Taylor Abrahamse

"Taylor Abrahamse is truly one of Canada's most original and outstanding artists [that] I have worked with in some time. His sense of melody, lyrics and song structure along with an amazing skill as a performer, will soon be revealed to the general public."

- Eddie Kramer, Grammy-Winning Producer/Engineer
(Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles)

"Taylor has all the talent of some of the worlds mega artists like Michael Jackson, Prince... His range is almost off the audio scale. Seeing him perform is an overwhelming experience." 

- Chris Birkett, Grammy Winning Producer (Sinead O'Connor) 

If you’re singing along to a song you don’t know, and suddenly feeling 10 years younger - you’re probably at a Taylor Abrahamse concert. Like a maple leaf caught in a gust above the Ontario prairies, Taylor blissfully floats between the borders of songwriting with his hook-laden hammerclaw pop, stunning range & on-the-spot improvised songs. A Paul Simon/Jim Carrey crossbreed, he's ready to break the rules with a glint in his eye & a tip of his grandpa's old cap.

Starting as a five-year-old Elvis impersonator at county fairs, at age 6, Taylor vowed to never ‘grow up’ in the typical sense, and to always hold onto a sense of play. At 11, he began songwriting, inspired by listening to CDs in the dark by artists such as like Elton John and Queen, while his imagination painted transcendental music videos in his head. At sixteen, he was a finalist on Canadian Idol, and was regularly playing across Ontario.  

After an impromptu performance at Canadian Music Week, Taylor was contacted by engineering legend Eddie Kramer (Hendrix, The Beatles, Bowie & many more), who in admiration of his writing, insisted on producing his debut album. Released in 2020, his self-titled debut has a musical backdrop true to classic 70’s songwriters, yet feels entirely fresh – exploring his journeys with activism, depression, 21st century dating, and gender identity. Since it’s release, Taylor has opened for & written with Hawksley Workman, become a Kerrville Newfolk Winner, a Mid Atlantic Songwriting Contest finalist, and commenced his first extensive US/Canada tour. Along with official showcases at Folk Alliance International & NERFA, this tour included such stops as the Mariposa Finalist Showcase (Orillia), NXNE (Toronto), Festival Of Friends (Hamilton), Whoop & Hollar (Winnipeg), Festival Cafe (New York), Montgomery Lounge (Ottawa), All Folk'd Up Festival (Saskatchewan), Kerrville Folk Festival (Texas), and many more. 

Along with Bryn Scott-Grimes, Taylor also co-founded a beloved Toronto pro recording studio - Silverthorn Studios. Despite months of relentless work securing millions from investors in a bid to save the studio & detached home from needless demolition, Taylor was no match for a dubious real estate market. In the studio's final couple months after 7 years of operation, Taylor bedtracked a deluge of upcoming music, including many E.Ps, and nearly 100 other original songs for a series of live albums, the first of which was released April 2023. In part, these live albums are helping fundraise for the planned expansion of legendary venue Hugh's Room Live into an arts & community center. If successful in acquiring their dream building, Hugh's Room has agreed to purchase much of the gear & building material that could be salvaged from Silverthorn - and build it back even better with consultation from Taylor & Bryn. Learn more about the live albums here. 

Taylor has also written with such songwriters as The Accidentals, Nice Horse, Pam Sheyne (Christina Aguilera) & Jeff Franzel (Josh Groban), and written musicals & music for other artists & projects seen worldwide including the feature film 'About Fate' starring Emma Roberts, 'Superwish' (Teletoon), and the main theme for ‘Fangbone!’ (Disney XD) - one of many cartoon series in which Taylor plays a lead or supporting character. Taylor also writes, produces & performs original songs for popular Youtube channels, such as the Corus/Treehouse online division & ‘Super Planet Dolan’. These song's respective music videos have over 20 million plays and thousands of music downloads.

Recent Reviews:

"What a megatalent!" - Hawksley Workman, Juno-winning singer/songwriter

"Holy s***. Taylor Abrahamse is the first surprise of the morning. “Hellooooo” he sings powerfully from the stage, immediately stopping in their tracks every person who was about to wander out of the ballroom... From there, we are off on an astonishing showcase of vocal ability and performance chops that are so impressive I almost forget to mention that he is also a mighty impressive guitarist. Taylor is both a singer-songwriter and a voice actor... and it’s abundantly clear that he’s spent a lifetime cultivating a voice that can do literally anything... By the time he plays his third and final song, he’s got the audience engaging in the most enthusiastic sing-along I’ve seen so far here. The music, by the way, is a mixture of acoustic roots and pop styles, not that it matters. This is a classic case of a guy who could captivate you singing the phone book." - Heather Kitching, Roots Music Canada at Folk Music Ontario - Full Post Here.

"Taylor has struck gold somewhere in the funky Neil Young/Randy Newman mountains. While the collection has a foothold in the golden era of songwriting, the subject matter and the way it’s assiduously handled anchor it firmly in the now. A standout debut from a talent that has arrived." - Lenny Stoute, Cashbox Canada - Full post here.

"I am so enamored with this delightful debut album release. Taylor and his team paid attention to every creative detail. You will never get bored of listening to any of the well crafted songs." Full Interview with Makeda Taylor - read it here. 

"Stop by his page to see what real determination and pursuit of one’s dreams at full-force truly looks like – I think we could all learn something about that from Taylor Abrahamse." - Jer @ Sleeping Bag Studios - Full post here.