Here’s the second episode, this time with Benedict Taylor. Whilst chatting over coffee we talk academic training, crossovers between visual and sonic art, the birth of language, and the importance of chatting over coffee in making great music. Thanks Benedict!

We held the discussion on a bustling summer afternoon on the sidewalk outside Café Oto in London, so there’s a lot of extraneous noises and sounds of vehicles, roadworks and people chatting right next to us. Although this only came about due to bad planning on my part, I actually think the end result is pretty cool. I should apologize though for the wind buffeting every so often, it’s not the most comfortable sound but I couldn’t do anything much about that with all the plugins in the world.

Other than that, enjoy!

Tracklist:

1. “Reliefs”, DARK VOICES (CRAM Record No. 4)
   Lawrence Upton & Benedict Taylor                           https://cramrecords.bandcamp.com/album/dark-voices
2. “3 Caged Guerillas”, Caged Guerillas, Benedict Taylor https://subverten.bandcamp.com/album/caged-guerrillas
3. “Hidden Bomba”, Hidden Bomba, Chris Cundy & Benedict Taylor https://linearobsessional.bandcamp.com/album/hidden-bomba
4. “Sol”, Solstice, Benedict Taylor
5. “Solstitium”, Solstice, Benedict Taylor           https://nachtstuckrecords.bandcamp.com/album/benedict-taylor-solstice

Benedict Taylor is a solo violist & composer. He is a leading figure within the area of contemporary string performance, at the forefront of the British & European new and improvised music scene. He performs, records & composes internationally, featuring in many leading venues and festivals including: Cafe Oto, Jazz en Nord France, Royal Court Theatre, The Vortex, Ronnie Scott’s, BBC Arts Online, BBC Radio 3 & 2, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, London Contemporary Music Festival, Aldeburgh Festival, Cantiere D’Arte di Montepulciano, Edinburgh Fringe, CRAM Festival, The Barbican, Royal Albert Hall, Southbank Centre, ICA London, Radio Libertaire Paris, Resonance FM London. As an improviser, he has worked with Evan Parker, Terry Day, Keith Tippett, Wadada Leo Smith, Alex Ward, Renee Baker, Steve Beresford, Angharad Davies, Hannah Marshall, Phil Minton, Pat Thomas, Tetsu Saito, Gianni Mimmo, Veryan Weston, Sylvia Hallett, Dirk Serries amongst others. He is involved with a number of higher education institutions, giving lectures in performance, improvisation & composition at the Royal College of Music, City University of London, Goldsmiths College, Royal Holloway College London. He is the founder / director of CRAM, a music collective and independent label.