Sano Hill assures you there’s beauty in “Starting Over”

Armed with his guitar, Irish singer Sano Hill writes songs and creates music with genuine lyrics about life, love, loss, and personal experiences that may be relatable and leave you feeling both hopeful and inspired. His latest single, “Starting Over”, is one beautiful offering that’ll take listeners further into his newly minted indie music world.

Enjoy the vibe of listening to this song in the car or as if you’re going on a long road trip. Despite the theme of parting, the lyrics give off a “let’s wing it” vibe. The vibe of living the song’s warm and lively melody perfectly complements this upbeat mood. From the title itself, “Starting Over” is a reflection of how life has been and what it could be in the future. It embraces how we are continuously in progress and that it’s okay to start over when things get messy. 

With a heartwarming purpose and beautifully written words, Sano Hill assures listeners that trouble might get in the way, but that’s temporary. We can slowly rise back up and as we do, we can take a moment to cherish what we have and where we are now. Learn to enjoy life where you are right now. “My music is about realizing the possibilities to fully embrace life right now and appreciating the value of enjoying life moment to moment,” Hill explains.

We all have our uncertainties in life and there may be some moments where we want to go back and rewrite a chapter in our lives. But we all have our own pace to success. Life is too short to focus on our past mistakes and regrets. There may not be no going back from it, but the road to new beginnings is always possible and it’s never too late to begin anew. Below is a quick, meaningful conversation with Sano Hill on what the song is all about, his writing process, and his future plans.

Congratulations on your new single “Starting Over”! The lyrics, despite the idea of it revolving around separation, really gives off the “let’s wing it!” vibe approach to life. The song’s warm and vibrant melody matched this hopeful feel just right, an awesome contrast! Can you share the story behind it?

I’m delighted to hear you enjoyed the track. As the lyrics suggest, this is a song about breaking up but also starting again. Like all my songs, there is a certain amount of personal experience involved here and I suppose like everyone else I have been in relationships that have not worked out—the song is about accepting this and moving on, resisting the urge to try again to reignite a relationship that perhaps was just not meant to be. It fits within the album narrative that charts the progression of a relationship so more of the back story is still to come with my forthcoming releases (so you’ll just have to follow me on my socials and Spotify to hear more of this story J).

Your voice is indeed very distinctive and strong—a total refreshment from the dominating husky and soft voices of the indie genre. What’s the unifying theme in your music?

Learn to enjoy life where you are right now. So much of our lives are spent reflecting on and/or regretting past mistakes or failures—or focusing on what might be in the future (both bad and good). My music is about realizing the possibilities to fully embrace life right now—the final track on the album is entitled “Be Here Now” and that probably sums up the central theme better than any other—saying all that, it took me a while to get there and that’s what I’m charting on the album as a whole, the journey to appreciating the value of enjoying life moment to moment.

The song is about accepting this and moving on, resisting the urge to try again to reignite a relationship that perhaps was just not meant to be.

Sano Hill

Your other single “The Climb” was exceptional, too! Both of your songs’ MVs are graphical adventures. What was your inspiration behind them?

Life. All my songs are responding to life experience and in various ways trying to make sense of it. “The Climb” began as a song of seduction but evolved into something deeper, inspired partly by the poetry of William Blake. I suppose all artists are trying to find a way to express their perspective and experience in a way that can hopefully connect with others.

Learn to enjoy life where you are right now. So much of our lives are spent reflecting on and/or regretting past mistakes or failures—or focusing on what might be in the future (both bad and good).

Sano Hill

Your lyrics are very interesting in the sense that it’s easily understood but the depth of the message is just loud. Can you share with us your writing processes?

My songs usually begin as melodies that I carry with me sometimes for days, weeks, or longer—it can take a while before the lyric takes shape and this process is also informed by what’s going on in my life at the time—or sometimes stories I encounter that inspire me to respond. So in practical terms my songwriting process involves playing through melody lines until lyrics begin to take shape. And then working on the lyrics that emerge to ensure they have form and content and can communicate the (hopefully) deeper sentiments behind the song itself. It can be a slow process depending on the song—or in some cases can happen very quickly. There is no absolute or straightforward method as such—I think every artist has to find their own process and that can only come through working on their art and trying different approaches until they find a method that works for them.

Who or what inspired you to pursue music?

I grew up in a musical family so music was always around me—I suppose my mother was the first to encourage me to pursue music. I then taught myself to play guitar and have been writing songs really from my mid-teens—the artist who first really inspired me to begin doing so was probably Van Morrison, though I’ve been influenced by a broad range of musicians, including David Bowie, Nick Cave, Elvis Costello, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, and bands such as Radiohead and U2.

My songwriting process involves playing through melody lines until lyrics begin to take shape. And then working on the lyrics that emerge to ensure they have form and content and can communicate the (hopefully) deeper sentiments behind the song itself. It can be a slow process depending on the song – or in some cases can happen very quickly.

Sano Hill

“It’s better to see when all’s said and done. Life is too short.” This line speaks to a lot of us, which makes me curious as to what could a Sano Hill be doing aside from music? Any outside, personal hobbies you would like to share?

I’m a big film fan and I’m trying to develop some film and television projects at the moment—I have a musical idea I’m trying to develop also based on the content of my forthcoming album. This is a slow process but I have always thought of my music in quite visual terms so I hope to be able to realize that at some point in the future—for the moment, you can find some initial ideas in the music videos produced for my songs with visual artist EL Putnam and available on my YouTube channel.

I have always thought of my music in quite visual terms so I hope to be able to realize that at some point in the future.

Sano Hill

What message would you like your listeners to keep in mind as they listen to “Starting Over”?

Wherever you are now, no matter how bad things may seem, this too shall pass. There is always the possibility to start again.

With the lyrics about hopeful outcomes as we start over, are there also any plans we can look forward to in the future?

More singles and my album later this year. The album is entitled “If not now, when?” which speaks to the central theme throughout my music.

Wherever you are now, no matter how bad things may seem, this too shall pass. There is always the possibility to start again.

Sano Hill

Stream “Starting Over” by Sano Hill here:

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Agatha Magsombol

Agatha is a college student taking up Psychology and a blogger who loves her dog and mom. Music is her way to find inspiration, excitement, and creativity in writing and in life. She dreams of becoming a Licensed Mental Health Counselor someday. For now, she helps people by sharing good music that uplifts and makes them deeply feel their vibes.