1. Postcard EP (sijis, 2003)
a. ‘Californ Ai Ay’
b. ‘Travelling at the Moment’
c. ‘Paris/London’
d. ‘Moonlight In Arabia’
e. ‘Wish You Were Here’
2. ‘Thames Canon’ on Phonography 4 (Phonography, 2003)
3. ‘Droner’ on Spire:Organ Works Past and Present (Touch, 2004)
4. Leaving Eden (sijis 2004)
a. ‘Leaving Eden’
b. ‘Plumes of Static and Smoke’
c. ‘Coming Home (Coda)’
5. ‘Sweet Dreams’ on Quotidian Assemblages Vol. 2 (Haltapes, 2004)
6. Winter Sunday EP (Conv, net release, April 2004)
a. ‘Sunday Afternoon’
b. ‘Stalking Horse’
c. ‘Vespers’
d. ‘-2 degrees, 6am’
e. ‘A Dawn Frost on Cathedral Spire’
7. ‘Boiler, Pickle Cottage, Dorset’ & ‘Busking Singer, Barcelona’ on Observer Drift (Authorised Version, 2004)
8. ‘Boat Commentary’ on Phonography 6 (Phonography, 2004)
9. ‘Andesite Black’ (Stadtgruen, net release, 2004)
10.Castaway (Conv, Jan 2005)
a. In Terra
b. Nightfall
c. Manhattan 2
d. Paradise Island
e. Cave Dweller
f. Seamount
g. Against All Odds – Rescue
h. Last Orders
11. '412.1920' (with Dale Lloyd) on 'Amalgam' (Conv, August 2005)
12. Please Keep Clear At All Times (w/srmeixner) (Entr'acte, 2006)
a. Kirshner Wind
b. Nothing Falls Into Place
c. The Sound of X
RECENT REVIEWS : http://www.dustedmagazine.com/reviews/1904
SCOTT TAYLOR – Leaving Eden (Sijis)
Scott Taylor is clearly not bothered about pandering to any trends, and on this new three-track he’s created something quite unique. ‘Leaving Eden’ is a quirky masterpiece that sounds like nothing else around and yet has that hypnotic sound etched in to it. High class act.
- Merje Lohmus, Giag Review
· SCOTT TAYLOR :: Leaving Eden (Sijis)
In 43 minutes Scott Taylor’s Leaving Eden examines the sounds of the goings-on in Notre Dame Cathedral (choirs, organs) and through his capture of divisions of light in many European cities. The title track is provocatively delicate as he manipulates and layers these varied sounds to create something akin to the solitude of his very own peaceful Japanese rock garden. Echoing baby voices, the sails of a small boat at sea, the tender whistle of the wind all meld in accord. This is surround-sound filled with the keys in the pocket of a passerby, heeled feet in the rain, and a continuous re-emergence of a grandiose fountain pouring reflective H2O. Leaving Eden is meditational. On the nearly 20-minute “Plumes of Static and Smoke” Taylor opens with the pacing of a man’s feet on a wooden floor, shuffling somewhat anxiously. Once his feet become still a static storm rolls in to the curve of a barely audible pixie-like wooden whistle, drown in and out by the overlapping sounds that dangerously cross water and electricity, the clap of thunder turns to an ocean wave and then into a few piddly raindrops all within less than 30 seconds, edited perfectly together to sound like a stream of consciousness. The sounds of a hacksaw, industry, the imaginary sweat from the workers’ faces, take you through large outdoor spaces to internal fumbling with your desktop mouse. Taylor has truly captured the live sounds in such a way that the brain follows its point of view, playing frequently with the aural depth of field.
