The singer-songwriter once again transcends categorization as Grammy-winning musicians join her on her latest recording.
In a recent Press Release from August, singer-songerwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Hilary Scott, announced she will release her 11th recording titled Freight Train Love with Belltown Records. The new album was recorded at Ultratone Studios.
Press Release: Young music veteran, Hilary Scott began her career over a decade ago through a solo career that started in the Seattle music scene in 2000, to a seven-year stint with the Hilary Scott Band in the Midwest. Scott’s music has been classified as roots, Americana, folk-rock, indie-rock, pop and even blues. Signed to Belltown Records since 2003, Scott has traversed America and Europe sharing the stage with artists such as Tanya Tucker, Beth Orton, Little Feat and Chuck Berry.
For her 11th recording, Freight Train Love Scott traveled to Los Angeles to record at Johnny Lee Schell’s Ultratone Studios. Schell, who has worked with such greats as Bonnie Raitt and Taj Mahal, not only lent guitar to the album, but also did the engineering and mixing. Freight Train Love was produced by recognized Americana artist, Michael O’Neill, who drew in music heavies Bob Glaub on bass (Paul McCartney, Linda Rondstandt, Rod Stewart); Tpny Braunagle on drums (Bonnie Raitt, Rickie Lee Jones); and Mike Finnigan on keys and organ (Crosby Stills and Nash, Leonard Cohen). Additional percussion was provided by Scott, Schell, O’Neill and longtime Scott collaborator AJ Gennaro. Scott said that the recording experience, “took my music to a new and exciting level.”
Scott wrote or co-wrote 7 of the 10 songs on Freight Train Love. Known for her powerful voice, Scott also writes intelligent lyrics and strong melodies and brings a raw depth to both. “Onstage I’m an autobiographer, telling stories about my life and relating to people on any level possible,” said Scott.
The title track kicks off the record with a very soulful R&B feel, while still retaining the honest sound of Americana. Julie Delgado who has worked with Sting sings back-up vocals. “This song was the first time I heard Johnny, Tony and Bob playing together and my imagination just opened up with all the possibilities of how wonderful the album was going to sound,” said Scott, “When we brought in Julie, the vibe of the song and the sound of the tracks just blew me away. Sonic euphoria!”
The song “Help” came to Scott in a rush during a moment of self-doubt. “When you look at me like I am a stranger,” she sings, “You should know I feel the same about myself.” Kevin Fisher who has written songs for Rascal Flats, Sara Evans and others wrote “Losing You.” He also wrote the big country sounding, “If You Don’t Love Me” and duets with Hilary Scott. “Flowers on Mars” was released as an EP in 2013 and was written in the middle of the night upon waking from a dream. Scott just released the song as a video in July 2014.
“Lotta Love” is a Neil Young cover and Bob Glaub, who plays bass on Freight Train Love also played bass on the track recorded by Nicolette Larson decades ago. “When I was singing vocals for this,” said Scott, “Johnny Lee Schell told me that I sounded like Nicolette Larson singing at Stax.” This version has a smooth grove and warm, rich, blues-laced vocals that lend a new interpretation to the lyrics. The record ends with the bombastic “Didn’t Make It Alive” a straight-up rock ‘n’ roll country break up song. The tongue-in-cheek lyrics about a person heading down the wrong path in life are both comic and tragic. “You think you’re gonna make it/You might make it to Exit 5/Where your cross is covered in roses/Telling everybody that you didn’t make it alive.”
Hilary Scott started playing music at age two when she crawled up on the piano bench and started picking out melodies on the keys of her mom’s grand piano. A multi-instrumentalist, Scott has studied piano, violin, guitar and voice for the majority of her life and has been songwriting for 15 years.
When asked what inspired her to become an artist, Scott claims that creating is elemental. “I think it was almost an inborn drive in me,” she said. “I started writing fiction and poetry at a very young age, even winning contests. I wanted to CREATE no matter what I was creating. I wrote, I painted, I composed. I think being an artist, or my role and identity in creating, was secondary to the creation itself.”
Hilary Scott has toured Europe and Asia and while in Italy won Best Song in the International category for Sanremo’s Festival Degli Autori which earned her a recording contact with Sanremo Productions. Highlights of Scott’s career to date include a publishing deal with Nashville producer Matthew Wilder, consecutive annual wins as “Best Local Artist” by readers of Inside Columbia Magazine, inclusion in the Heartland Arts Council touring roster, international representation by Premier Talent International and impressive CD and digital distribution sales. Hilary Scott’s CD Indigo is licensed to Asian distributor, ChiLin Music.
This past year has been a great year for Scott, touring and performing more than ever before (including the UK). Her last record, Flowers on Mars won Americana/Folk Album of the Year from the Rural Roots Music Commission of the National Traditional Country Music Association. Her version of John Hiatt’s “Have a Little Faith In Me” was featured in a pit bull rescue video for The Bill Foundation that went viral receiving over 2,000,000 views and was featured in many national and international media outlets including The Huffington Post and L.A. Times. But for Scott, the biggest highlight of the year has been recording Freight Train Love. “I always love the recording process,’ said Scott, “but the sheer quality of this album makes it my current favorite.”
For more information: http://www.hilaryscott.com/