Muso interview: Matt Hill

Dr Matt Hill (PhD, Music technology and composition) was a Dunoon identity for many years: a fixture of the Dunoon Football Club as a player and committee member, a member of the Dunoon Primary P&C and a music teacher at his home in James Street. He wrote a song about the Dunoon tornado which ripped through the village in 2007. He moved to the Tweed region a few years ago, but still performs in our area, most recently at Planet Music, The Levee Bar, and the Dunoon Sports Club.

He is a composer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He was a board member of the Northern Rivers Conservatorium for many years and is a presenter on The Sound Lounge, on ABC North Coast radio. He is a senior lecturer at Southern Cross University where he teaches musicianship, music technology, screen sound and industry/career development. He has released eleven recorded works (available to hear on via his website, https://matthillmusic.info), including solo albums, albums with amphibian, sound design for a Norpa production, a soundscape for a Lismore Regional Gallery exhibition, and a film soundtrack.

Musicophilia caught up with Matt just after he walked the South-West Coast Path in Cornwall (England) with his wife Lisa. He was in St Ives, Cornwall.

Should we expect some new music when you return, with a wild Cornish flavour?

I love the idea of music with a wild Cornish flavour and I hope I can deliver on that front!

You’ve lived and travelled in various places in the world. You made one of our favourite albums, Warm Keep Warm, when you lived in Dunoon. Do you know where your inspiration to make music comes from, or is it a mystery?

My inspiration comes from sitting down each day and practising. I’m very inspired by other musicians and I really enjoy playing and collaborating with them. The students I teach can also be very inspiring. Fundamentally, practising music as often as possible makes inspiration happen. I love making music, so it’s no chore.

And when inspiration comes, which comes first, the music, the words, or something else?

Generally the music comes first – a piano or guitar part, or a chord or little melody. Then, if I’m writing something with words, it’s a long process to turn a melody into a song with words that can actually be sung and make a glimmer of sense!

When did your love affair with music begin?

I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t in love with music. I remember listening to Monster Mash when I was really young – I loved that song! Dad and my sisters always played the piano. There was a lot of music in our house near Canberra. 

When did you first perform music in public, and were you scared?

The first time I performed publicly was at the Caiguna Roadhouse, on the Nullabor Plain, where I worked when I left school. I was seventeen. They had this motorbike gymkhana people came to from far and wide. There was a singer that night playing classic country songs. A few of the staff including me got up and played too. I did a very bad version of The Dead Heart (Midnight Oil). I wasn’t scared because I had been sampling the wares of the bar beforehand.

Was that actually the first time?

Well I played a bit with friends and family, but you see I didn’t do music at school. I learned classical piano, so my only “performances” were for one examiner when I did my AMEB (Australian Music Examination Board) exams. I was terrified doing those exams! I did play in a band at school, but we just jammed and never performed publicly.

And how did you come to work at the Caiguna Roadhouse?

My brother had worked there so we had the connection. It was a great place to work – in the middle of nowhere. I was looking for a job to save up for travelling. I saved all my earnings because there was nothing to buy. I worked about 6 days a week for 10-12 hours, and then in my breaks I’d play guitar or wander off into the bush. It was fantastic! I worked there again a few times again in the holidays while I was at uni.

Your first albums were recorded with the band amphibian. They were instrumental and included samples of frog calls and other nature sounds. You used to busk in Byron Bay with amphibian. How did that go?

That was when that band was first coming together. We first performed as buskers. It was a five piece band then including a conga player and synth player. I played keys, and there was also a drummer (Rob Walsh) and a guitarist (Barry Hill). We set up just down from the Beach Hotel (towards the roundabout). It was great fun – we played whatever we wanted to. People would stop and get into it. Didn’t make a lot of money but it was enjoyable. It was free to busk in Byron then, and there were no council regulations. We had a battery powered amp, and Rob would set up a small drumkit. That was in around 1999. I did my music degree at Southern Cross University (Lismore) from 1995 – 1997. I majored in guitar and and was taught by Jim Kelly. I moved to Melbourne afterwards but came back to work on amphibian with Barry and Rob who were living in Byron at the time.

