describe it broadly as soulful pop with hints of jazz and blues, a touch of melancholy and the faint whiff of smoky ‘70s America!
“I’ve had loads of great feedback from it and loads of listens. It means a lot that it’s out there and being heard.”
Reflecting on what this album means to him he said: “I think it’s really important to pick your passions back up again if you’ve had to stop.
“That’s why I found the motivation to finally complete the album. So my advice to anyone who’s experiencing the same frustration is just to go with the flow. It is intense and you have to give it your all, but it’s important to know that if things get in the way for a while, it might only be temporary.
“Also these big life events can be a source of artistic inspiration – just do what you can when inspiration hits (and if it doesn’t, don’t worry) and know that there will come a time when you can pick it back up and carry on.”
Mat said he feels fortunate to live here: “As a dad in St Albans there are plenty of parents clubs and things, but actually my greatest pleasure is taking my daughter to the Fleetville Larder or Toast café and enjoying a coffee and a babyccino together. The fact there’s loads of parks is great, and it was a godsend during the pandemic – the Alban Way is great for a family bike ride.”
The album is available to stream or download for free on bandcamp at: mattaylor.bandcamp.com
