In the midst of a global pandemic that has seen gigs, club nights and festivals cancelled, and tens of millions around the world in some kind of lockdown or quarantine, the need for musical escapism and aural daydreaming is greater than ever. It was this search for creativity and positivity that led to the recording of Sunday in June, the gorgeous and sun-kissed debut album from Hillside.

The outfit’s origins lie in the ongoing friendship and musical relationship of guitarist/bassist Alex Searle, percussionist Patrick Dawes and Claremont 56 founder Paul ‘Mudd’ Murphy, a trio who have been playing on each other’s records since the dawn of the millennium. They began jamming and creating instrumental music together for what would become the Hillside project a few years back, but the pace of production increased during the pandemic year of 2020, with multi-instrumentalist, composer and arranger Michele Chiavarini (an experienced solo artist and long-term member of Dave Lee’s Sunburst Band) coming on board to help shape the sound of their eight-track debut album.

Built around warm, languid grooves, expansive musicality, simmering strings – arranged by Chiavarini and replayed live by Pete Whitfield – and seductive solos provided by a handful of guest musicians (most notably flutist Tamar Osborne and violinist Mike Piggott, who has previously worked with Ralph McTell, Pentangle and Bert Jansch), Sunday in June could be considered an imaginary soundtrack to a long, lazy drive down the U.S West Coast.
Taken from the album, 'For Daniel' has been remixed by Bosq for this digital only release