Kingston/Ottawa-based duo Taylor Angus and Logan Brown form an indie-jazz group known for their unique sound—a mix between Buckingham Nicks and Ella Fitzgerald. Before they joined as a duo, Angus had recorded a demo and performed at Bluesfest as a solo act, and Brown had toured Ontario, winning songwriting and guitar awards.
The Charlatan spoke to them about their roots, musical influences, and being Canadian artists leading up to their Bluesfest debut on July 6 on the Barney Danson Theatre stage at 6 p.m.
The Charlatan (TC): How did it all start for you guys?
Logan Brown (LB): We actually met at an open mic night in Kingston where I saw Taylor perform for the first time. She was singing and playing guitar totally differently from the way that I’ve ever seen anybody else perform before. So I stalked her, to eloquently put it, on Facebook and then we ended up playing a couple of gigs from there and then we started dating. It was kind of a natural progression into playing music together.
TC: I hear a lot of jazz, soul, and folk in your music. Are there any artists or other influences that have inspired your sound?
Taylor Angus (TA): When I was four years old, I used to listen to Michael Bublé on repeat and that actually got me into jazz music. I think that has a big part of why there’s such a jazz influence on the songs.
LB: I guess now I listen to a lot more jazz than I used to because Taylor and I are together. But back in the day, I loved death metal and now I’m into soft Fleetwood Mac kind of rock and stuff like that. I’m really big into artists that play one-man-band-style of music, like Charlie Hunter who plays an eight-string guitar and bass at the same time.
TC: Since you two are a duo act, what is it like working with someone else? Especially someone that is so close to you?
LB: We haven’t run into any situations yet. There hasn’t been any like, “And by the way, he forgot to do the laundry!” on stage kind of thing, which I am very fortunate about. We are getting married and we’ve been together for almost three years, so we are going to have our quarrels here and there. But when it comes to the music and playing on stage, we love each other so much and we love playing music so much that there’s never been in any situation of dirty laundry being aired or us being mad at each other on stage.
TC: So it’s your first year performing as a duo at Bluesfest. What can you tell us about your set list and the show itself?
LB: We’re really pulling out all the stops for this performance—we’ve been rehearsing for quite some time. Normally when we play, it’s just Taylor singing and then I’ll play the guitar, but we really wanted to do something special because this performance is a symbol of the hard work we’ve been putting into this, and we really wanted to take it to the next level. There’s gonna be some electric guitar, there’s gonna be some piano and there’s gonna be some surprises so I am not going to reveal too much, but if everything works out it’s gonna be a really cool show.
TC: You guys are independent artists—what would you say are the highs and lows of choosing that route in the music industry?
LB: The highs are being able to do it all yourself and the lows are having to do it all yourself. When I was just a guitar player, Taylor was briefly signed to a management deal and it was infuriating sometimes. Now that we’re on our own, we’ve played everything from like poutine festivals to like dance barnyards, and you find some of the coolest new fans there. We also prefer playing those because that’s when music transcends. Obviously, if we were playing a jazz club there would be a bunch of people that enjoy jazz that would dig it, but if we’re playing a barnyard and there’s a family of four that are just really vibing on our music, it’s like we got them.
TC: So Canada just celebrated its 150th birthday. As a Canadian artist what does that mean to you guys?
Logan: Big shoes to fill, especially with artists like Michael Bublé and the Tragically Hip. Canada and the UK are very similar with huge hometown supports for local artists. Canada is starting to show a more gracious shift to instead of checking on cineplex.com to see what movies are playing or instead of checking how late the bars are open until to get a drink—it’s more to see who’s playing in your town. Being a Canadian artist, you really find super fans and it’s less about being a number on a chart for sure.
TC: Lastly, what advice would you give upcoming singer-songwriters or creatives in general?
LB: Be yourself and document over creating. The most important thing to understand right now is that in a world of Instagram, as much as we do make the majority of our income from playing gigs and everything, you have to be so so true to yourself. Don’t fabricate everything, unless you’re a comedian coming up with different character ideas. Just be true to yourself and don’t try to mold yourself into something you’re not.
This Q+A has been edited and condensed.
