Nature and music have come together for Blue Mountain singer-songwriter Heather Hill.
Hill has recently released a new single I Rise, off her third studio album We Are the Same that was self-released in full back in May. The album is a collection of 12 acoustic, piano-based songs that explore everyone’s impact on the world.
“It was kind of quiet when the album came out with COVID and all the things,” said Hill with a laugh. “I Rise was more meaningful than ever.”
Hill recorded the album over the last five years after she moved from Toronto to the Blue Mountains.
She says she has had an interest in music from a young age, achieving a classical piano performance degree from the Royal Conservatory of Toronto and a Master of Arts degree from the University of Waterloo.
“We had been coming up here for 18 years to ski, hike and enjoy the outdoors. One day, we were heading back to the city and one of my kids asked me if we really had to go back,” she said.
“None of us really wanted to. The rest is history,” said Hill.
Hill cites her mother as being her biggest musical influence.
“She had a very musical family,” said Hill, also listing off other influences such as Elton John, The Beatles and Joni Mitchell.
She describes her own sound as being more eclectic, as she has tried different genres with different albums; one she described as folk, while another, pop.
“This one is more acoustic inspirational. I love all genres,” she said.
Hill says she wrote I Rise while watching a rainstorm.
“I was watching rain fall into a rain catcher. The rhythm of that falling became the rhythm of the song. From a story perspective, I was going through a really hard time but felt lifted by nature,” she said. “The inspiration came from watching nature deal with hard things.”
Overall, Hill says she feels inspired by South Georgian Bay and feels connected to nature.
“The album is an intimate expression of observing nature and hearing one’s stories. I really appreciate the landscape of Georgian Bay. This area is my primary inspiration,” she said.
For more information on Heather Hill, or to listen to or purchase her album, click here.
