Feeling I know

In the final days of summers rushes, videographer Syd Woodward (Get Grounded TV, Overgrow The System) came over to my home with his camera in tow. It seemed as good an idea as any, to capture the sound of something fresh and presently resonant. So when I sat down to sing for Syd and his camera, I decided to play a song that I had only just begun to feel was nearing completion. We did one take and then went back to enjoying the summers dying breaths. It was, if nothing else, a moment; simple and true, and then forgotten.
Months later the archive of said moment arrived via email and I found myself dissecting it’s every breath. I was frustrated by the apparent unpolished nature of the performance, and the tentative immediacy of the delivery. I filed it away un-posted and sighed a lamentable sigh assuming I wouldn’t share it at all.
Fast forward another month or so, and here I am writing this post while the video uploads to the wilds of the internet. Now, with the space for reflection that enables a quieter ego, the flaws and the immediacy seem to communicate what I hoped for when I began penning the tune. I remember the moment the song began; when the first lines of lyric slipped from my lips. They offered me comfort while I was trying to mask my self-consciousness with a relaxed and somewhat distant demeanour despite knowing how I truly felt. Sometimes a crowd can be a lonely place. We aren’t always the best at remembering to be inclusive and open. Life can keep us mired in the shallow end for longer than is comfortable when what we are really seeking is true connection and interaction. It is a feeling we all know, no matter how confident and happy we seem from the outside.
So, to the universality of feeling like an outsider, or like someone who doesn’t measure up in a given moment, I offer this little ditty, warts and all.

Enjoy!

Much love,
Jess Hill

:FEELING I KNOW:

First it’s listless, than it’s lazy
Leads you to those loose lies in these tight times
With your eye on the door, always tapping your toes
Baby, it’s a feeling I know
And all the bright eyes with the white teeth, smiling in the sidelines
Little lost sheep, you think you’re so alone
Baby, it’s a feeling I know
All the secret voices that fill your heart
Going through the motions of the hardest part
I will hold the door if you will hold my hand
We could go together, baby, take a chance
Everybody’s hiding in the laughter in the dark
Holding up a searchlight for a wide and open heart
I will hold the mirror; a lighthouse we could be
Guiding all the ships into the harbour safely
Baby, it’s a feeling I know

Noizz Factor Remix

A little while ago I stumbled upon a project called Emily and The Noizz. I fell instantly in love with the first track on their EP and then I had to buy it. I followed Noizz Factor on soundcloud, sent a wee little fan message and went along merrily with my life. A short time later Noizz Factor followed me back on soundcloud and left me some sweet comments on my song “Of A Shadow”, I mentioned that I had stems for said track, files were exchanged and beautiful things have resulted! Through the power of the internet a song has a rebirth, a creative connection is made and no one even had to get out of their pyjamas if they didn’t want to. To me this is the internet at it’s finest; bringing creative, talented minds from all corners of the planet to places of collaboration. From Canada to Poland and into your ears with love, I present the “Of A Shadow: Noizz Factor Mix” Enjoy! Share! Dance!

“Underweight” – down under

If you know me then it is no secret that I am a fool for a late night of dancing fuelled by quality electronic music. I am far from being a connoisseur of the discipline and can barely identify the genres to save my life but I know what I like when I hear it.
Vancouver is home to same incredible DJ’s who have their finger on the pulse in terms of creative output and an audience with the tech savvy, digital know how to share it around their communities. One such man is Michael Red, who is not only a fantastic DJ but also operates/curates a label called Low Indigo that spawned a fantastic social media link sharing community on that site we’ve all become addicted to, and shall therefore remain unnamed. I became a member of that message board as it was chalk full of tasty sonic delights for me to explore and experience and support.
One of those links, sometime in the last year was to a DJ in Melbourne, Australia named Wabz.
I was immediately enamoured of Wabz’s stuff and found myself shyly typing up a message. I sent a link to my music in the interest of sharing and made a brief mention of some stems I had from my album Orchard on the off chance they might want to put my voice into an aural landscape.
From way over on the other side of this marble we call home new sounds were born of old sounds and the evidence lives in this track called “Underweight”.
Please have a listen and if you feel to, share it with your friends.
This is for me one of the ways in which my worlds are beginning to merge. I am so thrilled to be a part of this new musical tradition; whether through remixes, re-imaginings or simply collages of sounds. To be in the act of sharing and engaging is to grow as an artist and perhaps more importantly as a human.
In the near future I will hopefully be able to post some links to collaborations that have begun with some local producers that I adore; Blocktreat, and Legsss.
In the meantime take a minute to check out what all Wabz has to offer and see if you can guess what song of mine the vocal in “Underweight” comes from.

