Noah Hill, one fifth of acclaimed Australian band Parcels, has announced his debut solo album, Ok ok now, with the release of recent single, Bye Baby. The intimate, delicately written song is one of our favourite single releases of the year. Ahead of a series of global shows including Paris, New York, London and Los Angeles, we spoke to Noah about writing the record and why he chose to do a solo project:

Congratulations on the music and on starting a solo project. What made you want to release this music as Noah Hill? What was the catalyst?

It’s something I’ve always had on my mind. Writing these sorts of songs was always the most natural to me. Folk music has always played such a big part of my life, and as the years rolled on, and it not really making sense in the context of the band, it was a natural progression to create a solo project that summed up this part of my life. 

Also, a pretty huge breakup was a major catalyst too. It gave me the required space and heartbroken anguish that often seems to be required for something like this. 

We love the new single Bye Baby. Tell us about making this one, and all the music you’ve crafted. Has there been a running theme you’ve explored or a specific inspiration?

I’ve probably written close to every song in the last 10 years about this one particular person. Big relationships have a way of engrossing your life, and it was always such a rich river of emotion that I couldn’t help always tapping into. There was an old romance in it that always suited song for some reason. Bye Baby came towards the end of the process of this album, when it became clear to me that it was a breakup album through and through. It was able to sum up much of the albums meaning quite directly, with the lyrics being finished a few days before the studio session. Often the ones you do right at the end hit the hardest. The freshest, most open. 

Where have you been writing and recording the album?

It was written over many years. In all sorts of places. Much of it in my parents backyard between long tours. I’d come back like a wounded soldier needing nursing back to health, so I’d go there and sit out in the garden and try find some meaning and put myself back together. Others in Hong Kong hotel rooms, or Berlin apartments, Los Angeles airbnbs. It’s a sort of a lost dogs memoir, that got eventually recorded in Sydney, and finished in Greece and in London. But when I picture the album, I see the green of my parents backyard, so vibrant with the creek running through it and my ex partner lying down in the grass on a rug. 

What have you learnt about yourself through making the album, as opposed to the Parcels project?

I’ve learned about my constant resilience. It isn’t for the faint of heart. Making something like this. When you’re on your own and don’t have the protection and support of others around you, it can sometimes feel like one madman’s journey against the world. I totally empathize with people who just give up, and never make the records that should be made. I learnt that I did truly want it, and that even through some uncertainty I do have a clear vision and enough experience to see things out to the end. 

We love the album name. Tell us about it and why it feels like the perfect name for your debut album.

I’m glad to hear it. I changed it right at the last minute haha. 

At first it was called Once in a Lifetime. The opening track. 

But in the end that line Ok ok now just kept poking out, and getting stuck in my brain and of others who I showed the album to. I realised it summed up much of the album’s defeatist resignation, yet of it’s gentle acceptance as well. And it felt more intriguing to me, something that you lean into rather than tells the story quite obviously. 

Who did you work with on the album?

I’ve pretty much done everything for this album. That was also something I learned about myself, that I can mix albums. There was always a lot of uncertainty and self doubt about that element of the process. Always thinking that there was special tricks you had to learn to make music even masterable. But in the end it’s just what you like to hear, and that’s it. 

I did work with a very great engineer Chloe Dadd at golden retriever studios. She spent a lot of time with me, pulling sounds, manning the studio and was always so encouraging and helpful through the process. 

It’s All in My Head was engineerd by Nathan Hawes (kesmar). A friend and collaborator who had started some of the initial recordings with me. 

It was mastered by Zino Mikorey. 

We also love the visual world you’re creating for this project. What inspires you visually? Did you have specific references?

I wanted to keep this whole project very intimate and personal, because the music felt that way and I didn’t want it to start feeling stretched or pulled in a way that felt inauthentic. So I got my friend Cai Leplaw to help me with the visuals and videos. His work has always inspired me and made me feel things. He was also living in the house with me and my partner, and had seen us grow from 14 year olds to heartbroken adults. He had a true inside knowledge on what the album was about. I had some clear ideas in my head, and he helped me build upon them, and we eventually fleshed out the stories and aesthetics. 

You’re going on tour - how do you feel about touring solo? It must feel very different!. Tell us about your live show.

I just finished my first shows! It was crazy. I was so nervous, more nervous than I have ever been for Parcels. For it to be just me, singing my songs felt so vulnerable and new. 

It was an amazing experience though, and super draining at the same time. I put so much of myself into the shows, and go deep into my past, that I come off in a really weird space. It’s very different to the dopamine and high energy filled body with which you come off a parcels show with. It’s alot less highs and lows, but it is its own journey. I put myself in a pretty vulnerable place, so I hope people feel that and resonate with it. 

Which other rising (Aus or global) artists are you excited about? What have you been listening to?

I’ve been listening to this guy called Ryman a lot! He’s a singer out of Nashville. Such beautiful songs, similar style to mine I guess, nylon in some open tuning. His album is everything I wanted mine to be. But he’s totally nailed it. 

Also Tennyson Nobel, who will be supporting me in Europe. He is one of the most talented songwriters I know. One day, surely, people will see and hear that too. 

What’s next? 

Next is touring for the next few months. A mix of Parcels and my solo shows. I’m bouncing around Europe and the US until October. 

And then I’m going to go back home and write. I feel really ready to make new music. I honestly can’t wait. 

And then next year I’ll be out on festivals and other solo shows for my solo album. Onwards and upwards. More music, more shows, always moving. 

Xx

Listen to Noah Hill HERE.

@noah_hill_f