- TJ Norris, Igloo Magazine
Scott Taylor 'Leaving Eden' CD (Sijis)
Another great release from the UK based Sijis label. Deep listening collages of super-sweet sound derived mostly from recordings of Sunday masses at Notre Dame Cathedral. Unbearable innocence and joy rubs shoulders with grim reality and the filth of the outside world... very accomplished stuff and well worth the entry price. Recommended again - Campbell Neale, Celebrate PSI Phenomenon
SCOTT TAYLOR - LEAVING EDEN (CDR by Sijis Records)
Scott Taylor presents the follow up to his 'Postcard' release, see also Vital Weekly 387. More so than on 'Postcard' he is working in the areas of field recordings, taking recordings on a 'sunday afternoon mass in Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris and in and around the old Cathedral of Barcelona'. Certainly in the opening piece 'Leaving Eden', this leads to a somewhat sacred sound, of treated voices, whispering their psalms. The second piece, 'Plumes Of Static And Smoke' has a more collage like approach, but at the same time it's a more open piece, employing various sounds, like doors opening and abrupt changes. A big step forward from the previous release. (FdW) - Frans de Waard, Vital Weekly
scott taylor: leaving eden CD
The three tracks on this album are of a very musique concrete nature using a mixture of found sounds and processed samples. The overall atmosphere created in the first track, ‘Leaving Eden, is of a beautifully evocative and colourful journey through a landscape full of water, birds and other environmental sounds. Haunting song reverberates in the background. The music is a simple slow paced amble through a combination of concrete recordings. A shimmering beauty is signified by the ethereal opera singer appearing at different times within the piece and almost sounds like a lost ghostly soul wandering through life. At times during the piece there’s not much happening at all but these moments act as a transition into a new mood of idea. Quite a meditative structure and one for closing the eyes and allowing yourself to drift into another time continuum.
The second track, ‘Plumes of Static and Smoke’, starts with footsteps walking through some building; perhaps a factory and proceeds into a static sounding type of rain with a oscillator changing pitches in the background very subtly. The static noise circles around and gets louder and softer during this process creating a near and far distance effect. At times what you hear through this static could either be the ocean waves crashing or cars travelling on the road through a stormy night. The attempt seems to be to distort rain or storm sounds and in the traditional concrete way to take them out of their context and twist them into something else. The piece progresses back into the factory-type environment with little or no processing applied but is then cut into another delicate electronic world. A true environmental journey through different spaces and atmospheres. This second piece is of a darker mood to the first with some nice effects and static distortion.
The CD is concluded with a short coda titled ‘Coming Home’. It seems to be a mixture of what has gone before with the addition of a voice at the start. The drone harmonies of the first track and the singer are once again united with birds, water and all manner of environmental sounds. A short, sweet gem.
- (JR), Phosphor Magazine
SCOTT TAYLOR - CASTAWAY (CDR by Con.V)
The name Scott Taylor is slowly getting around, through his various releases on Sijis Recordings and Con.V. They have just released a CDR by him. Taylor is a man running around, armed with a microphone... or rather standing still with his microphone. With great care recording the rain pouring down on a reverberating surface. Upon returning home he puts these recordings on his computer and starts to built a collage out of them. Adding a little bit of computer treatments, just a little bit time stretching on a few occassions or the addition of some extra echo and reverb, otherwise he likes to stick the pureness of his recordings. It's not always easy to identify what the sources are, but my best guess is that there are rain, cars passing, restaurant muzak and even an old record spinning somewhere. Just as before Taylor plays the ambient soundscape card, and he does that with great care. Inspired by people like Francisco Lopez (for his obscured soundsources) and Daniel Menche (for his processing), Scott Taylor finds his own little niche in the market. One thing I must get rid off: I hope the title of this CDR was not inspired by the horrible film of the same name. (FdW)
Address: http://www.con-v.org - Vital Weekly, Jan 2005
43 minutes of dark low pressure ambience from Scott Taylor that had already been showcased, before this his first net release on Con-V, on the 2004 "Spire" compilation released by Touch. Taylor uses distant rumbles as a starting point to express his ecological-apocalyptical visions in "Castaway". In this weather scenery Taylor accumulates nightly storm clouds, whose worldly thunder precipitates a heavy storm wrapped in static winds as in the track "Nightfall". However a large part of the CDr is made up of quieter field recordings that in their caution sensitise the subconscious of the listener to oncoming weather fronts. Every now and again one becomes encircled and the use of drones makes the air tense. A CDr with an apocalyptic atmosphere, switching between drizzle and storm clouds.
