I want to take you back to Wednesday 21st November. I had the pleasure of sitting in the company of the Minchington / Madge family, listening to the haunting voice of their daughter, Taya Minchington. Be sure you are listening to her brand new EP, Dragon’s Eyes, as you read on, and delve into the EP further. You’ll be hypnotised by the beautifully ambient tracks that she has written for this excellent debut.
“Dragons Eyes” is the title track of the EP, and is used as a metaphor for destructive revenge, playing on the imagery of a terrifying look, from somebody consumed by vengeance. The artwork for this EP depicts this with an image of a Dragonís glaring eye. Taya tells us this is her favourite track to play live, and that she created the artwork herself, using a free online program, showing us she’s not only a talented songwriter but a brilliant artist too. Weíre told it took around 12 hours on her graphics tablet- which is, in fact, longer than the 8 hours recording time she spent with Matt Black at Hangover Hill Recording Studio. From her first experience of recording, Taya has gained a real insight which she feels will help her with future studio time.
Other songs on this EP tell tales of unrequited love, holiday romance and sticking by good friends. Track 2, “Yearning” is a track Taya is particularly proud of upon listening back. She inspired me with her writing technique on this one; telling us how she imagined a wild, dark forest, fitting the fairy tale like theme, and that the chords of the song, which are finger picked in her signature fashion, were built around how she felt with this image in mind. It’s quite a contrast from Track 3, “Palm Tree Love” is the most upbeat on the album. Track 4 continues with the theme of break up, with “Breaking News”, a story about an inability to come to terms with the fact a relationship is over, using more fairy tale metaphors incredibly cleverly, before concluding with Track 5: “Taste The Rain” wraps up the EP with a heartfelt testimony to her closest friend.
There are multiple influences from her eclectic taste, one artist mentioned being Billie Eilish. I also hear elements of Lana Del Ray, and London Grammar. The songs flow soulfully together in line with Taya’s ambition to “try different things, that cohesively fit together” without them all “fitting in one box”, meaning we get to hear her variation.
Seeing Taya live is an even greater experience and you can catch her at the Official EP Launch this Monday, December 17th, with a great line up of supporting artists. We hope to see you there….
Links
http://www.tayaminchington.com
https://www.facebook.com/TayaMinchingtonMusic
Words by Guest Reviewer James Haynes.
