elijahtaylor.com v4
Bio
Bio Rhythm Soundtrack:
The Beginning: Born 8.13.1980, MI, USA, Earth.
I started playing music before I was allowed in public school. It's been a long road to 2008, and along the way I've deviated slightly, but I always kept coming back to music. This time it's for good.
Mutation
I didn't just sit down one day and decide to start writing music and making CDs. It came from a fascination with sound and the fact that I could manipulate sound with electronic devices. I remember bouncing tape recordings between boom boxes to multi-track my collection of high school band instruments when I was 15. It makes me shudder today at the horrendous sound I put on record, but it changed my life.
Inevitability
Not five years later I was recording digitally, tracking multiple guitars and other instruments for the collection of songs I would later call Jula Eria. It was about that time that I met Michael McNamara. He heard my cd at a local music store and wanted to know who this crazy kid was that was making all this noise on his computer. We met for lunch in early 2001, and my life changed again. Michael gave me confidence in myself; gave me a reason to think it really could go somewhere. I scoured my soul, and reaped Shadow Chaser by the end of 2001.
Refinement
After Shadow Chaser, I was driven even further to create something truly great. The summer of 2002 was a prolific time song-wise, as I completed most of what was to be Life On Rye by August 2002. I sat down panting after it was finished and thought to myself, "how are you ever going to top that?" After all, it was the best-sounding album I had released, and certainly very chewy. Chewy, ripe, detailed... full of little bits and pieces of my philosophies and experiences, just chewy, down to its core.
Changeover
September 2002, I started dating Heather. Life changed again. Things were not so centered on misery and frustration anymore. At the same time, I fell into a drought for songs. After all, if you define yourself through misery and are no longer miserable, what is left? Intent not to let this wonderful section of my life end, I became determined to answer the following question: just what was I thinking?
Perspective
I spent seventeen months studying my mental state, my surroundings, my outlook on everything. What I found was that there was a lot more that was interesting than just pain. New thoughts on all kinds of subjects came to fruition through nineteen new songs. Along with the new outlook on life came a new ambition to create an even more refined expression of art. I bought a bunch of new software and equipment during that time as well to aid my quest. The result was my most crowning achievement at the time, Dissected, and the journey has just begun.
Full-Steam Ahead
I never would have thought when living in my tiny hut 9 years ago that I would have produced six cds by the time I was 25. Storyteller marks a new chapter in songwriting and production for my personal endeavors. I can't express in words how happy I am with how everything has turned out, from the CD itself, to the tie-in merch, the web site, everything.
A Shift in Perspective
I moved to Florida in June 2006, and am now the Web Manager at ASG Software Solutions. Things have changed quite a bit in these last few months! I've recently moved to North Carolina, where I am continuing my musical and other artistic adventures.
How is it possible?
The age of digital multi-track music production was well underway before I even thought of doing it back in 1999. I do basically what the giant studios do, except on an infinitesimally smaller budget, limited equipment, and all by myself, from start to finish. The only instrument I'm not "playing" is the drums. The drum tracks are made up of hundreds of clips and samples from carefully selected libraries created specifically for this purpose. It is not uncommon to have 6-10 tracks of percussion with literally thousands of individually placed hits.
Where to go from here?
Now that you've made it this far, you may be curious to hear what this is all about. You can visit the music section to listen to samples of almost all the songs I have put on record. You can even buy my latest two albums online from CafePress in commercial packaging and everything. (Horray for not hand-making hundreds of CDs anymore...)