Hudson Taylor : Songwriting Brothers

These guys are great. I've been wanting to write about them for a while now, but was waiting for the right day to do it. I don't know why today is the right day, but anyway, Hudson Taylor! I believe these fine young men are called Harry and Alfie, Hudson Taylor being their surname. Once again, I'm writing about fantastic singer/songwriters who hail from Dublin, Ireland, much like Orla Gartland, who drew me to their channel through a collaboration of theirs. Before going on about the very unique duo, check out the collaboration I'm talking about. It's a cover of Eminem's "Lose Yourself", combined with sections of Bon Iver's "Flume" and The Police's "Walking On The Moon".  Check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDyIQtOCsgY

Love it! Hopefully you did too, even if you're not the biggest Eminem fan in the world. Aside from Hudson Taylor's stunning harmonies with Orla Gartland, and the funky guitar playing, I have to say I'm loving the background. Two very jazzy pieces pieces of art. Not too sure but I think one of them is Fats Domino, but I could mistaken. Anyways, back to the funky duo and Orla. What I love about Hudson Taylor is the fact that the two of them have such contrasting styles, whilst maintaining some sort of similarity. In essence, they complement each other perfectly. I just hope they're not one of those "brother bands" that end up fighting with each other. Not too sure who would win between the two, but I'm certain if Orla were there, she'd sort them out.

That cover was on Orla's channel, which you better have subscribed to by now! Moving on to Hudson Taylor's channel, there are a good deal of fantastic originals. One that stood out to me was uploaded on October 31st, 2012 and is called "Watchtower". I actually checked it out thinking it was a Bob Dylan cover, with a slight error in the title but I was mistaken, it's a fantastically crafted original. Somewhere in the comments beneath the video someone said there was some sort of Beatles influence on the song but I sort of disagree. It could definitely be compared to something Mumford & Sons would do, but I really felt a Simon & Garfunkel influence in the song. I could be wrong though. In any case, it's original, and it's good, and you should listen to it now!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXw0HgPeX5o

It's so easy to get carried away with their melodic harmonies, but I urge you to listen to the lyrics which are so fabulously crafted. Once again the two of them have a sort of ying-yang thing going on but really complement each other. Two guitars and two voices sound richer than a huge band sometimes, and Hudson Taylor prove that point!

Another original of theirs that really grew on me, after hearing a couple versions of it is called "Chasing Rubies". It's one of those songs that draws you in from the moment you hear the title. There's something ever so curious about it and the eery ringing guitar line behind the verse just add to the mystery of it. Nevertheless, Harry & Alfie's harmonies draw you into the song once again and make you lose track of the lyrics, lose track of time and in some way, your mind. And just as their vocals have that great harmony going, their guitars have the same chemistry. So, have a listen and see if you lose your mind to this truly incredible song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XVhoeTPK2Y

Such a great song, on so many levels. I could say that I hear influences from so many artists from Simon & Garfunkel, to Mumford & Sons, to Peter Gabriel and so many others, but this song is truly so unique. I hope they keep bringing out gems like that one and "Watchtower" that blew me away when I heard it. And, I also hope you subscribed to their channel, and checked out their website and Facebook page and all that other cool stuff because they really deserve to be listened to, and...you deserve good music. Check back tomorrow for another fantastic artist.

Alex Hamel