By Will McGuirk
Durham Region music powerhouse Hill Kourkoutis has been nominated for the 2022 ‘Recording Engineer of the Year’ Juno. Hill first came to our attention via her work with Uxbridge musician, Tania Joy and her album ‘I Will Stand.’ Hill’s Juno nod is for Tania’s single ‘The Drought’ which she engineered, as well as her work with Toronto rocker, Sate. The ‘Recording Engineer of the Year’ nomination has attracted much attention as 2022 marks the first time a female has been included in the list (and we thought we were slow!). Slowcity.ca is of course always interested in the Region’s makers, and how being here helps, hinders, or otherwise has a hand in one’s creative journey. So we reached out and Hill very kindly agreed to answer. our questions below.
Slowcity.ca: Can you tell me about your education in terms of music, you had told me you lived in Greenwood but were schooled in Whitby - why was that?
Hill Kourkoutis: “I started guitar lessons at Durham Music when I was 8 years old. A year or so later, I started piano lessons with a piano teacher in Greenwood, where I grew up. In 6th grade, I began attending Trafalgar Castle School in Whitby. It was a private school that my older sister was also attending. In addition to having incredible teachers, I was able to take music lessons while I attended school with my wonderful instructors Tania Huk (piano) and Mary-Ruth Roadhouse (voice). It was at Trafalgar that I deepened my studies in piano, vocal performance and theory through The Royal Conservatory of Music syllabus. It was also at Trafalgar that I started my first band in Grade 7 with a bunch of the girls from my school. Most of the other instruments I picked up thereafter and my production knowledge was self-taught.“
SC: There is a great community of artists in North Durham; did you find a music community easily in your vicinity?
HK: “I lived in a small hamlet. I was the only musician in my family, so I spent a lot of time alone in my parent’s basement and in my bedroom writing songs and learning instruments. Finding a local music community outside of school was a little difficult because I was so young when I started and I wasn’t really gigging at local spots outside of school coffee houses and concerts. Most of my early music community were my peers from school. Trafalgar had some incredible musicians attending the school. When I was 13, I started getting gigs at the clubs in Toronto and that is when my music community grew exponentially. “
SC: It's interesting to me the split in our area where the East of the Region has great melodic-based older tradition musical artists but the innovative, experimental, tech-based artists are mostly in the West end, - and of course there is the north/south divide where kids in the rural areas had to make up their own fun. How much, if at all, did growing up where you did contribute to what you make and who you became?
HK: “I think my early days were pretty siloed since Greenwood was surrounded by farms and conservation areas. I spent a lot of time playing in the yard or forest with my siblings and cousins. The rest of the time was spent dreaming about becoming a musician, writing songs and learning how to record my own music. I knew exactly what I wanted to do for a living and I was determined to make that happen. I guess this would fall under the category of making my own fun in the north side of town and it definitely contributed to shaping who I have become. It gave me the gift of space to develop, dream and grow into who I am as a creative.”
SC: Where do you do your work, do you travel or do people come to you? I gather you are still working and living here in the GTA, why did you not take off to the bright lights of L.A for example - or if you have left why did you leave?
HK: “I used to travel a lot as a touring musician. I do still travel for work but I primarily work out of my studio, The Lair. The Lair used to be located in Toronto but during the pandemic I decided to move north of the city. I also work out of a lot of other recording studios depending on the project. Finding the right room with the right sound to record in is an important part of the process. I pretty much go where I need to go to do the project justice. I decided to base myself here because I strongly believe that Toronto is a world-class music city with incredible talent and innovative music. We have a very strong community here and I want to be a part of building and fostering that community. That doesn’t mean I close myself off from other incredible cities with amazing music scenes and will often find myself traveling for both work and inspiration.”
‘Nobody’ by Sate, produced and mixed by Hill Kourkoutis, written by Sate and Hill Kourkoutis.
“I remember my first in person session when some of the restrictions lifted. It was a live off the floor session at a Toronto studio and although everyone was masked and socially distanced, the minute the session musicians started playing together, I began to weep.”
- Hill Kourkoutis
SC: What draws you to work with certain artists?
HK: “I love working with artists who are genuine storytellers and musicians. I love working with artists who are kind, loving, honest and incredible people. I love working with artists who are good humans. I love working with artists who wish to contribute something to this world and connect with people. Music is a powerful medium and when all of those things align, that’s when the magic happens. All those things are what collectively draw me to working on a project.”
