Jo Hill
West Country native Jo Hill found herself in the Middle East during a year studying abroad for university - and realised there that she wanted to be a musician. She tells us about her unusual path to becoming an artist, the pros of being independent and how her songs have grown more personal over time.
When did you first become interested in being a musician?
To be honest, it was a bit of a journey to get there. I was always writing songs as a sort of response to things when I was younger - I think one of the first songs I wrote was about my auntie who sadly passed away from a terminal illness, when I was about 13. I remember writing a song about what we were going through, saying it to her - I think that was the first time I properly sat down and put my thoughts into a song. I was writing and performing a lot, but didn’t know if I wanted to go into acting or music. I ended up studying Arabic at uni, and went to live out in the Middle East for a little bit and met some producers there - I actually got really ill, I got Lyme’s disease, and it was then that I decided I wanted to write lots of songs and that I did want to be a musician. That was 2019 - I finished uni in 2020, then Covid happened, so I moved back home and started writing.
You’re based in London now, but where do you come from originally?
I’m from Cheddar, in the West Country, it’s really near Somerset and Glastonbury.
Did you go out to the Middle East with the intention of deciding the career you wanted?
No, not at all - I had to do a year abroad with uni. While I was at uni I was always in the jazz orchestra and writing and singing, but going out to the Middle East was when I started properly getting into it and going into the studio.
What were the first songs you recorded?
They were some I did out in the Middle East - I thought they were amazing! I remember showing my boyfriend at the time, and being like “Wow, this is such a hit!”. Having that experience of being in a studio, being in front of a mic and singing, it was such an exciting process but I had no idea what I wanted to say - I hadn’t really discovered that yet. Since then it’s been such a crazy journey, figuring out what I wanted to say with my music.
When did you actually begin to release your music?
Two years ago - I released my first single, called Honeymoon, which I released independently. It was really fun, learning that process of releasing music - it was very liberating. Lots of my friends rallied around me, and the song ended up doing pretty well!
Are you still independent or are you signed now?
I’ve actually been in and out of a major label deal since then. It didn’t really work for me - it just got to a point where I wasn’t able to release the music I wanted to release and feel properly supported. So I’m independent again now, and I’m about to release a lot of music I’m very excited about! It’s a lot more freeing.
Would you recommend remaining independent to other young artists?
I think it depends on you, the music you’re wanting to release, who you’re looking at signing to - there are so many variables. Just definitely go where the passion is, and if that’s you on your own then stay that way until anyone else, a label, shows the same passion. You can find support in so many forms, and I don’t think it has to come from a label - it could come from friends, or a mum or a dad. It’s about finding those loyal people and working with them. But if you’re starting out, I’d say don’t rely on anyone else, because nobody else is going to do it for you, and don’t think that signing a deal is going to change your life - I thought it was the dream, but it was far from that.
When you started putting your music out, how did you find best to grow your audience?
Honestly, social media. I remember watching videos online, like “How to release music yourself”, just learning the process. Me and my friends went around the Southbank with QR codes, putting them up everywhere and blasting the song, and we filmed that and put it on TikTok.
How do you feel your music has changed in the couple of years you’ve been working professionally?
I think back then I maybe didn’t know exactly what I wanted to say, specific things I wanted to write about. I wasn’t really thinking much about production either, the sound of it, and now I’m big into that. And I hadn’t discovered country music, which has really inspired me! I think it was a bit directionless at the start, but that’s fine, you can have too much direction at times. I’m a backseat producer on my music now - I’m always like “Can you do this?”, “Can you noisegate that?”, making all these suggestions, so I’m not the one doing it myself, but I am making it my mission to master it more on my next batch of music. I think there needs to be more women in producing.
Your latest single, The City Never Sleeps, is out now and has had a good response - what it’s about?
That was written in October last year, and so was my next one - I think I had a big wave of writing at the time! I wanted to start writing about things that were a bit more raw and true to me - I think in the past I’ve written a lot about other people’s relationships and things I’ve observed, like Honeymoon was about my friend’s relationship, but now I want to write more about me and my struggles. The City Never Sleeps is about insomnia and anxiety, that feeling of being laid awake in bed at night and hearing the city around me. In the Middle East, when I had Lyme’s disease I had very bad insomnia. I just really wanted to put that into a song.
Do you have any live shows coming up to support your new releases?
Yeah, I’ve started doing these intimate nights where it’s all acoustic and I get other female artists to come and play. They’ve been really fun - I’m going to be doing another one in June. I’m going on a tour of the UK later this year as well. I’d really love to play The Taphouse in Cornwall again - Sam Fender and Holly Humberstone have played there too, it’s such an unassuming venue, and when we went it was really rammed and such a fun experience. A lot of the tour is going to be fan-driven though, I want to give the power to the fans - where do you want us to play?
Words: Scott Bates