Philadelphia soul songstress Taylor Kelly is back with her sensual new single, “Take Me,” which officially drops tomorrow, May 17th. The alluring and soulful track is the lead single from her upcoming EP, The Spins, due out July 19th.
Along with several other tracks, Taylor with an accompanying 9-piece band performed “Take Me” in a Live Session last year for Philly NPR affiliate WXPN, showcasing her performance chops and offering an enticing preview of what’s to come.
“Why don’t you take me away? / God knows I need a break / Maybe we’ll go to Mars / Just a little escape,” Kelly sings with her easygoing, breathy vocals, reminiscent of Erykah Badu.
A seasoned artist with six albums under her belt, Kelly has had numerous opportunities to play with genre and lyric to create her unique sound, and with this single and EP on the horizon, she focuses on meshing simplistic yet resonating lyrics and soulful sounds.
We got to chat with Kelly to learn more about her musical trajectory, her experience on WXPN, upcoming releases, and more.
How’s the year treated you so far? Any notable highlights?
Every year I panic and wonder how it’s gonna play out and every year I’m surprised. This year in particular has been quite good to me, and I think it’s because I realized I just want to enjoy my life and spend time with the people I love.
A few notable highlights have been taking a trip to Puerto Rico with my partner, traveling to Santa Cruz to spend time with my dad and all his siblings for my uncle’s 60th birthday, and then making my way to Los Angeles for a week to play a few shows with my very good pal Logan (and spending time with friends that mean a whole lot to me that I never get to see). A week after getting back to LA, I got to open for Dirty Loops and that was really just the icing on the cake. I have a feeling there’s many more notable highlights to come…
You’ve created a very specific “dark fantasy” world for your upcoming EP, The Spins. Was there a worldbuilding or concept process involved with other songs or collections of yours? Is the vibe typically what takes the reins when you’re making music?
I think “Take Me” in particular is very sonically dark, but I do think regardless of the feel of the other songs, the content is altogether quite dark, and that’s just because of what I was going through and feeling while writing them. My mental health was at an all-time low with my OCD coming to a head, and these songs were a release for me – to put my intrusive thoughts anywhere else than just inside my head.
I guess you could say it’s the feeling that drives the songs for me when writing but I typically find it’s important to really articulate myself lyrically. However, while the other songs are a little bit more lyrically forward, with “Take Me”, I really just wanted to escape into this world that my feelings were taking me and it was healing for me to build the song off of that and not think too much about what I was trying to say.
Can you talk about your live performance of “Take Me” at WXPN in Philly? What was that experience like for you and the band?
It was truly so cool to get in the studio and record mostly all brand new, unreleased songs with a full 9-piece band. I don’t get a chance to hear my songs in that way too often, so it’s really a joy and a privilege to hear my ideas that fully. I love everybody I play music with and being able to feed off of each other’s energy and joy and passion is one of the greatest feelings. “Take Me” is one of the most exciting songs I get to play live, and it’s kind of taken on a life of its own that actually sounds quite different than the studio version. I like that I can change things up and bring a different spin to my songs in a live setting, and it’s really cool that that’s been immortalized (unless of course the Internet crashes or the world ends).
What are some unique aspects of the Philadelphia music scene that influenced or inspired the making of The Spins or your artistry as a whole?
I draw a lot of inspiration from the people I spend time with, the music they’re making, the things they do or the things they make me feel – so there’s no doubt that that’s prevalent in my music. I don’t think it’s conscious how the Philly music scene has influenced me, but it’s really cool when someone hears me and tells me I have “the Philadelphia sound.” It’s really amazing how we can absorb so much and have those things, sounds or experiences subconsciously seep into the music we make. I think it’s a testament to how strong and impactful the Philly music scene is, and I’m really grateful to be here.
You have a very unique voice and singing style. Did any artists or mentors in particular help you find your voice?
My singing journey has been a long and winding road. I started off taking classical voice lessons while also being in lots of musicals and different choirs growing up, and I used to think the versatility in my voice was a curse. I just wanted to be able to fit in a box so I knew what path I should take as a vocalist beyond high school.
Fast-forward to getting the opportunity to sing jazz in my HS jazz band my senior year (where I typically played trumpet), and I realized I wanted to sing jazz. My band director Gary Samulski showed me a fellow GAHS graduate that went on to Berklee and then became a really successful jazz vocalist and the first time I got an ear on her voice, I finally felt I belonged somewhere. We had the same vocal and music education and I could actually hear my voice in hers and the fact that she was singing jazz (and doing it for a living!) was so motivating to to me. Her name is Robin McKelle and we’ve since built a relationship and she’s done so much for me in terms of believing in myself.
I wouldn’t classify myself as a jazz singer so much anymore, and I think the artists that really have helped my sound evolve over the years in terms of my writing and singing are Stevie Wonder, Erykah Badu, Emily King and Hiatus Kaiyote to name a few.
The horns are such a great touch to the song. Do they make a prominent appearance on the rest of The Spins? What made you want to include them?
Thank you. 🙂 There aren’t horns on all the tracks, but you will hear them on a couple others! I am a lot of things – a vocalist, a songwriter, a trumpet player, an arranger and I really wanted to show all of that. I’ve really grown a lot musically since past records, and this is the first project I’ve arranged all of the horn (and string parts) all on my own. It feels good. Trumpet was my first instrument, and it was really important to me to capture all of my voices on this record. These songs are raw and vulnerable and joy and pain and love and sorrow. They’re truly me bearing all.
You kept the lyrics for “Take Me” simple intentionally in order to let the instruments shine. Do you ever encounter difficulties balancing the lyrical quality of songs with instrumental complexity? Does one usually take precedent over the other for you?
I think everything happens in an order that allows the balance to happen naturally. For instance, I almost always start out with a chord progression before adding a melody and lyrics and I think that way, I’m able to fit something lyrically to what’s happening musically. Once I have that fleshed out, I can see where there are moments where I want to add texture and color – and that’s when the instrumental parts come in. I think as a vocalist, I have a real advantage when it comes to writing horn parts because I’m thinking like a singer and trying to keep things simple and really only do what’s going to highlight the song in a way that empowers the melody. For me, horns are just background vocals. What can you add to support the melody and really make it pop?
What are one or two pinnacle moments for you as an artist?
Every time I write a song after I could’ve sworn the last one I wrote was my last.
What might you have in store post-EP release? Any touring etc.?
Yes, I am solidifying some tour dates as we speak and am excited to return to some of my favorite cities. I have an EP release show booked in Philadelphia at Johnny Brenda’s on July 28th, and we’ll be playing some shows leading up to that show as well as some in the month of August. I haven’t announced any quite yet but keep your eyes peeled and check my website at the end of the month to see if I’m playing in a city near you!