Reviews and Interviews

Some quick links and lines coming in about the new EP.

~ Today CBC Radio 3 added tomorrows release party to their TOP 5 GIGS in Canada this weekend!

~ Yesterday the Georgia Straight reviewed the new album saying  “hurts so good, I can’t stop playing it.”

~ New Canadian Music Blog called the EP a triumph! (woah!)

and

~ I did an interview with Torontonicity about music and life and goals.

It’s been a good week for 5 old songs and fresh feelings.

xo
jess hill

Stream the PIECES EP

In celebration of the already SOLD OUT release party I offer you a stream of the new EP.
Feeling so thrilled about tomorrows rehearsal with some of the gents from MARIA IN THE SHOWER!
Sweetness abounds! There is much to do!

SOLD OUT!

Dreamers you are simply delectable! I can’t even find the words to tell you how unbelievably thrilled I am to squeeze you all into my the walls of the Princess Haus! This will be an evening of shoulder to shoulder, standing room only audio romance! You have made my heart break beats and hum the echo of a thousand pulses swimming in a tunnel. Thank you!

All of this on top of getting the limited edition, tangible copies of the album make life the ultimate love affair. I am giddy! I am honoured! I am in love with everyday!

Getting ready to number and sign the first run of “Pieces” EP CD’s. Only 100 copies to go around.

Did I mention I also got a new haircut? NOthing like sunshine and a new do to make you feel alive. 😉

Enjoy the sun, sweet hearts!
xo
j. hill

Fresh Faced!

First thing’s first – I sent you all a Valentine yesterday.
If you missed it – hear it here –
https://soundcloud.com/jess-hill-dreams/04-pieces

 

And, it’s official we have a new look!

 

 

Thanks to the fabulous skills of photographer Amanda Bullick at Brutally Beautiful and website tweaker Nate Schmold at 80bitDesign all things Jess Hill are officially fresh faced and up to date!
It feels good to clean out the attic for spring, so to speak. My own skills as a techno tinkerer are improving too, thanks to the ease of wordpress formats and helpful folks like Nate.

For spring 2013, in the year of the water snake and the dream we have new music, new website and new shows to announce!

The release party for the Pieces EP is happening on March 9th at The Princess Haus in East Vancouver.  I will be joined by Maria In The Showers Todd Biffard and Brendon Hartley on stage! The Nautical Miles, DJ Lunatech and one more super, secret, surprise guest from some distant land will also get up and fill the night with sound.

The show is a house concert and will sell out so please purchase your ticket in advance!

 

https://www.eventbrite.com/tickets-external?eid=5449294988&ref=etckt&v=2

Event registration for JESS HILL “Pieces” Release Party!
with The Nautical Miles and guests powered by Eventbrite

My visit to Toronto to participate in CMW is looking really busy as the time between now and then shrinks. I am excited to sing my guts out and hear as much music as possible while I am in the big smoke. If you are in the area and know of something I simply must fit into my time in Tdot drop me a line and let me know!

In the meantime here is the latest regarding my showcases and Ontario shows:

 

Thursday March 21st
10:30pm at The Shanghai Cowgirl
CMW Festival acoustic showcase

Friday March 22nd
10:30pm at The Marriott Hotel Lounge

Saturday March 23rd
12am at The Cameron House (back room)

Tuesday March 26th
at Holy Oak
with Carnival Moon

Friday March 29th
at EVAC in London, Ont.
with The Abramson Singers

Saturday March 30th
House Concert in Owen Sound
with Joanna Chapman-Smith

…and then back to Vancouver until later in the spring…

 

illuminated

Not too long ago – mere days really – I posted a little note on my facebook wall asking for someone to come forward and save me from my bio writing woes.
Who should appear with words in tow?
The one and only Shane Koyczan!
Shane and I are old friends and so when I sat down to read the words he had penned in my honour I very nearly sobbed.  Compliments of the highest order that even as I go to post this to share them with you are making me blush.

