GARTH TAYLOR – a distinguished songwriter whose creative and unique style have made him one of South Africa’s most renowned vocalists and performers. To call this adult contemporary artist ‘multi-talented’ would be an understatement. Taylor not only writes all his own music & lyrics & plays most of the instruments on his songs, but he has produced, engineered and mixed the majority of his past albums too ~ and ALL self-taught!

As one of South Africa’s most talented songwriters and recording artists, Taylor’s focus for the beginning of 2007 is on recording his new album ‘Stripped Down, Soul’d Out’. This album sees Taylor going back to his roots and creating music that is true to his soul and reminiscent of his hit song Why. His music has matured yet remained true to what fans can expect from him, including overtones of jazz, soul & even afro-pop. He appeals to all races and ages of the South African music market, believing that “music is a universal language that knows no boundaries”.

His debut CD single Why took SA by storm, with the majority of fans believing that this had to be an international artist (more specifically, The Lighthouse Family). Why was at 1 for five consecutive weeks and received extensive airplay on all the major South African radio stations (Jacaranda, Highveld, 5fm, East Coast Radio, Heart 104fm) and has since become a classic. Taylor’s second CD single, Only With You spent 6 weeks on the charts and has captured the hearts of many South Africans. Why is already on a compilation of hits by South African artists, namely ‘Homebru 1 & 2’ and ‘This Love Is Unbreakable 2’ and there are already cover versions of Why and Only With You.

Taylor’s more recent radio hits include I Love The Way You Don’t, Revolution, Tonite, Everyday and his popular cover, the duet with Idols finalist Melanie Lowe, Islands In The Stream. He is also a firm favourite on In-Store radio stations such as Mr.Price’s RedCap.

Taylor has had the honour of sharing the stage with industry greats, both local & international, such as Simply Red, Shaggy, Jonathan Butler, the late Brenda Fassie, Jimmy Dludlu, Nianelle, Mandoza, Lebo Mathosa and Watershed, to name just a few.

Having recently relocated to Johannesburg from Durban, Taylor has created a first-class 7 piece band with whom he performs at numerous venues in and around Gauteng. The newly-formed ‘Garth Taylor Band’ has already performed for many large South African corporations such as MTN, Vodacom, Sanofee Aventis, Sun City Gaming and Auditor General and is undoubtedly one of the leading live acts in the country. Taylor’s years of dedication and experience have given him tremendous confidence and enthusiasm on stage, giving the crowds a mind-blowing, memorable experience at each and every performance. His passion and talent are evident in his strong vocal delivery and energetic dance moves which continue to draw the crowds wherever he performs.

Despite being interviewed on numerous talk shows (including 3 Talk, Craz-e and Channel O’s OBOMA) and having performed in front of thousands of fans, Taylor has remained humble at heart and uses his celebrity status to raise much needed awareness for charities that mean the most to him.

Being a victim of child abuse himself, Garth always finds the time to help raise funds and awareness for foundations which rescue and care for abused children, such as SA for Kids and Bobbi Bear. Garth did a charity performance for Bobbi Bear in KZN which helped to raise much needed funds for the organisation and bring awareness to the reality of the pain and suffering of South Africa’s children. He also recorded a CD single entitled ‘SA For Kids, Celebrities Against Abuse’ in which all the proceeds went to SA For Kids.

Garth actively supports CANSA & CHOC as he is very aware of the seriousness of this disease, having lost a close friend and bodyguard to lymphatic cancer a few years ago. He has performed for the CANSA Shavathon in KZN (2005) and more recently for the CANSA Shavathon in Menlyn, Pretoria. In March 2007 Garth performed with numerous other artists at Tanz Caf.., Bryanston to raise funds for CHOC.

Being an avid animal lover and owner, Garth feels extremely passionate about speaking out and protecting God’s creatures and “giving them a voice”. He has done a charity performance for the SPCA in KZN and hopes to be more proactive in the coming year in organisations which act against animal abuse in Gauteng.

Having recently played a major role in designing and launching his brand new, flash-based website, Taylor proves that his creativity and artistic flare are most definitely not in short supply. This is evident in the design of the site, which is filled with personal touches and gives us an insight as to what to expect from this truly ‘soulful’ artist in the coming year.