There’s nothing unusual about a ukulele or a cello. Unless, of course, the two instruments alone work together to back up nothing but the vocals of James Hill and Anne Janelle.
“It turns out the ukulele and cello go together absolutely miraculously…It’s like dancing with a partner and you couldn’t step on her toes if you wanted to,” revealed Hill, who will be entertaining the Cochrane Valley Folk Club crowd, accompanied by Janelle, at the Alliance Church Oct. 12 at 7:30 p.m.
Currently carving out his third full-length singer/songwriter album for a 2014 release (with a back catalogue that includes three instrumental albums) Hill (ukulele, vocals) and Janelle (cello, vocals) have a flurry of shows that will have them jetting from their Nova Scotia home to not only out west, but as far as New Zealand and Hong Kong – in promotion of Janelle’s fall 2013 release, So Long at the Fair. The Cochrane show will feature mainly Hill’s music.
Those who will be attending Hill & Janelle can anticipate a sound reflective of a variety of influences – including bluegrass, folk and jazz. A common trend with current musicians, this multi-genre approach appeals to a larger audience.
“It’s more of a buffet approach to music, rather than an a la carte,” surmises Hill on the current listening trend.
A couple for 11 years, Hill and Janelle are honeymooners on tour this go-round, as the pair exchanged nuptials last month. Their union in music began several years after their relationship began.
“She was much more interested in the classical world,” explained Hill, who at the time had yet to fully experiment with his own singing voice and begin his foray into the world of singer/songwriter.
“I’ve always sung, but I’ve not always felt comfortable with it,” said Hill, musing on how the final track on his last instrumental album was “almost a premonition, almost a wink into what was to come”.
What came was Hill’s debut singer/songwriter album, True Love Don’t Weep (Hill & Janelle, 2009) followed by Man With A Love Song (2011); the latter album boasts 14 tracks that touch on a number of genres, including “Hand Over My Heart” (bluegrass), “Lying in Wait” (barbershop) and “What Would You Have Me Do?” (big-band jazz). Both self-produced, Hill decided to switch his stance this third time in the ring and has chosen to work with award-winning musician and producer, Joel Plaskett, in his home-grown Nova Scotia recording studio, the New Scotland Yard.
Plaskett has a traditionalist approach to production, where vinyl is very much alive and well, and has produced artists such as Sarah Slean, David Myles, Steve Poltz and Mo Kenney; Plaskett, himself, has received numerous accolades coast-to-coast and the songwriter is known to perform solo, as well as with his rocking power trio, The Emergency.
“I’ve always produced everything myself. I was getting a little tired of hearing my own ideas and so that’s why I decided (to work with) Joel Plaskett,” said Hill.
The pair will be heading into the studio in January and aim for a summer 2014 release.
Formally educated in music with a Bachelor of Music degree, Hill has dabbled with most of the stringed instruments, but began with the ukulele in fourth grade while growing up in Langley, B.C. and has yet to put it down.
Not an instrument held in high regard in the folk world, Hill said he never tires of the reaction from new audiences.
“The ukulele is always a surprise to people because they expect so little and it can do so much.”
Opening up for Hill & Janelle is Sarah MacDougall, the recent winner of the Roots Solo Album of the Year at the Western Canadian Music Awards.
Tickets to the show are $25 and are available at cochranefolkclub.com.
