Scotty Hills To Release Nature Girl EP on February 24th
"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
"..bluesy, neo-soul brilliance augmented by soaring guitar licks and the kind of falsetto harmonies that would make D'Angelo proud." - FFWD Magazine
Vancouver, BC - Vancouver Island based singer-songwriter Scotty Hills is pleased to announce the release a brand new EP, Nature Girl, on Friday, February 24th through his own label Grand Fir Records. And premiering today exclusively at The Spill Magazine is the video for the first single from the EP, 'Won't Be Back'. Directed by Alisa Banks, the video was shot in the Coachella Valley in California over the Christmas 2016 break. Click here to watch the video premiere.
Scotty Hills got his start at 17, playing drums in the blues clubs of the American Midwest. Before the age of 20, Scotty had opened for Chuck Berry at the Chicago Blues Festival, played the Mutual Musician Foundation in Kansas City, and had shared a bill with the Newborn Brothers in Memphis, Tennessee. From there, Scotty moved to Winnipeg and joined alt-blues band, The Perpetrators. After 2 albums, 2 Western Canadian Music Awards and a Juno Nomination, he ventured on his own and released his debut album Wonderland Urgency in 2008 which he later rereleased as Year of Septembers in 2013.
On his latest effort, Nature Girl, set to be released on February 24th, Scotty embarked on a 2500 mile train adventure to Detroit. There, he collaborated with #1 selling Motown artists LJ Reynold (The Dramatics) and Tony Green (Tupac, George Clinton, Snoop Dog). He then teamed with mixer Diego Media (Hey Rosetta, David Miles, Joel Plaskett) and four time Grammy Award Winner Tom Coyne (D’Angelo, Adele, Amy Winehouse) for post production. The self produced EP is Scotty’s most soulful and sophisticated work to date, including lush string arrangements, lyrical painting and soaring dynamics that glue his genre-centric tendencies into the development of a unified sound from start to finish.
The first single from Nature Girl, 'Won't Be Back'', has been described as country meets soul - Willie Nelson meets Aretha Franklin. It’s a song that epitomizes Scotty Hills' overall ‘Northern Soul’ sound with one foot in his prairie roots and one foot in Detroit soul, drawing from city blues and old country/folk. 'Won't Be Back' is a good first taste of the Nature Girl EP which is an eclectic mix of music that is hard to define.
"I've tried to touch on many genres, without totally subscribing to any of them," says Hills. "It's a pretty rootsy record, but I'm never satisfied with simply nodding my cap to tradition, nor am I preoccupied with colouring inside industry lines. It's harmonically broad. The melodies and lyrics are subtle and simple. My goal as an artist, is to make a record that perfectly balances and blends all of my influences, into each song. Nature Girl is a big step in that direction. Listeners will hear a exploring songwriter, taking a deep look into the relationship between human nature and mother nature.
Nature Girl will be available on Spotify, Apple Music/iTunes, and other digital retailers and streaming services on Friday, February 24th. Scotty Hills will be playing a couple of shows on Vancouver Island around the release of Nature Girl, including a show on release day at Providence Farm in Duncan, BC. Hills will be heading out for a Western Canadian Tour later this spring, full details to be announced soon. For more info please visit: scottyhills.com
SCOTTY HILLS >> UPCOMING TOUR DATES
February 11 - Port Renfrew, BC - 2017 Song & Surf
February 24 - Duncan, BC - Live in the Chapel @ Providence Farm (get tickets)
SCOTTY HILLS - NATURE GIRL TRACK LISTING
RELEASE DATE: FEBRUARY 24th, 2017 (Grand Fir Records)
1. Hope You're In Toronto
2. I Want To Love You
3. Nature Girl
4. Won't Be Back
5. The Answers
FOR MORE INFO: www.scottyhills.com
Twitter: @ScottyHills
Instagram: @ScottyHillsOfficial
FB: Facebook.com/ScottyHillsMusic
MEDIA TOOLS
WATCH/POST Scotty Hills - 'Won't Be Back' Video HERE (via YouTube)
STREAM/POST Scotty Hills - 'Won't Be Back' HERE (via Soundcloud)
CLICK HERE for album art + high-res press photos (Photo Credit: LeAnn Mueller)