Music
February 3rd 2010
Hill is alive with the sound of music
Eclectic musician JR Hill discusses the motivation behind his weekly album project and his upcoming full-length release
No, this isn’t a scene from Time Bandits: Eclectic musician JR Hill released seven albums in the last few months, all available for download free on his website.
Generally if a musician were to tell you they’re going to be releasing a new album every week until the end of the year, you’d take the comment with a grain of salt.
You’d chalk it up to arrogant boasting, perhaps.
However, in the case of J.R. Hill, the local musician known not only for fronting The Fo!ps and The Oktars, but also for recording music for many other local artists in his spare time, the concept seems plausible.
This past November, Hill released the first in what would be a series of weekly mini-albums, made available to download for free on his website, http://www.jrileyhill.com
The series continued for seven weeks, with Hill delivering about 20 minutes of newly written and recorded material every Sunday.
Each week something interesting, original and challenging could be expected.
The albums give a window into Hill’s creative process, a look into the kind of ideas he’s throwing around, like a weekly musical journal entry.
The songs are expectedly unpolished.
Some come off more as song fragments, or musical ideas recorded for posterity, while others are fully-realized compositions.
“This music is going to be used as demos for a more polished release,” Hill explained. “I am not totally sure what the deal will be yet.”
He has already begun recording with The Oktars and with be announcing any developments on his website.
All seven albums are still available for download, but will be taken down before long, so get ‘em while you can.
The musical style is all over the map.
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A focus on studio experimentation is evident throughout, giving the music an almost avant-garde rock sound, comparable to The Residents.
The songs veer from pop and spacey psychedelia to sludgy metal and acoustic ballads.
Like a turkey dinner, Hill is feeding it to us, giblets and all.
Served up in accessible, bite-sized portions, Hill is giving a chance to savour all it has to offer.
He’s currently in the process of trimming the fat and adding a little garnish before it’s time for the meal.
The best part is that we’re invited to the final meal too.
Hill will be taking the stage at Ragpickers with his band The Oktars this weekend, as something of a grande finale for this project.
The Oktars will include a selection of songs from the series in their set, along with old favorites.
“We plan to have the show be awesome,” Hill said confidently.
This article appeared in Volume 64, Number 18 of The Uniter, published February 4th 2010.