You also signed a Japanese recording contract with amphibian and toured in Australia and internationally. How was that?

It was great! amphibian was our sole focus for a couple of years. We really worked at it. We rehearsed every day. We recorded a couple of albums. Rob went to Japan to work and study after we’d finished our intense playing time together. He made industry contacts and they really liked our first album, and released it over there. We played a lot in Melbourne and Sydney, and then went to the UK. We got an Australia Council grant to work with a dance company in Manchester on a project that was part of a cultural festival associated with the Commonwealth Games in around 2002. We played in Manchester and at a festival called “The Big Chill”. It was heaps of fun.

On your 2018 album Stars and the Moon and Satellites, you started to sing. Before that most of your music was instrumental, with some vocals supplied by others. Why did you decide to start singing? How is your sound evolving?

Actually before amphibian I did sing in other bands. So I was returning to something I’d done before. I’ve become more and more drawn to singing. It’s something I really enjoy practising now. I think, just moving the breath around – I feel better. When you sing for an hour you can’t help but feel good afterwards. With a lot of the instrumental music I’ve done, I felt there was something missing in some of the tracks and I wanted that foreground element that vocals bring. I’ve worked with a lot of different singers, and I love that, but I’ve found that, even though I’m not the world’s best singer, the sound I’m after now is actually the sound of my own voice.

You have recorded music with your brother Barry and your daughter Gabriella. What’s it like to work with family?

With Barry it’s very comfortable because I have played music with him since we were kids. It’s been wonderful to record with Gabriella and I have played some gigs and made music videos with her. She’s skyrocketing in her abilities now. She is studying at the Sydney Conservatorium – in her 3rd year of the jazz performance degree. I also enjoy jamming with my other daughter Cassandra who is a talented musician.

How does someone manage to make a living from music, as you do? What helped you on your journey to where you are now in music?

Music teaching is the way I’ve been able to make a living and it has funded my music practice. I think about this a lot in my role at the uni. To have a career in music you have to be skilled in a whole range of areas (unless you’re one of the very lucky few who has a hit and breaks through). However there are a large number of phenomenal musicians and performers in Australia who are who aren’t making a living from music. This is a real shame for Australia. It would be great if our artists could be supported as they are in other countries. I find the academic side of music interesting. However tertiary education in Australia is in a really tough place right now, particularly in the creative arts. Music degrees across the country are struggling to get numbers. It’s great to work with students at university who have decided to make music their career, although it is tough for them. However, I think if you are passionate about music you will find a way to make it work. There are a lot of music related areas to work in: admin, event management, film music writing etc. Plus the social media landscape has opened other opportunities.

What are you heading towards on your musical horizon, or will you (and us) find out along the way?

I’ve had 4 weeks off practising while I’ve been travelling, which has been strange because that has never happened before. So soon I’ll just sit down and start practising again and find out what emerges as I go along. I’m keen to record something while I’m on this side of the world, but I’m not 100% sure what it will be yet. I’m keen to collaborate with new people. I’m in an open space right now.

Does your physical environment inspire you?

Yes, I think it really does. The Northern Rivers region is very inspiring on an environmental level because we have the ocean, the beautiful weather and forests and National Parks, but also there is an incredible music scene in our region. There’s a great scene near where I live now in Murwillumbah, and there’s stuff going on in Kingscliff. It feels really connected to what’s happening in Byron and Brunswick Heads and Lismore. Our whole area has a great energy for creativity. I’m also curious to explore the current scene over here, in London, Berlin and Amsterdam on the rest of our trip. So it’s that combination of the natural environment and the people who are making interesting music in those environments that is inspiring.

I think per capita we have the most musos in this region, in Australia. Is that right?

Yes.

Is there a connection between Zen Buddhism, music, football and chickens we need to know about?

There is definitely a connection, but you will have to listen to the latest two amphibian albums to really get it!

Thank you kindly Matt, for sharing your story with us. We will be following the next chapters with great interest.

More about Matt: https://matthillmusic.info. 

This article appeared in the  Dunoon and District Gazette, October-November 2024.