Taiyo Marchand is an aspiring singer/musician and songwriter from Sydney Australia. He has been playing a variety of instruments since he was two years old, starting with pots and pans in the kitchen and finally finding his groove with the piano a few years ago.
“Jessica , my teacher, didn't teach me what to play... she taught me how to put my emotion into the music”
Taiyo crossed paths with the renowned teacher and mentor, Jessica Roemischer, when he was nine years old. Jessica encouraged him to follow his heart, write songs, and to love and enjoy his music, which can all be seen through the passion that he plays with.
Learning to play the songs that he loved via YouTube, Taiyo was soon busking and connecting with a growing fan base at Manly Corso, in Sydney, on the weekends.
We were very fortunate to speak with Taiyo, and to hear about the diverse musical influences that are shaping him as an artist.
His interview(s) are a wonderful insight into the making of a star.
He has now written a collection of songs that he performs live while busking. This is a great way to get feedback and to perfect his live set.
Taiyo has been posting his songs on YouTube and Instagram for several years.
These are mainly snippets of live performances filmed by his father at the Corso in Manly. He has gained a significant following from people all around the world.
Impressively, Taiyo speaks several languages including English, French and Japanese, and he enjoys replying to comments in the native language of his overseas followers.
“When I get the chance, I write back to people in their native language... It's just a way to make them feel connected”
As a solo performer, adding a looper to both his writing and live performances has been great for Taiyo’s development as a musician.
The looper allows him to create layers of vocal harmonies and rich piano structures to jam with.
As he says, “adding a looper has really taken things up a notch!”.
Always on the move, Taiyo is heading off to Europe in the next few months to perform and busk in seven countries. As young musician, playing in front of new audiences will take him out of his comfort zone, accelerate his development and give him some great new material for his song writing.
We are sure that with Taiyo’s infectious enthusiasm and remarkable talent, his music will be well received. We look forward to hearing his new songs (from the road!) when he returns back to Australia.