Songwriting is an important aspect of being a musician, but Taylor Mathews had a great idea that extended beyond the average songwriter.

While on the Hotel Party Tour in in the fall of 2014, Mathews was not only playing in ballrooms or meeting rooms inside hotels but was also playing high schools. As he was meeting with high school students, he thought he could create an individualistic experience for fans right in the comfort of their own homes. Hence the Songs of Summer Tour he embarked on in 2017.

“I wanted [the Hotel Party Tour] to feel like home but also I wanted it to feel like it was an adventure,” he said. “I wanted to share something that was unique. So that parlayed over into the songwriting tour.”

The Songs of Summer Tour meant giving fans a behind-the-scenes experience of what goes into the songwriting process and giving them the tools to open up their creativity.

“Not a lot of artists or people are able to capture or have a moment to capture attention from people to be able to walk them through that so I thought that could be something special,” he said. “It’s cool to know people have a deeper understanding of what I’m doing and I hope that translates over into a deeper level of commitment on that individual.”

Mathews spent the tour teaching people how to get from point A to point B in terms of letting words flow out until they became a finished song. He created a realistic, approachable method that allowed individuals not only to open up to him but to become honest with themselves.

It also showed him that songwriting is not about writing something commercial and more about taking it back to the basics. He believes that simplicity is important; the most common and most natural form of songwriting shows as a more human quality.

His upcoming EP, Thales, is a specific example of how this experience taught him to say what he wants to say in the most simple and honest way possible. Since a few of the songs were written a year and a half to two years before he began to record them, there was a buffer period for him to digest what he had gone through and give him a better opportunity to appreciate the simplicity.

“I love that this record is really truly the influence of my whole sound that’s coming up this year and potentially into the beginning of the next,” he said. “I think this is the first time we’ve truly defined what my music will reflect and how it will be played. It’s a really cool introduction for me, a bit of a segue transition stage into the new record. I’m hoping it helps fuel truth and is able to connect to people.”

By creating simple yet important dialogue, Taylor Mathews not only paved the way for him to connect to his audience but for his audience to connect back to him. Whether they took part in his tour of songwriting sessions or saw him bring a party to a hotel, they have the opportunity to create a human connection with him. Thales is sure to have the same effect.