Norwich singer-songwriter Andrew Taylor's material covers such subjects as Bush hiding Bin Laden on the moon, police states and the nature of (non) reality. "I am a little bit political now and then, but I draw a lot on nature too, " he said. "I like to put bees, trees and ducks and stuff into songs but in a surreal kind of way." While his guitar playing is much more than a strum. "If you're up there on your own you need loads of melody, so I really give it some on the guitar," he explained. Local gigs Andrew plays at various venues in Norwich including The Alibi, The Wildman and Wensum Lodge's Black Cat Music Club on Fridays. His tunes are often folky like Nick Drake but with a sense of pop and melody that other songwriters don't seem to use. “I don't really listen to folk music, occasionally a bit of The Dubliners, I like their obsession with drinking,” he joked. In fact, Andrew doesn't seem one for drawing on musical influences too much. "I just really feel it, if you're really inside your guitar and away in your mind then the songs come out on their own," he said. Sold On Song Most recently Andrew Taylor played BBC Radio 2's Sold On Song showcase in Norwich, where he performed songs written by Lisa Redford and Karl Jokat. "It was very last minute. Lisa and Karl weren't able to play so asked me to help out," he said. "I learnt Lisa's song the night before so I was brickin' it, but as the evening went on the beer kept flowing and suddenly I felt relaxed, played the song and it went down really well." String of records As for his own songs, Andrew Taylor is a prolific artist. Since May 2003, he has recorded three volumes of songs: an electronica album and an EP under the pseudonym ajt, as well as an album with the duo the 24thofjune. But the album he's most proud of is The Inside Of The Mirror, which was released at a gig at Norwich's Puppet Theatre in December 2005. Andrew recorded the 12-track LP in his home studio and plans to hit the festival circuit with it next year. Despite having an album launch to organise, he also started work on an hour-long instrumental piece called Muribold, which so far sounds like a cross between Mogwai and Mike Oldfield. "Must be all the glockenspiels," muses Andrew. He first got into playing music plucking along to Tubular Bells and soon started on the gig circuit. He's played prog, goth, indie and funk but now performs as one half of folk-tronica two-piece the 24thofjune with ex-Ovahead keyboardist John Jolley. "We mix hip-hop, electronica and whatever else with my songs and just see what happens," he said. From here Andrew is moving further afield. "This thing has taken over my life and I need to make a living from it," he said. "Songwriting is as much a craft as carpentry or building so I want it to be my job. "I'm arranging some gigs in London and I'm after some sort of record deal. I always sell out of CDs at gigs so I reckon I'll sell on a bigger stage too," he added. | 
