Maria Taylor

Maria Diane Taylor (born May 21, 1976) is an American singer-songwriter from Birmingham, Alabama. She is also a member of the duo Azure Ray with Orenda Fink. Taylor plays several instruments, including the guitar, drums, and piano and has collaborated or performed with such artists as Bright Eyes, Phoebe Bridgers, Moby, Michael Stipe of R.E.M., Joshua Radin, and more. Biography Taylor started her musical career at the age of fifteen in the band Little Red Rocket with Orenda Fink which released two CDs on Geffen, Who Did You Pay (1997) and It's in the Sound (2000). The group disbanded during the merging of Geffen with Universal Music Group. Taylor later moved to Athens, Georgia along with her musical collaborator, Fink where they formed the band Azure Ray. The pair signed to WARM and released their self-titled debut in 2001. The song "Sleep" was later featured in the 2006 Academy Award-nominated movie, The Devil Wears Prada featuring Anne Hathaway. In 2015, Taylor Swift included "Sleep" in a 6-song "breakup playlist" made for a fan via her official Tumblr. Azure Ray released their second album, Burn and Shiver in 2002. Eric Bachmann (Crooked Fingers and Archers of Loaf) produced both records. After meeting the band in Athens, Bright Eyes frontman Conor Oberst invited the band on tour and introduced them to Saddle Creek. Saddle Creek released their following records, November EP, and The Drinks We Drank Last Night. In 2002, the duo co-wrote and recorded "The Great Escape" (which appeared on Moby's 18) and "Landing" (which appeared on the XXX soundtrack), and afterwards joined Moby on tour. Following the release of 2003's Hold on Love, Taylor and Fink began a 6-year hiatus. Taylor released her first solo album 11:11 on Saddle Creek Records on May 24, 2005. The album features Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes, Gretta Cohn of Cursive, Andy LeMaster and Mike Mogis as both musicians and producers. Grey's Anatomy named its March 31, 2011, episode, "Song Beneath the Song", after a track from the album and also featured the song on the original soundtrack. Taylor later recorded a new song for Grey's Anatomy's 2005 Christmas episode entitled "Christmas After All." Her second solo album, Lynn Teeter Flower, was released on March 6, 2007, also on Saddle Creek. "A Good Start," the first track off Lynn Teeter Flower, was subsequently named one of NPR's 10 best songs of the year for 2007. "The Ballad of Sean Foley" was co-written with Conor Oberst.