MUSIC: Hull artist Kobby Taylor pays tribute to legendary Grandfather Ebo Taylor…
Nigel ‘Kobby’ Taylor has been a key figure in Hull’s cultural scene for close to 20 years now—be it performing on the city's biggest stages or working in the background helping the next generation find their spark. He also happens to be the grandson of legendary Ghanaian afrobeat musician Ebo Taylor and is soon releasing a new EP, accompanied by a live piece of gig-theatre, to celebrate the family legacy. We spoke to Nige ahead of the show at Hull Truck on November 16th…
Some of our local Hull readers may be more familiar with seeing you perform under the 'Player 1' alias with endoflevelbaddie back in the day. What have you been up to in recent years?
Ah Player 1 brings back memories and I loved that role - Scott helped me to understand the relationship between the MC and the audience. We spent 10 years or so doing that gig so I learned a lot and am grateful for it. The skills I learned on that job I now spend teaching the youth of today with my best mates on a community project called Beats Bus. We have a 7.5-tonne music studio on wheels that we take to parks and estates and teach kids confidence through hip-hop. it's really cool and I'm privileged to enjoy every single day of work.
I’ve also quite randomly got into acting and musical theatre. I first did a gig with EOLB for the Hull-based theatre company Middle Child called ‘All We Ever Wanted Was Everything’ at The Welly and got to watch the amazing show they put on. I vividly remember leaning over to Scott and saying that I wanted to collaborate with these guys more and low and behold I’ve been working very closely with Middle Child on various projects over the past years.
The most notable was ‘The Canary and the Crow’ which tells the story of a working-class black kid who gets accepted into a prestigious grammar school, where I worked on writing/producing an original hip hop and grime music score, that we ended up touring to places like Latitude Festival and The Edinburgh Fringe.
And you’re also producing music under the name ‘Kobby Taylor’ now, right?
Yeah so anytime I’m not working on these other projects I spend in the studio. I’ve been using the Kobby Taylor name the last couple of years with a real focus on Afrobeat and Highlife remixes working with original recordings done by my grandfather Ebo Taylor and his extensive and legendary catalog. I have a new EP coming out in November called 'The Torch' which is all done, mixed and mastered so that’ll be with you soon!
Tell me about what life was like growing up around such a musical family and the importance of celebrating the legacy of your granddad
Interestingly enough growing up I wasn’t too close with my extended family in Ghana, it’s only in the last 2 years we have bonded rapidly through music. It just sorta clicked and now we are functioning like a real family - it’s been lovely to be fair, I’ve really enjoyed working with them and we still have so much more to do!
I feel I’ve really connected with my grandad through his music. I feel we talk about musical arrangements, ideas and sounds and we agree on everything, it’s really cool. I feel the legacy of my grandad lies in these very conversations and ideas.
So how did 'The Torch' project first come about?
Grandad heard some of my music back in 2022 and rang me to say he wanted to 'pass the torch' and experiment with some new forms of highlife, so 'The Torch' is exactly that. Grandad said ‘cant you try remixing highlife with something crazy like rock and roll or garage or modernise it a bit’ - so it’s highlife but kinda futuristic, blending modern synths with classic horn riffs and we all think its pretty cool. It’s been super fun and chill to make.
I pitched the project to Help Musicans and they kindly supported it financially. Then Hull Jazz Festival heard some of the demos and offered to commission it into a live show, so I’ve spent all the money on making sure we have amazing musicians paid fairly to put on a great show.
It’s at Hull Truck on November 16th and we have Steve Cobby, Kev La Kat, Wai Wan, Stephanie Halsey and Vivek Santhosh all performing live - I think it'll go down a storm!
So what exactly is planned for the live show? What can audiences expect?
Imagine a live concept album on stage with synths played by the incredible Vivek Santhosh who has just finished touring with Michael League from Snarky Puppy! He’s a unique talent and brings a lot to the table in terms of musicality. It also features the wonderful Stephanie Halsey who combines live harp with electronic music in a way that you simply don't get anywhere else. I think as a team we fit together really well.
So it’s a live harpist on one side of the stage and synths on the other, with me in the middle telling the story and performing with the musicians. It’s a very unique setup for a theatre show, especially in Hull. I'm enjoying exploring the relationship between us all on stage and the call and response between the live harp and synths. The show also explores my heritage and what it’s like to be Kobby - black British and complex.
Post-show there will be a short Q and A and my collaborators Steve Cobby, Kev La Kat and `wai Wan will showcase their music from The Torch - with the hope we get people on their feet and we just have a jam - the music is all uptempo and ready for the dancefloor!
You can buy tickets now for ‘The Torch’ at Hull Truck Theatre at the link below, with discounted entry for students and people under 26 at just £6
hulltruck.co.uk/whats-on/music/the-torch-kobby-taylor-s-tribute-to-ebo-taylor/
Follow Kobby Taylor: instagram.com/kobbykomposer/
Follow Hull Jazz Festival: instagram.com/hulljazzfest
