Tight beats, grooves, tunes & sonic worlds created with the Violin - Voice & Drums Only (oh, and a vintage casio & DX7 in case of retro emergencies)
Taylor Rankin
“Bend, slap, scratch and scream at it – then you’ll know how to play the violin.” –Taylor Rankin.
Taylor Rankin’s music brings you to a magical place where funk, reggae, hip hop, gospel, pop, rap, jazz and blues all cling to the whirling dervish spinning inside his mind. His voice slides seamlessly from baritone to falsetto, pinching and winking at every note in between, while he literally reaches inside his violin, pushing it to new limits – caressing, smashing, coaxing it to sound like a DJ scratching the finest vinyl, an electric guitar, a bass, drum, flute, and even, on occasion, a violin.
Working with only his voice, his violin and drummer, Rankin moves over and makes room for you to get in on his joyride of sound. From his first performances busking as a 12-year-old to working alongside famous choreographers to touring, recording and opening for musicians such as Wyclef, Mary J. Blige, Erikah Badu, Canadian Tenors, Jazmine Sullivan, Collie Buddz, and Heather Nova, Rankin has been on a relentless musical journey and he wants you along for the ride. Every experience is unique, ranging from the epic to the sublime to the dirty, bumping, low-down, groovy sounds that only a half-Japanese Bermudian-Canadian can possibly create.
The door is open. All you have to do is step inside…
“Rankin is the instrument and his sound throws you from one moment to the next – he woos you in with his voice, convinces you to get close, to slide up beside and move with him – then smacks your ass with his violin.”
Dwight "HartBeat" Hart
Bermuda born and raised, he was fondly known as Drummer Boy while growing up. His fingers were constantly beating out a staccato of rhythms on anything that was stationary, which resulted in several worn out patches on his parent’s furniture. He knew he had their encouragement when his dad told him to “play until the police come!”
Dwight was so obsessed with his drums that he asked his parents if he could skip school and go straight to college as his schooling was getting in the way of his dreams and goals of playing. You could say he shared a close relationship with his drums as he never went to sleep without them tucked safely next to his bed.
Educated at West Pembroke Primary and Robert Crawford High School in Bermuda he moved on to the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston. Dwight’s world tour experience has taken him to cities in Italy, Germany, Holland, China, Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Africa, India and most of the Caribbean Islands. Having lived in Las Vegas, he worked the strip for three years at Caesar’s Palace, MGM, The Venetian, etc. He performed at New York City’s famous Apollo theatre in 2008.
Accomplished in his field, his repertoire is varied and includes reggae, jazz, soca, R&B, classical, hip-hop and more. He has accompanied the likes of Quincy Jones, Freddie, Jackson, Jonathan Butler and jazz legends Wynton Marsalis, Groove Holmes, Ester Saterfield and Dakota Staton and the Temptations. M.M.F.D.C
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