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

“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.

Intah

This Friday, the 14th of March, is the first outing of my new project Intah. I am so excited to be embarking on this sonic path with Martin Reisle on cello and vocals, and Jordan Barnes-Crouse crafting soundscapes and textures. Please join us in witnessing the beginning of a new musical chapter that will evolve to deepen my ties to the sweet and eerie, the spacious and odd.

Hope to see you this Friday at Merge.

Event Details

Tiny Lights Festival

Tiny Lights Festival in Ymir, BC started the summer off so beautifully that it truly feels like an endless summer. The festival happens on the second weekend of June in a small town in the Kootenays and is without a doubt a special and inspiring time. Here are some quick snippets of sights witnessed at one of my favorite festivals in Canada.

Christa Couture sings true and open.

Ymir Hotel proprietor mixing our chosen poisons.

Rosie Delight graces the Adult Stage.

Mind of a Snail!

Penticton, Coldstream, Kaslo, Kimberley and Nelson

awestruck

I know I owe you a Release Party Recap and a CMW tale or two, but right now all I can say is this:

Soon my pretties, soon.

xo

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

RELEASE PARTY!

Pieces EP photo shoot with Brutally Beautiful

This past Friday Amanda Bullick of Brutally Beautiful and I got together to do the artwork and promo shots for the Pieces EP. We did it all, from set up to shoot to layout in one day! Thank god for the clarity of dreams that direct your vision and friends with the skills and talent to help realize them! Thank you, Amanda!

The album cover!!!!

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…?