“Jess Hill plays eardrums as if playing guitar is just a hobby. There is a rich mercy to her voice. One that reveals itself slowly… like a good book… chapter after chapter… pulling us toward a conclusion that we don’t want to have happen because we can’t bare the thought of an ending. She pulls the sound out of herself like a thread. She unravels her own tapestry to offer you the raw material so you can build your own warmth. Her songs remind us to bundle ourselves against this cold world; to keep heat between us like a wild animal turned happy captive through a satisfied curiosity… an unending wonder. If you listen to an audience that is listening to Jess you can just make out the slight sear as there blues turn red. Jess Hill’s music is sound and colour waltzing down staircases like laughter tumbling toward safety… she is the last petal on the stem after all the “love me not’s” have been pulled away. Jess Hill is the love.” Shane Koyczan (poet)

Nothing I write will ever compare to that but knowing that my face is likely the colour of a beet and my heart is fluttering like a moth storm tells me that I don’t feel comfortable sending it out into the world of press as my bio. 😉
I am nonetheless extremely touched and I think I might even be glowing. You tell me…?

Pieces EP

Nostalgia can be a beautiful thing. The warmth generated in one’s heart by memories of bygone and idealized times feels like nothing else in the spectrum of emotion.
As a songwriter I sometimes feel my work is about building little altars for moments. Every note, every silence, every beat, is an item placed just so, to pay homage to a memory, a dream, a feeling or an idea.
Time passes and then – assuming the works are good enough –  the moment is archived and that wistful feeling swells in my heart. So many of these poetic, structures of reverence get lost for a time.
They sit, unknown in the muse’s attic collecting dust and humming quietly to themselves until life decides either by fate or circumstance to make them relevant again.
I always have a desire for songs that bare a kinship to one another to live in the same archive, spinning out their days into old age, and so certain tunes get set aside and nearly forgotten. It’s hard to sometimes imagine what “present” means when I realize I am on stage playing a song I wrote when I was 23 years old. Yet, every time I find music can truly be transportive. A 6th sense as integral to our memories as the olfactory world.
Such is the story with the 5 tunes I just recorded for the Pieces EP.
5 songs all penned pre Orchard, between 2006 and 2008.
A time when I lived in the basement suites of tree lined streets in East Vancouver.
A time when I broke my own heart with assumptions and insecurities, and then felt it heal and swell with curiosity.
I suppose my return to the single life, through either fate or circumstance 😉 has made these songs live again.
They stand together, reminding me that my heart still breaks and I still heal and feel full of wonder and love for this life.
You might remember that I went into the studio late December with the incomparable Jesse Gander. In two days, with the help of two special guests (Khari McLelland and Tim Tweedale) we recorded 5 songs. We left the studio and headed into the fray of the festive season with one element untouched. I wanted the song “It Don’t Matter” to be a duet.

I imagined a voice that was both sweet and rusty. A voice full of grit and honey. I never imagined that that voice would find it’s way onto the song via satellite signals and networks and modern miracles of technology.
Just yesterday my dear friend and Buffaloswans front man Scott Bell performed his half of our long distance duet somewhere in a studio in Oklahoma, USA. Today I heard the first mixes of what I can only say made me swoon as I felt the thrill of making new memories while archiving old ones.

The Pieces EP will be my first release in over a year. Orchard came out in March 2011 (can you believe it?) and the making of it was an incredibly detailed and lengthy process (we recorded it in 2009). This time I moved quickly and within the notion of capturing moments in the studio. Jesse Gander once again proved to have the most enthusiastic love of music and tireless, talented ears. Bringing Pieces together feels like a tying up of loose ends for the songwriter in me. The next year or two is already mapped out in my head with the hope to head back into the studio twice more to record some songs that are just now taking their first breaths and some others that have been begging for some special and extravagant attention for years while they waited for new siblings to be born.

In the mean time and the near future I’ll be gigging around Vancouver (house concert and release party TBA soon) before heading off to Toronto in March to perform at CMW and do a couple shows in the surrounding area.
I also have big dreams of finding myself on a jet plane en route to Europe in the fall. Drop me a line if you have something to say about that. 😉

2013 is the year of the dream and I’m dreaming vast.

xo
jess

Studio Dec. 22/23

Spent the weekend recording at The Hive Creative Labs with Jesse Gander. We recorded 5 “new to you” tunes in 2 days. It was such a treat to flesh out songs that have been collecting dust in my heart. Hearing trumpet, pump organ and pedal steel come to life was literally a dream come true. The Pieces EP will be released this spring online. Stay tuned to here, for details as they unfold. In the meantime here are some pics from the studio this weekend.

Jesse Gander at the helm.

My “Please, no more Clickety The Chickadee” face. The click track of doom!

After dinner. We ate it all!

Tim Tweedale making me swoon with his pedal steel.

Tim Tweedale brings my dream of trumpet to life!

Man sings in the shadows. The incomparable Khari McClelland sings harmonies on Pieces and Capsized.

Jesse Gander lays down his first ever guitar solo!

Electric guitar dreams coming true!