A Spot on the Hill is the name I use for my instrumental music project. As of this week, however, it’s also a place where I share my thoughts about music.
What’s behind the name? Several things, actually — but mostly, I think of a spot on the hill as a place of contemplation. And that’s what I hope to do on this platform: contemplate and explore the music I love, and hopefully share it with others.
First, some boundary-setting: This is not a review site. As a musician who wants reviews myself, I understand that when a musician finds a site that writes about the type of music they make, they really want it to be a review site. But while I do enjoy discovering new music, my deeper goal is to better understand and connect with the musical genre(s) in which I create music. I see promotion of new music on this site as an occasional byproduct, not as a goal.
So, if not a review site, then what? As I said, it’s a place where I hope to explore the music I love and share it with others. Sometimes that might mean exploring where it came from; sometimes it could be exploring the terms and genre names that describe it; sometimes it could be sharing tracks or albums I love, recent or otherwise.
I’ve found inspiration from numerous artists, labels and websites operating in the realm of instrumental (and often ambient) music, and I’ll be mentioning and linking to them regularly. There are many excellent resources for learning about this music; my hope is that A Spot on the Hill can join the conversation.