Hills
Singer-songwriter Scotty Hills was born and raised in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. His country blues sound mixed with sophisticated soul, accurately reflects his early days shared between the city and the farm. Wearing influences such as Marvin Gaye, Taj Mahal, and Gerry Rafferty on his sleeve, Scotty stitches a colourful patchwork blanket of earthy melodies, infectious rhythms and beautifully complex arrangements, to deliver raw and introspective lyrics.
”Names like Sam Cooke, Ron Sexsmith, Stevie Wonder, Junior Parker, or even Feist may come to mind occasionally, but Scotty remains effortlessly original." - CKUA Radio
Scotty began his career as a drummer, touring most notably with alt-blues band The Perpetrators, co-writing/producing the 2006 Juno Award nominated album The Gas and the Clutch. After touring Europe with his self produced debut solo album Wonderland Urgency in 2008, Scotty relocated to Calgary, Alberta before settling on the west coast to produce his genre jumping sophomore album Year of Septembers. This 2013 release gained the attention of Ole Indie publishing, and Scotty was signed to a three year contract, splitting his time between touring, recording and writing at famed Hollywood recording studio Westlake for R n’ B icon Rihanna. This allowed Scotty to explore his longtime love with R n’B music.
"..bluesy, neo-soul brilliance augmented by soaring guitar licks and the kind of falsetto harmonies that would make D'Angelo proud." - FFWD Magazine
Scotty grew up in Canada, to musician parents. His mom was a session singer with a love of R n’ B divas like Whitney Houston and Anita Baker. His dad was an urban cowboy songwriter with a cult following, inspired by artists like Hoyt Axton and Ricky Skaggs. On the weekends, Scotty would spend time at his grandparents farm, hearing his grandpa’s gentle country crooning and formidable yodelling. Despite his early obsession with punk and alternative rock, it was only natural that Western Canadian Music Award winner would come to cherish the tradition of country his dad and grandpa taught him at family gatherings as well as his mom’s collection of The Beatles, Motown, and all things R n’ B.
This mutual love of both traditional country and R n’ B, is evident on his 2017’s Nature Girl. The five song ep moves seamlessly through the contrasts of his influences; salt to earth textures of The Carter Family on songs like Hope You’re in Toronto, then following up immediately with lush, orchestral Stevie Wonder-esqe balladry in I Want to Love You.
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In 2019, after a year long “van life” trip to Nashville, Tennessee, Scotty has returned to the Canadian west coast to complete the recording of his 4th album The Great Regression before heading to the UK to release and tour the forthcoming full length record.
While off tour, Scotty makes his home in Vancouver on the unceded traditional territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, and has been accepted to a Master's degree in Music Education at the University of British Columbia.