J. Riley Hill

J. Riley Hill a musician and mixed media artist from Winnipeg. Having previously been a member of local band The Fo!ps, he has recently released his debut solo album - the imaginatively named J. Riley Hill. The album is a crazy blend of pop influences (indeed the album’s blurb on bandcamp says that “listing influences would become a music trivia game based on 40 years of rich history”) which uses a multitude of instruments (all of which are played by our eponymous hero) to create a fresh and original slice of strange and fun “Post-pop”. My favourite track, the sunny and laidback pop gem ‘Walkingleftofwanting’, is featured below. - Wake The Deaf

After releasing eight albums in eight weeks, J Riley Hill took a full year to record this whacked-out studio pop — heaping on synthesizers, banjos and trombones and wrapping the full-length up with a guitar solo finale worthy of sending you soaring over rainbows. Hill’s deft wordplay jumps around from losing the game to the impossibility of you experiencing his dreams to tearing off your skin and jumping in the fire cuz it feels so good. Serious WTF stuff that feels great bouncing around your intestines. - Weird Canada

For some stretch of time, J. Riley Hill recorded and released an album every week. Alas, this reckless streak of productivity left him feeling creatively drained and somewhat embarrassed, and what he recorded in no way reflects his live performances. Lacking material fit for touring, for promoting, and for his pride, Mr. Hill selected eleven songs that stuck out from his previous releases, spent one year working out the snags, and another year recording. The result is this wonderful self-titled album.

Mr. Hill takes DIY to the highest level possible: all the music, recording, mixing, mastering, and artwork (at which, I confess, I have spent several hours staring) is done by Mr. Hill himself. The music is brilliantly unpredictable in both structure and content. The mood is never clear and, at times, borders on the absurd. One cannot help but wonder at such lines as “the world is a stick of dynamite” or “take off your skin and jump in the fire”. At other times, he giggles. He has the Prince-like ability to do practically anything and everything with his voice, and, although some of his many influences may be apparent, he is unconfined by genre restraints. The final sound does not sound like anything else. From the big band-like introduction of the opening track “Alone”, to the album’s psychedelic-dance single “Fio”, to the highly electronic “Glass Bear”, the listener will find themselves in an entirely different world altogether. There are no weak songs, but a few that play on repeat in my head are “Member School”, “The World”, and “Mountains and Birds”. J. Riley Hill and his band, the Bipolar Bears, recently completed a cross-Canada tour to promote the album, and were in Brandon about a month ago. You can listen to the whole album free right here: http://jrileyhill.bandcamp.com/album/j-riley-hill - The Quill