Taylor Benfield is an up and coming singer from Buckinghamshire. Taylor is currently studying Professional Musicianship in Vocals at BIMM London and writes her own songs. She has built her own home studio over lockdown and her first single "Side of Life" is out now on all streaming platforms
I recently had the absolute pleasure of talking to her about life as a young artist so far...
1. To set the scene could you tell me a bit about yourself and your music?
Oh boy, I feel like that awkward moment on a first date where you try and whip out the most interesting and crazy facts about yourself in 5 minutes! Me? Well, music has been my favourite way to communicate for so long. There’s nothing quite like expressing your emotions and feelings through the lyrics on a piece of paper. As a kid I use to love writing stories and a lot of my first songs were in fact stories I had created. And I think being Musical Theatre trained I really wanted to take my audience through a narrative. However, the music I create now is less of a script as it were, and freer in its expression. I want people to have fun when listening to my music. I want them to feel excited and uplifted and to look at the positive side of life *wink wink*.
2. When someone listens to a track from you what is the one thing you hope they think?
I hope they hear the first vocal and shout “RUN THAT SHIT BACK TURBO!" Nah I’m playing! I honestly just want people to have a good time. With my debut single ‘Side of life’ I imagined my girlfriends listening to it before heading out to the club or my guy friends gassing me up every time it played in the car. It’s all about having fun in the moment.
3. When did you first realise you could sing?
I’m actually not entirely sure! I still to this day will sing a song or a lyric and surprise myself and be like ‘wow that actually sounded bomb’! I think the constant praise from people about my singing ability has always made me aware of how good my voice is. But I’m also extremely humble. It’s taken me years to feel comfortable to put my voice, image and music out there. It’s been like my own little secret for so long! 4. With lockdown playing fair, what can we expect from you in the near future?
I genuinely believe all good things come to those who wait. The amount of mental and physical journeys I have taken in the past few weeks and months to create some beautiful content and really bad-ass shit is something that is going to impact me for the rest of my life. I won’t reveal all, but expect some fierceness! 5. You’ve recently set up your own studio at home, how was this and would you recommend it to others?
The best decision I ever made! There are countless artists who create their music from their homes. Tinashe, Chance the Rapper, Snoop Dogg and so many more. They create singles and whole albums from their home, so I wanted to be able to do the same. It took a few weeks to get everything properly set up but now I’m in and it’s such a great feeling to be able to hit record on anything that creatively pops in my head. Plus I’ve picked up so many engineering skills off of Youtube tutorials which I would definitely recommend to new producers!
6. What inspires you to persevere through this process?
It’s the faith and belief that I can do anything. God would not have given me my voice, my ability to create music and be strong-minded enough to manage myself if he didn’t want me to use it. And we only live once so I’m sure as hell not going to waste this opportunity.
7. Is there any advice you would give to anyone, or wish you’d been given at the start of this journey?
There will be so many times that other people will tell you, you can’t do something. But it really starts with you. You have to believe in yourself like you are your own mega fan; with posters of yourself all over your room! You need to be prepared to hype up your shit to the maximum so everyone realises you’re something to watch out for. And also play your cards close to your chest. I’m not saying be Beyonce and drop an album at midnight with no prior promotion, but make sure your projects are perfect before revealing them to the public.
8. How do you use social media to your advantage in all this/how has social media helped or hindered your career?
Social media is the best way to get your stuff out there. Whether you’re a musician or not, if you want to plug your stuff, head over to social media. It’s helped me keep consistent and made me realise 1 post every month isn’t gonna cut it, and that I actually I need like 6-8 posts a month! Obviously the more people who share my stuff the better for me, but I do have a few really supportive friends who are always watching and liking, commenting, all that good stuff.
9. Who’s your biggest inspiration?
There are too many phenomenal female artists that have inspired me in my life. But, without sounding big-headed, my biggest inspiration has always been myself. Sometimes with my music I have outer body experiences and I feel like I’m my own fan pushing myself along the journey. The things I have gone through in life, good and bad, the decisions I’ve had to make, the wins and losses, all inspire my music and decisions. But musically, I’ve got to hand it to some serious legends. SWV, Kelly Price, Mary J Blige, Alicia Keys, JoJo, Brandy, Monica; more recent artists, Kehlani, H.E.R., Etta Bond, Jhene Aiko. There’s too many!
10. How have you found the transition from singing as a hobby to singing as a career?
Intense! There’s no other word for it! Suddenly, you’re working to a schedule and shit has to get done! But each pieces of the puzzle slowly come together and the end product is beautiful! Side of Life (produced by JamminMC) is my absolute favourite song at the moment (and I've got my Spotify stats to prove it) and I so highly suggest you go check the track out, as well as all this girls' socials.
Taylor's:
Thanks for reading this interview, it was super fun doing something my blog hasn't seen before and brushing off my interview skills.
Anyone you think has a story to share that I should interview next, please be sure to comment below or as always, engage on @libbysparksonline