- Sebastian, De:Bug magazine, April 2005
Employing much the same methodology as Chris Watson and Peter Cusack, Scott Taylor spends his time patrolling sprawling city landscapes and various urban settings, carefully documenting the sounds he finds there with his microphone. But, whereas those aforementioned artists are happy to take a backseat to the environments they record, directing all the focus of attention upon the world’s taken-for-granted natural phenomena, Taylor attempts to leave his personal imprint behind – re-civilizing civilization.
Feeding field recordings into his computer, Taylor builds up dense audio collages, adding echo and reverb to complete the snapshots of sound. As in the work of Francisco Lopez, identifying the source material is not always possible, but the opening two tracks of Castaway seem to place great emphasis on elemental forces, as the timbres of amplified winds and rain ricochet off city infrastructures to create a deep, aggressive drone of Köner-esque proportions. “Nightfall,” in particular, sees Taylor use this natural sound world to create a wall of distortion, a ferocious assault of ear-bending fury. The elements continue to prevail up until two minutes into the third track, “Manhattan.” Featuring extra recordings courtesy of Hidekazu Minami, this piece slowly blossoms into a shimmering thing of tranquil beauty, like an excerpt from one of Fennesz’s most recent albums. Chords seemingly grow from the nucleus of the one preceding it whilst, in the background, the not so musical machinations of industry make for an interesting counterpoint, producing one of this album’s several highlights. As Castaway progresses, the humanistic elements gradually take the ascendancy. Taylor’s re-civilizing ethic begins to predominate. The choral segment of “Against All Odds – Rescue” could be taken from the infamous performance of that loyal band of musicians which remained on board the Titanic as both ship and crew met their watery end. This segues beautifully into the final short piece, “Last Orders.” A junkyard phonograph starts up and the old record’s surface noise almost obliterates the delicately fingered piano as it plays a sad barroom lament before a final, unfinished note is left suspended in mid-air.
By Spencer Grady, Dusted Magazine, April 2005
Winter Sunday reviews
SCOTT TAYLOR - WINTER SUNDAY (MP3 by Conv)
Music by Scott Taylor was reviewed before, in Vital Weekly 387 and 412. This new work, downloadable from the new Conv net label, continues where 'Leaving Eden' left us. Taking field recordings from Barcelona, Paris and London, he crafts five relatively short pieces together, which are all very coherent ambient music. Tracks cross fade in each other and have a majestic feel. The centre piece is 'Vespers', which has processed choir voices. For the first time I could resist thinking that Scott Taylor's music comes closely to that of Hazard. Glacier like soundscapes, derived from field recordings - music from big cities made quiet. Like the two previous releases this is a very short release, way too short I haste to say. For the first time I was thinking: I'm done with the introduction, now present us a full length release. It's about time. (FdW)
- Vital Weekly, April 2004
June 08, 2004
Reviewer: Sebastian (thinnerism.com)
Subject: Sebastian says ...
Scott Taylors "Winter Sunday EP" seems to be recorded in Paris and Barcelona, from what the ID3 Tags say. "Sunday Afternoon" builds up with calm water flowing by and nice cathedral organs. "Stalking Horse" shifts silently concentrated layers upon each other, while "Vesper" is a damped low-fi field recording of church chorals. "2 degrees, 6 am" is a dense field recording of a windy and rainy weather environment, with perfectly arranged background layers.
My personal highlight is the last track though, "A Dawn Frost On Cathedral Spire", with slowly evolving sentimental synth drones - just a perfect moody track. Great work!
