Raised in the Prairies, Alberta native and Montreal-based musician and singer songwriter Loryn Taggart left her family home at 16 to pursue her dreams in Toronto. Her drive, determination and talent have seen her open for Canadian Folk Musician Donovan Woods on tour in 2020, perform as David Bowie in an international tribute tour highlighting his ‘The Berlin Trilogy’ era (2022/23), and, over the course of a series of singles, accumulate a string of nominations (including Song of The Year at the Canadian Folk Music Awards in 2022). What’s really remarkable is how she achieved all this before releasing her debut album.
That highly anticipated debut album will drop in the fall. With the support of FACTOR Canada, Taggart began recording the album in 2022 with Marcus Paquin (The National, Tim Baker) at the helm, who mixed, engineered and produced the album; it also features musicians taking part in the David Bowie tour mentioned above, as well as Jadea Kelly and Isaac Symonds (Half Moon Run).
During a COVID writing session, Taggart and Symonds co-wrote her latest single, The Vow (along with a previously released track, Carved Into Stone, which came out in 2021). The song’s upbeat, infectious energy is surprising, laced with a strong positivity that ultimately relates to loss and healing. Rather than leaning into melancholy, Taggart intentionally drew on the pop-jazz genre she grew up on, music that reminded her of happier times.
“I wanted this song to sound like what my positive healing process felt like,” explained Loryn. “When I was grieving, I was really taken care of. I was surrounded by friends, I was close with family, I was always around people who had good hearts and wanted me to get better. I wanted the song to feel just like that.”
Those sentiments are woven through the accompanying video that steps into her mind, visualising La La Land, Wizard of Oz and Sound of Music, and which she produced herself. The breath-taking one-shot theatrical dance sequence was directed by Kevin De Laval and choreographed by Maud Saint-Germain with Audrey Samb’s set direction and design brilliantly emulating the hustle and bustle of backstage theatrical life. Still, while this chaos goes on around Taggart, it is interspersed with some beautifully choreographed moments that capture, through dance, the support she talks of.
“Lyrically the song is about choosing yourself and doing what’s best for you. So, I wanted to exaggerate that idea a little bit, and go for the rebellious and adventurous side of choosing Hollywood and stardom,” explained Loryn. “The entire video references Hollywood’s infamous movies; vowing to myself to go off and do what I want to do, heal the way I want to heal, be surrounded by friends and high energy music.”
Taggart has been on an incredible journey, and while her journey could be likened to a yellow brick road odyssey, it’s fair to say that her ruby slippers come from within; this is clear to see and hear on The Vow…a remarkable single and video that showcases her inspiring talent and creativity.
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