“I discovered open tunings on the electric because of The Rolling Stones and Keith Richards. It opened up a whole new palette”: Meet Julian Taylor, the Canadian musical encyclopedia who plays a custom Tele called the ‘Barncaster’

Toronto based singer-songwriter and guitarist Julian Taylor has been making high-quality music for many years, his sound bringing in R&B, folk, country and soul influences.

But it’s only really been since 2020’s The Ridge, an album that also focused on pan-Canadian roots music in part, that his momentum has gathered. Since then we’ve had Beyond The Reservoir in 2022 and now Pathways, another excellently crafted set of songs.

This attention seems overdue. “My first official record came out in 2000,” he tells us. “And before that there was an EP in ’97, but I was a kid back then.”

Making the Move

Julian has been playing music since the age of four and comes from a family of storytellers, so it feels apt that this is the right path for him. But why the guitar?

“I started playing my cousin’s classical guitar first and what grabbed me was it’s an instrument I can move around with,” he explains. “The songs were bad back then – who’s to say they’re good now? – but I liked going to people’s homes and playing for them. I liked showing off what I’d been learning because I was self-taught.”

Julian Taylor Band Just A Little Bit [Official Video] - YouTube

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The Players

When it comes to significant guitarists along the way who influenced Julian, he looked to both the acoustic and electric scenes.

“Bob Dylan was a huge influence,” he says immediately. “Also Richie Havens’ style on the acoustic; when I saw that Woodstock video I was blown away, it was super-cool. James Taylor was an influence, too, when it came to fingerpicking, and Robert Johnson was a big one. And then my grandmother bought me an electric guitar – and it was blues music I was listening to then, guys like Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee.

“But I also discovered open tunings on the electric because of The Rolling Stones and Keith Richards, and the slide playing of Elmore James. It opened up a whole new palette.”

Julian’s Jukebox

Julian Taylor (Feat. Allison Russell) Pathways [Official Video] - YouTube

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It quickly becomes clear that Julian’s musical knowledge is very broad, but then it would need to be since he hosts a three-hour radio show every week, entitled Julian Taylor’s Jukebox.

“Yeah, it’s long!” he laughs. “I spend a lot of time researching music and the reason I got into music in the first place was because I’m a fan. My favourite thing in the world is to be side- or backstage watching people I admire on stage because I’m lucky enough to be put on the bill. So I talk to a lot of people and I guess I’ve been an encyclopaedia of music knowledge for the last 30 years.”

Holding Back

Pathways exemplifies Julian’s far-reaching tastes, covering the sounds of folk, blues, country and rock.

“I wanted to work with Colin Linden, who is a producer and guitar virtuoso,” Julian tells us. “So I wasn’t in the driver’s seat this time and I had to let go a bit. It’s a very sparse record compared with the others; Colin really wanted to make sure my voice was front and centre.

“There are still a lot of instruments on there and it’s the first time the guitar takes a more instrumental lead role, which is great. So it’s not as busy and he tried to coach me to edit myself and take a ‘less is more’ approach. It was difficult at first, but as time was trucking along I became used to it and it became a more comfortable space to be in. It was a lovely lesson to learn.”

The Barncaster: Julian talks us through his custom pride and joy

Julian has a few guitars that are close to him, including the American Strat his grandmother bought for him, plus a Martin D-28 for live work. But it’s a more unusual one that he first mentions.

“I have a custom electric guitar called a ‘Barncaster’,” he tells us. “It looks like a Tele, but it’s not. My friend Alastair Miller is a luthier down here [in Toronto] and my friends commissioned him to make this custom guitar. It’s a one of a kind: it has a lipstick pickup and a Charlie Christian pickup, and I love it.

“And for amps, most of the time I use Fender; I like the Twin and Blues Junior. I also like Vox amps – I have a tiny eight-watt Vox that I run with the Blues Junior.”

• Pathways is out now via Aporia.