PLEASE INTRODUCE YOURSELF FOR US WHO ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH YOU AND YOUR MUSIC AND TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF.
I am a singer-songwriter based in Galway in the West of Ireland who writes melodic folk and blues rock influenced songs. My songs are inspired by life, love and loss and I have played to audiences in the US and Ireland with my work initially released to critical acclaim on compilation albums, including 'Origin: See the Light', 'New Horizons', and 'Inundations' (which also featured music from leading international acts, including Josh Ritter, Ron Sexsmith, Lloyd Cole, Damien Rice, Mundy and The Frames). My first single release was ‘The Climb’ last January 2022 and I have released 4 further singles since then (‘Starting Over’, ‘CircleWalk’, ‘Sing Out Loud’, and ‘Feel Love’) with a further single ‘Dancer’ due for release on February 10. My debut album – ‘If Not Now, When?’ – will be released in Spring.
TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR NEW ALBUM OR SINGLE?
The album is titled “If Not Now, When?” and charts a musician’s artistic development over the course of a relationship from hopeful beginnings, to doubt and denial, disillusionment, breakup and recovery. My next single ‘Dancer’ deals with the challenge of artistic creation, set against the background of a memory of a dance, and the first fires of romantic encounter. It is part love song, part artistic reflection.
WHAT INSPIRED THE ALBUM OR SINGLE?
Like all my music, both the forthcoming single and album are inspired by life – either my own experiences, those of close friends or acquaintances or more broadly what’s going on in the world right now. The challenge is to bring real integrity both lyrically, musically and in the performance of song.
CAN YOU SUM UP THE ALBUM IN A FEW WORDS?
Life, Love, Loss and Redemption. And how song and music can help us make sense of it all.
WHAT RECORD CHANGED YOUR LIFE AND WHY?
Astral Weeks by Van Morrison. Apart from being a sublime collection of songs, I heard the album for the first time when I had begun to compose my own songs and it convinced me that you can write from the ordinary experiences of your own life - the extraordinary musical arrangements there and particularly vocal performance have also been very influential for my work.
DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE MUSIC VIDEO FILMED BY YOUR BAND OR ANOTHER ARTIST?
From my own tracks, I particularly like the video for ‘The Climb’ as it was the first music video produced for a song of mine and I collaborated with an excellent video artist EL Putnam on it and love the ideas she brought to it. Apart from my work, I love Jonathan Glazer’s work, particularly his music video for Radiohead’s ‘Karma Police’.
WHAT WOULD WE FIND YOU DOING WHEN YOU'RE NOT MAKING MUSIC?
Reading, or maybe watching films. And I enjoy playing football when I can.
DO YOU GET NERVOUS PERFORMING LIVE, IF SO HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH THAT?
Yes. But once I start singing, I’m usually fine. It’s the anticipation rather than the actual performance that can be most challenging.
HOW DID YOU FORM THE BAND?
Well as a singer/songwriter I don’t have a set band right now but rather have worked with session musicians to bring the album together. Saying that I am working on putting together a touring band right now with a view to gigging later this year.
HOW DO YOU WRITE?
My songs begin as melodies that I usually come up with on guitar - though I've begun to write recently on piano also. I could carry those melodies with me for days, weeks, or sometimes months before words eventually emerge to complement the melody - sometimes this can happen quite quickly; other times, it can take some time. I usually play through the melody repeatedly, and usually, words eventually take shape. I sometimes draw on poetry or literature for inspiration, as in 'The Climb,' which was influenced by the poetry of William Blake and includes some lines from a later unfinished work, The Everlasting Gospel. Other times I find inspiration from events in my life or in the lives of people close to me, or from world events - in reality, inspiration can come from anywhere and sometimes the strangest places - I have one (older) song that came from sitting up through the night one time watching "The Shopping Channel" - there is more than enough material around us to draw on for inspiration for songs.
WHAT INSPIRES YOU?
Everything – life is very generous. Often it’s personal experience but I also find inspiration from the experiences of others I know or what’s going on in the world.
WHAT IS NEXT?
Releasing my new single ‘Dancer’ on February 10 followed by the album ‘If Not Now, When?’ later in the Spring. I’m delighted with how both the single and album are coming together and how they sound – ‘Dancer’ and the album as a whole are being mixed and mastered by the engineer Braddon Williams, who has previously worked with Beyonce, Snoop Dogg, Mark Ronson, Il Divo, Wyclef Jean, Billy Joel, Kelly Clarkson, P Diddy, and The Script – and I’m really looking forward to sharing the final work with fans and followers.
PLEASE TELL US ANY SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS SO WE CAN SHARE.
You can find all my social media links, and links to music, videos and merch here: https://linktr.ee/SanoHill
Twitter: @sanohill
Instagram: @sanohillsongs
TikTok: @sanohill Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sanohillsongs Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@sanohill4013
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