Today, we sat down with Sano Hill to talk about his inspiration to write music, advice for musicians and much more! Be sure to check out Sano Hill’s music on Spotify below after the interview!
Interview:
What is your inspiration to write your music? Is it your
surroundings?
I find inspiration from many sources: relationships, experiences, stories, news, – life is very generous in providing potential subject matter for songs. Sometimes I have no idea where the songs come from – I could be playing through a melody for weeks or months before words emerge that seem to work for me. And then sometimes a song could come together in minutes. I think the best songs though are coming from a source deep inside and less from the head than from the heart.
What type of music did you listen to growing up?
All kinds – rock, traditional, classical, jazz, contemporary, folk, – I love all types of music that is innovative and created and performed with emotional integrity. I suppose folk rock music was what I connected to most powerfully and that hopefully comes through in my music.
Is there someone you looked up as a hero?
I’m not a big fan of heroes. They generally disappoint eventually. The musician that first helped me realise that I could write my own songs was Van Morrison. Astral Weeks is still one of my favourite albums of all time – it’s extraordinary on every level, lyrically, musically, in terms of the vocal performance. That was a touchstone for me when I was setting out and still somewhere I return to today for inspiration.
If you weren’t a musician, would you be doing today?
I’m really not sure – I also work in film education and contribute to film productions so that’s another important part of my life. It’s extremely hard to make a living as an emerging indie musician, particularly someone who writes and performs original music. But I’ll keep plugging away.
What advice do you have for our fans out there that want to create
music?
I’m not sure I’m qualified yet as a very new and emerging artist to advise anyone else what they should or shouldn’t do in terms of music. I suppose the piece of advice I have received and that perhaps works across most areas of creativity and particularly music is to write from what you know, that is, in approaching songwriting, draw on where possible experiences and/or emotions that are real and authentic. It will be evident in the songs themselves, and audiences are more likely to connect with a song, particularly performances (whether live or recorded) that have this integrity. That’s what I try to do in my songwriting and performances.
Music:
