“The way I write feels like a stream of consciousness,” says Melbourne-based singer, songwriter and producer Jessie Hill, explaining that she often relies on setting and mood. “It’s like the song already exists and it's just about channeling it.”
Rewind to 2012 across the ditch and Hill was getting her start at the ripe age of 11, placing runner-up in New Zealand’s Got Talent to 15-year-old Clara van Wel. The impressive feat truly kicked off her music career with her releasing her solo debut album, With Love, with Sony Music New Zealand just a year later.
“The main thing it gave me was a real sense of love for singing to a crowd, which is still something I chase as an adult,” she says on how these formative years shaped her practice.
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In her teens, she relocated to Melbourne with a scholarship to study music at the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School, going on to win the inaugural Fed Live music competition held in Federation Square, sponsored by MTV Australia, Mushroom Records, Melbourne Music Week and Ditto Music, in 2020.
“I entered the competition on the last day you could apply with zero expectations. Winning was random but validating,” she says. “It was a stage I had walked past for years on my way to school. I had always wanted to play there. It was a big honour.”
It’s an accolade showing that Hill wasn’t just a child rising star, but that she’s a talent on a roll. In 2020, she released her maiden single, Good Grades, then her popular track Santorini in 2021 with Push Records, a love song dedicated to her parents’ anniversary. Her more abstract dance song Fever Dream dropped in 2023 with multi-instrumentalist and producer Fractures, and From This Moment came in collaboration with DJ Noiz last year.
“In the last few years, I’ve been lucky to perform in all kinds of places,” Hill shares. She’s been on stages in the US, Singapore, India and festivals closer to home in Melbourne, with a sound blending jazz, classical, R&B, soul and pop.
Then, this year, she released Motions, with the writing, production, and visuals for giving homage to Kerala, Hill’s home state in India.
“I had no idea what I was writing about until I had finished the lyrics and was like ‘Oh, so that’s how I feel,’” she shares, saying that the writing process took just 30 minutes, with production moving quickly too with Sam Varghese.
“I told him I wanted to sample this fishing chant from India and, straight away, he got exactly what I meant.
“It’s cool to have so much culture to express and so many references to draw from,” she says, explaining a larger cultural focus in her music that’s still taking form.
“Recently, I’ve come across more casual hate towards South Asians. That is super weird to me. My perspective has shifted to see it as a responsibility to share my culture in the way I present myself. I want this to be a way for people who might not know much about India to be more exposed to the culture.”
These elements, as well as other Bollywood and Indian music and film influences, culminated in the single’s music video filmed spontaneously in India earlier this year.
“It’s probably my favourite music video so far because of the way it came together. The people behind it are so incredibly talented, hard-working and good at what they do,” she says, shouting out Sathya Pradeep and Vishnu Rajan, and saying she’s getting ready to release remixes of Motions with two artists from Malaysia and Singapore.
She’s done a lot, but it seems like the best is yet to come for Hill. Though to bring our focus back to the very present moment, she’s got Suzanne by RAYE and Mark Ronson on repeat, as well as Love, Love, Love by Donny Hathaway, plus everything by Paul Simon.
“I have so many influences, my perception of myself changes every second day,” she reflects.
“I struggled with this for a while because my music doesn’t sound like it’s coming from the same person. It can be incohesive. What I’m about to put out feels like a departure from what I’ve put out before, but I’m thinking less about planning and just sharing what I’ve been making.”
“It’s still very early days with all of this so I feel like I have no expectations to deal with,” she says, “so I may as well make the most of the freedom.”
Jessie Hill is playing Northcote Social Club (supporting Velvet Bloom) on 5 July.
