Exciting new pop artist from Auckland, New Zealand, Taylor Roche has just released his new single 'Never Like That'.
Gearing up to release a number of projects, we thought now would be a great time to speak to Taylor as part of our Get To Know series...
Hello! Welcome to The Lowdown! Introduce yourself and tell us something interesting about you!
"Hey guys! Thanks for having me! My name is Taylor Roche and I’m a pop artist from New
Zealand! Most interesting thing about me would probably be that I travel with a band in America
and perform on cruise lines, all while spending late hours of the night writing and recording a
catalogue of ideas and demos, working via the internet with my Auckland-based producer
(shout out to Sam Jones). When I get back, we basically flesh out the ideas created and
re-record them at our studio in Auckland and start to structure the release!"
When did you start your musical journey?
"It all began when I was about 7 years old; I got my hands on this Pop mashup CD and there
was a track on there called ’Incomplete’ by the Backstreet Boys...I was obsessed. I entered a
talent show on the back of this big truck at my school fair later that year, sung along to the
Backstreet Boys, butchered it and walked off stage feeling like a true king and I guess that was
the moment I knew that I never wanted to lose that feeling."
How would you sum up your sound in the form of a hashtag?
"#PopmeetsBalladmeetsMinimalisticPopmeetsSynthPop ...I think I’d just need a pretty oversized
hashtag cause my sound has sooo many influences within the Pop spectrum - I can never really
pinpoint exactly where it sits, but I like where it’s going anyway haha."
Are there any artists who have influenced your sound or inspire you?
Yeah there’s a tonne of artists! I really love that minimalist Pop sound which Conan Gray and
Billie Eilish use really effectively. It’s basically where the song track is stripped back to give the
vocals heaps of head room and intimacy which tunes listeners more into the journey of the song
- you can kinda hear that influence in ‘Never Like That’ where the production in the verses was
kept to a minimum. I’m a huge fan of the band LANY as well, especially their album ‘Malibu
Nights’ - I just love how heartbreak is so centered around that album but it’s fully wrapped up in
beautiful lyrics and analogue synths...just has such an aesthetic and punchy vibe. In the past
couple of years I’ve also been heavily influenced by that Pop/Hip-Hop crossover sound. Bazzi
and The Weeknd are a couple of my favourite artists that blend these genres effortlessly and it’s
definitely a sound that has influenced a lot of my recent creations in the studio."
What’s your favourite thing to do when you’re not making music?
"This sounds kinda lame but I’m a huge fan of going to cafes and just spending a morning drinking coffee and writing, it’s where quite a lot of my ideas start really. Also a big fan of
sleeping hah."
What’s been the stand out moment for you so far?
"I remember last year, it was the first night playing with my band in America; we were on a ship
sailing out of New Orleans and were performing a massive set to a super electric audience. We
finished the night off with a tribute to Prince, performing the iconic ‘Purple Rain.’ Right as I did
this high vocal run at the end, the whole venue had their phones in the air with flashlights on
and a group in front of me just started hurling notes of cash at me....it was such a rockstar
moment haha and it was my first time performing to an American audience which was a wicked
feeling!"
Your new single ‘Never Like That’ was released earlier last month! How has the reaction been so far?
"It’s doing really well! I was actually super anxious leading up to the release because parts of
New Zealand went back into lockdown the day it went live, so it probably wasn’t the best timing
to release haha. But since then it’s gained heaps of traction online through blogs and the past
few days I’ve just learnt that it’s been added to rotation on a bunch of radio stations across
Australia and a couple in the US which is super exciting."
Tell us a little about it! Is there a story behind the track?
"So the song explores the concept of how some people can completely change their personality and surround themselves with people they once never associated with, as a form of escape from the pain they feel inside after falling out with someone they once/still loved. The first demo came about last year in the middle of a gig I was doing with my band in America - we were sailing on a ship around Mexico and had just finished a late set. I had fallen out of a relationship just prior to that set and I remember just being alone in my cabin afterwards and it was like 1am; I had my mic, keyboard and computer setup, so I just started writing down feelings and recording ideas and yeah, that’s where the initial rough demo of ‘Never Like That’ started!"
Hailing from New Zealand, what is the music scene like over there?
"We’ve got quite a community over here in our wee corner of the world! We’re obviously a small
country but there’s some insane artists coming out of New Zealand right now; probably the most
recently recognisable act being BENEE - she’s done an incredible job breaking into the
international market but has also been a huge example to the high level of quality artists we
have here in the NZ music industry right now."
What are your plans for the rest of the year and into 2021?
"At the moment I’ve just finished up my next single to follow up from ‘Never Like That’ which has
quite a new sound for me and I’m really excited to share! I’ve also been working on a band
project in Auckland with some insanely talented New Zealand musicians. Plus I’ve started
planning out my live material! Performing on stage with bands has been my full time job for the
past couple of years and has taken me all over the world, so to be able to put together and plan
sets and show of my own music, is such a rewarding feeling."
Listen to 'Never Like That' HERE Instagram: @_taylorroche