SC: What do you think are your greatest strengths as a producer?
HK: “I believe a lot of my skills as a producer are a result of having worn so many different hats in this industry from being an artist to backing musician to songwriter, etc. I remember being on the artist side when my ideas were not considered. This had a great impact on me and I realized how quickly an artist can shut down when there is no respect or trust present in the producer/songwriter relationship. Being a producer is so much more than technical execution. Being a producer is also about communication, creating space and guidance. It is not my job as a producer, for example, to intervene with the artist’s path or morph them into someone they are not. My job is to observe the artist, listen to their intentions and facilitate the process of taking their ideas and turning them into a finished song or record that is 100% representative of them and their storytelling. My approach to production is holistic in nature. I like to listen and build that trust and respect. Once that is established, I can ensure an artist is going to be able to go to those vulnerable places and take the creative risks necessary to make a genuine recording.”
SC: Over the past two years what changes, did you see or experience behind the board - was there less in-person experiences, how did you manage that? How did, do you think, the pandemic affected you the music producer over the past two years and what changes were required of the technology involved ?
HK: “The biggest thing that changed during the pandemic was that we could not create in the same space together. Luckily, I had experiences working remotely for certain phases of making records leading up to the pandemic. So I already had somewhat of a framework for making it work. What I didn’t have experience with was making entire albums remotely and in some cases, having never met the artist face to face! It was a true testament to the resilience and adaptability of the artistic spirit, though.
“Musicians are used to adapting to shifting circumstances very quickly and I think that worked in our favour during this difficult time. Technology played a huge role in how we adapted. Zoom became standard for songwriting and recording sessions. There was a lot of file sharing. A lot of coaching artists to build their own recording set-ups at home and teaching them how to record themselves and send files back to me. Then eventually software companies started to find ways to streamline this process. Two years later, there is software that allows us to take control over someone else’s computer and engineer a session remotely in near real time! It’s quite incredible. We don’t necessarily have to be somewhere in order to make music now. It has opened up the possibility of hybrid ways of working (in person and/or remote). It has made us realize that nothing can stop us from creating music. That is an amazing thing, but nothing quite beats being in a room with a bunch of artists creating together.
“I remember my first in person session when some of the restrictions lifted. It was a live off the floor session at a Toronto studio and although everyone was masked and socially distanced, the minute the session musicians started playing together, I began to weep. It was a cathartic release for me. I went from essentially being a one-woman band in my studio and emailing tracks around to hearing people create vibrations and sounds in the same space, harmoniously. I don’t think I’ll ever take that magic for granted ever again.”
SC: There is the historic aspect to your JUNO nomination but if you are like the other artists I know in the North you would appreciate the sentiment and then get back to the work. However there is also that other aspect of a young Hill somewhere who doesn't see a path out of their circumstances but now sees someone who has made it out - where do you see your own personal journey in terms of being an inspiration - what advice would you give, do you see yourself as being open to mentoring options, and if yes how would that manifest ?
HK: “Of course, we never get into this profession for the awards and accolades but the acknowledgement means a whole lot when it comes. It is a complete honour to have received this nomination. It takes years to build a career and a community and a lot of hard work is put into that.”
“This nomination also represents an integral shift towards visibility and representation. To see oneself represented inspires potential and hope. It sparks possibility for the dreamer. It empowers the creative spirit. If it wasn’t for Dalbello, Sheryl Crow and Trina Shoemaker, I don’t know if I would’ve had that spark that told me that I could write songs, play a bunch of instruments and produce and engineer records.
“There was no example to me before that moment. That opened up a world of possibility. I just kind of made that decision and hit the ground running from there. That would be my advice. If this is something you resonate with, even if it seems impossible, just dive in. Don’t think about it too much, just experience it. It’s through the experiences that we refine our paths and our craft. I do a lot of mentoring and am involved with several organizations that foster and support up and coming producer/engineers. I wouldn’t be where I am today without being mentorships, encouragement, people believing in me and presenting me with opportunities. I believe in paying that forward within your community and towards the next generation that is emerging.”
The Juno Awards of 2022 are stated to be presented on May 15, 2022 in Toronto. The awards will be presented at the Budweiser Stage. More information here ->