TOBY TAYLOR RELEASES “BIG DAY”, HIS NEW DEBUT SOLO ALBUM British drummer Toby Taylor has released a solo album of his own songs after dedicating much of his career to other bands as a drummer (Jay Kaye Band, Jaime Anglada, Daniel y La Quartet). The album has taken 4 years to complete and has been recorded in three different studios in Mallorca, including his own home studio, finally being mastered by DreamWorks mastering engineer Jose Luis Crespo in Madrid. The album contains 9 tracks of diverse styles in which he displays evocative moods as a composer, singer and instrumentalist, with bitter sweet melodies backed up by a range of different beats, from bossanova to heavy rock rhythms; “Although drumming has been a major part of my musical activity, I really wanted to present listeners to this other secret world of mine – the legacy of other bands I’ve been influenced by like Pink Floyd, Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush and Cocteau Twins - away from mainstream rock and blues.” This melodic rock, at times quirky, draws you into misty landscapes for just enough before bringing you down to earth with powerful backbeats, and orchestral rock. Toby is accompanied on the album by a host of international and local musicians including Molly Duncan (Sax), Toni Pastor (Guitars), Ivonne Ballinas (Vocals) , and Derrick Burrows (Vocals), though he himself shares most of the instrumentation with his co-producer Tolo Servera. Why “Big Day”? “Big Day” is a message of hope for everyone who has dreams they want to fulfil, and is also meant to smash the association of drugs and alcohol with Rock n Roll. Toby is no stranger to the concert hall, having toured all over Spain for 4 years with the chart hitting band “Daniel Y la Quartet”, and appearing regularly with American front man and blues guitarist Jay Kaye, with whom he has performed for over 17 years. Toby was born in 1967, Dorchester, England. At just one year old, his family moved to Mallorca, where he spent much of his childhood, until later attending Worth Abbey, a Benedictine catholic boarding school in England. He began to bash biscuit tins to the music of Jesus Christ Superstar, around the age of 9, until the age of 12, when he got his first drum kit – a Pearl with huge dimensions and no bottom heads. His parents were just thrilled... While studying languages at King's College University in London he became involved in the production of a Rock musical, much in the same vein as J.C.S, and performed as a drummer with the theatre company “Revelation Kicks” at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. After joining a number of British bands and playing in London venues with Subway, a London rock band led by Emanuel Follet, Ken Follet’s son, Toby returned to Mallorca to search for more work as a drummer – the London scene not providing enough continuity for playing live at the time. It was there in Mallorca that he first met Jay Kaye, and took an audition to join the power trio, then formed by Jay, and Dutch bassist Johnny Tevreden. “It was easier to get paid gigs on the island than it had ever been in England, and I was in awe of the Rock that these guys were playing. At that time I was also starting to compose and record my own stuff in various studios on the island, though commitments with bands did not allow me to develop the material until later on. It wasn’t until 2002 that Toby produced his first CD demo “Sending Signals Home” – a home produced album, with vocal help from Ivonne Ballinas,which raised enough interest to later spur on his greater solo project “Big Day”. Toby has toured Spain for many years with various Spanish rock bands and recorded as a session drummer for many artists, but the Jay Kaye Band has been the longest standing group he's worked with. In 1996, the band went different ways and Toby joined a Spanish Rock band, Daniel y la Quartet de Baño Band, which was then touring the mainland at major venues. He recorded 3 CD albums with them and the band released a string of hits onto the Spanish pop chart. After four years of too many bullrings, parties and crazy episodes, Toby took a total break from drumming and concerts for three years. Now, Toby has released a solo album of his own songs in a bid to widen his musical horizons after dedicating much of his career to other bands as a drummer (Jay Kaye Band, Jaime Anglada, Daniel y La Quartet).The album has taken 4 years to complete and has been recorded in three different studios in Mallorca, including his own home studio, finally being mastered by DreamWorks mastering engineer Jose Luis Crespo in Madrid. The album contains 9 tracks of diverse styles in which he displays evocative moods as a composer, singer and instrumentalist, with bitter sweet melodies backed up by a range of different beats, from bossanova to heavy rock rhythms; -“ “Big Day” is not a drummer’s album – some of the songs seemed to benefit more from drum programming to attain the textures I wanted, allowing me to focus on the soundscape I wanted to recreate behind the vocals. Although drumming has been a major part of my musical activity, I really wanted to present listeners to this other secret world of mine – the legacy of other bands I’ve been influenced by like Pink Floyd, Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush and Cocteau Twins - away from mainstream rock and blues.” The songs are varied and at times quirky, drawing you into misty landscapes for just enough before bringing you down to earth with powerful backbeats, and orchestral rock. Toby is accompanied on the album by a host of international and local musicians including Molly Duncan from The Average White Band on sax, Tolo Servera (Guitars), Toni Pastor (Guitars), Ivonne Ballinas (Vocals) , Derrick Burrows (Vocals). The album has been co-produced by Toby and Tolo Servera. Why “Big Day”? “Big Day” as a title for the album seemed suitable for me as it has been a long standing ambition of mine to release my own music. It is also a collection of songs that spans many styles, and, somehow, in the same way a day can be full of surprises from morning till night, the album has its moods spread out – from the first waking bell, to the lights out bell at the end…(hard to cast off the habits from boarding school!…) PRESS REVIEW - THE SPANISH PRESS ON THE RELEASE OF "BIG DAY" BIG DAY; a wink at the symphonic rock of the eighties A musician at forty years old may consider himself to have matured, but in Toby Taylor’s case one is left in no doubt over the matter when listening to his first solo project which has just come to light. Well, we say “solo”, but actually in this new adventure he is accompanied by a handful of colleagues with whom he has managed to pull off a great production. Having previously drummed for such distinguished artists on the islands such as Jaime Anglada, Jay Kaye, and Michele McCain to name but a few, it seems that this British born musician established in Majorca has decided to put his drumsticks to work on his own compositions on an album in which he also presents himself as an interesting vocalist. “Big Day” is a collection of nine, a lot more than just interesting pieces, leaving no holds barred on instruments or effects, culminating in a perfect unison between certain acoustic feels and some outstanding electrical approaches. A well balanced combination which recalls a rock of great instrumental foundation escorted by a symphonic feel clearly inherited from the great bands of the eighties. The tracks are musically complete, void of saturation, very well developed within the overall concept, and are not denied of some gratifying work on the melodic front. Overall, an album that requires special attention and which I hope gets the thumbs up it deserves. FERRAN PEREYRA, ULTIMA HORA NEWSPAPER, MUSIC REVIEW SECTION APRIL 2008