Interview with Irish Artist Sano Hill

March 24, 2023

Interview with Irish Artist Sano Hill

By Mick Michaels

The Cosmick View: Hello, and welcome to The Cosmick View/MBM Ten Pounder! Thanks for taking some time to chat with us!

CV: Describe your definition of your sound and style and how does that definition uniquely describe the music?
Sano Hill: My name is Sano Hill and I’m an Irish singer-songwriter based in Galway City who writes melodic rock songs that are informed by life, love and loss – and my musical and literary influences. I try to bring integrity and emotional honesty to what I do both in composition and performance and hopefully it comes through in the songs.

I believe that the songs I write speak to people – they have soul and depth and strong melodies that connect with listeners. When I write I try to bring integrity to what I do and say something meaningful in the songs that people hopefully can connect with and maybe sing along with – these are songs of hope ultimately, though they also chart pain and challenging circumstances, be it in relationships, life or the challenges we face as a species given how fucked up the world is right now socially and environmentally. But there is always hope and that’s what I try to communicate in my songs…the possibility that we can overcome.

CV: Today, everyone talks about artist and audience connection. Is such a level of connection actually achievable for an artist and if so, how have you made the connection to your fans?
SH: As an emerging artist I’m still working on this aspect, connecting with fans and building a fan base. Right now I’m mostly using the release of singles (6 in the past 12 months) and online platforms to connect with fans, but I’m also getting back into gigging and connecting that way also which is critical. I am hugely grateful to anyone who connects and who appreciates the music I make so I’m always keen to respond and connect when I can.

CV: Is fan interaction an important part of your inner culture?
SH: In time it will be but right now the focus has been on getting the music recorded and out there and completing the forthcoming album, ‘If Not Now, When?’ which will be coming out in the summer.

CV: Can a band truly interact with its fans and still maintain a level of personal privacy without crossing the line and giving up their “personal space” in your opinion?
SH: That is always a difficult balance to strike – you have to protect your own space and your own creative space particularly as an artist but there also has to be space and the opportunity to connect with those who respond and appreciate your music.

CV: Is music, and its value, viewed differently around the world in your opinion? If so, what do you see as the biggest difference in such multiple views among various cultures?
SH: I think the differences are often superficial frankly. Music exists in all cultures and has a similar significance across all cultures: a means of telling stories, facilitating communities coming together, elevating the human soul, allowing people to experience deeper emotions and to connect with distinctive aspects of who they are as human beings.

CV: Do you feel that an artist who has an international appeal, will tend to connect more so to American audiences? Would they be more enticed or intrigued to see that artist over indigenous acts because of the foreign flavor?
SH: I’m not sure – I think there are so many factors that influence how people interact with and connect with music – communal, promotional, cultural, societal – I’m not sure there is a single overriding reason – international acts visiting the states can bring a distinctive approach to recognized musical forms e.g. rock music, and this can draw people to them.

CV: Has modern-day digital technology made everyone an artist on some level in your opinion? Have the actual lines of what really is an artist been blurred?
SH: Absolutely – we all carry technology on our phones that would be unimaginable a generation ago and capable of producing high quality recordings in both sound and vision. So yes everyone has the potential to be an artist, and in fact that potential has always been there but perhaps more realizable today than ever. However, that doesn’t mean everyone is a good artist! J

CV: How would you describe the difference between an artist who follows trends and one who sets them?
SH: The difference between an artist who can produce a good but familiar piece of work and an artist with the ability to re-imagine existing forms in new and innovative ways.

CV: Has music overall been splintered into too many sub-genres in an effort to appease fan tastes in your opinion? And has such fan appeasements, in actuality, weakened music’s impact as a whole by dividing audiences?
SH: I’m not sure –I think there is more music now been made than ever and more artists out there now than ever – the challenge is making a living out of your music which is very, very difficult now.

CV: What can fans expect to see coming next from you?
SH: The main focus of 2023 is to get the album, ‘If Not Now, When?’ out. It’s nearly there…final mixing and mastering is ongoing and I’m incredibly fortunate to be collaborating with a fantastic and hugely talented Irish producer Larry Hogan who has brought my songs in really unexpected but glorious directions. I’m also grateful to Braddon Williams (who has previously worked with a range of top artists, including Beyonce, Snoop Dogg, Mark Ronson, Il Divo, Wyclef Jean, Billy Joel, Kelly Clarkson, P Diddy, and The Script) and is currently contributing on the final mixing and mastering process. The plan is to release in the summer, with perhaps one more single before then.

CV: Thanks again for taking some time and talking. It is greatly appreciated.
SH: Thank you for the opportunity to connect with you and your readers!

Check out Sano Hill at:
Twitter: @sanohill

Tiktok: @sanohill

YouTube: @sanohill

Instagram: @sanohillsongs

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sanohillsongs

All links are available at: https://linktr.ee/SanoHill

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My name is Mick Michaels...I'm an artist, music fan, songwriter, producer, show host, dreamer and guitarist for the traditional Heavy Metal band Corners of Sanctuary. Writing has always been a creative outlet for me; what I couldn't say in speech, I was able to do with the written word. Writing has given me a voice and a way for me to create on a multitude of platforms including music and song, articles, independent screenplays, books and now, artist interviews. The Cosmick View is an opportunity to raise the bar and showcase artists in a positive and inspirational light. For me, it's another out-of-this-world adventure.