Q&A: Taylor Roche

Christchurch born artist Taylor Roche continues to create the dreamy, upbeat pop vibes that we’re craving with his latest single “Never Like That”.

Having just arrived back in Auckland, he tells us his highlights from travelling & performing overseas, the concept of his new track, his biggest lessons learnt during lockdown, and what he loves most about being back in NZ.

How did you get into making music & when did you know you wanted to pursue it as a career?

When I was about 7, I picked up one of those old ‘Now That’s What I Call Music’ albums & became obsessed with a song on there called ‘Incomplete’ by The Backstreet Boys. I entered a school talent quest with that song, butchered it and then came off stage with the biggest grin a 7 year old could have - I knew that was my dream, to be on stage and sing. That dream has never changed and lucky for me, the last 2 years I’ve been doing it full time and actually earning money from it which is always the bonus as a new artist haha.

Who are your biggest inspirations in music?

I was brought up listening to the Australian band ‘INXS’ and I always watch videos of the lead singer Michael Hutchence performing which I’ve always found quite mesmerising how he just moves on stage like seducing every single person in the audience. To have that kind of stage presence where you have your audience in the palm of your hand is a huge talent and is not something that just comes with being an artist. I find it super inspiring because when I’m on stage, I want people to watch & feel me perform, not just watch me sing. 

My modern day inspirations would be The Weeknd and Bazzi because I love how they mix pop with hip-hop and old 80’s analogue sounds - it’s just such a unique and dynamic vibe I’m super into right now.

Tell us a little bit about your writing process - always the same or different each time?

I don’t really have a process to be honest - every song is super different. Some songs I’ll write and make a rough demo within a couple of hours, others I’ll take days maybe even weeks to complete. I’m super critical of my music too so I have a bad habit of coming back to a song and changing it haha. I always come up with random sentences or phrases that I might hear someone else say and I’ll think “yo, that would be a cool lyric” and type it into my notes on my phone. So I basically have a huge memo on my phone full of random phrases and feelings which I often scroll through for inspiration.

We’re loving your new single “Never Like That”! Tell us a bit about it and how you drew inspiration for this concept?

Thank you! Well the first early demo of this track started last year while I was travelling with my band on a ship out of Mexico. It was 1am and we had just finished a pretty late set and I was back in my cabin. Prior to the set, I had fallen out of a relationship and I just started writing down feelings and thoughts on my notebook. The first idea that came out was the repetition of the phrase “you were never like that” and the rest of the song stemmed from that. It’s just about 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. That got real deep real fast haha.

As you mentioned, you were travelling the world performing on cruise ships before lockdown hit! What’s been your most memorable experience from that?

Damn it’s such a cool lifestyle; travelling the world performing with friends and getting paid to do it. Whatta dream. In general the most memorable thing I take away from that gig is the people you get to work with; my band is made up of people from Poland, Italy, Mexico, America, Portugal, Brazil, Venezuela Argentina and then obviously me … These are people I never would’ve met in my lifetime and they’re some of the best musicians under the sun. Also, we were locked down on the cruise ship in Cape Canaveral for 3 weeks before I flew home and that was a once in a lifetime experience -  being stuck on a massive empty ship while the world went into crisis. With no passengers to play to, we spent most of our nights just getting drunk and jamming haha.

How was the lockdown for you and what’s one of the biggest lessons you learnt during that time?

Lockdown was kinda depressing for me in a way to be honest. At the start I had a really bad perspective on it all because I was meant to be over in Florida until July travelling with my band. But I was obviously sent home early, stuck in a hotel for 14 days and then back in my room in Christchurch - I just really got into my own head. I think for me I learnt that perspective is a huge thing. I spent most of lockdown focusing on the fact that I was still meant to be with my band in The States that I just lost sight of all the good going on over here. I pulled myself together after a couple of weeks, got back into a creative mode and was able to start planning this next release which was really exciting. The fact we can travel in New Zealand, release music and perform live with no huge set backs of the current crisis compared to the rest of the world, makes New Zealand the place to be right now ... we’re super lucky.

What are some of your favourite NZ artists right now? Are there any songs in particular that you love or connect with?

Oh man so many dope artists coming out of NZ right now! I’m a huge fan of Drax Project, BENEE (her stripped back version of ‘Supalonely’ is dreamy), Robinson, LA WOMEN, and Ashley Alexander. I especially love PRINS and her song “Magnetic” and ASHY’s track “Ego” - both are also Christchurch artists which is super rewarding seeing them killing it right now. I also recently saw this new House duo called Samson Live perform here in Auckland and they were pretty wicked - looking forward to their debut track soon. My list could go on really haha.

What do you love most about living in New Zealand? Do you have any favourite places to travel to or local spots to visit?

For me, the best thing about New Zealand is the ability to jump in a car, drive about an hour out of your city and suddenly you’re surrounded by some of the most beautiful scenery there is (maybe 2 hours if you’re driving in Auckland rush hour hah). Compared to other countries where you’d have to fly or drive for miles on end; for the most part for us, it’s super accessible. I used to go on absolutely bangin’ family holidays as a kid to a small township called Otematata down in central Otago - the weather is absolutely pearla over the summer and the views driving there from Christchurch are insane. 

What are some of the main things you’ve learnt over the process of writing & recording your own music, and what advice do you have for new artists out there?

To trust and be patient with your own process. There are so many artists in this industry all with similar goals, but we’re all on our individual paths which is going to be different for everyone. So yeah, be patient, don’t stop learning & trust your in your process.

What’s next for you?

More music! I have a few exciting projects coming up and I’ve had a lot of time this year to be able to plan it out. I’m also in the stages of putting together a live show as well which will be super exciting to perform these tracks live!

Make sure to keep up with Taylor on Instagram (@_taylorroche), Facebook, Spotify and Apple Music!