Alex Hill-Knight on SoundBetter

Hi there! I'm a session singer and pianist that can provide top quality recordings from home or meet you at a studio anywhere in the city.

I am primarily a pianist. Brought up on the south coast of England, I have played the piano from the age of 3 and completed all ABRSM classical and jazz grades. Graduating with my music degree from Goldsmiths University, I now specialise as a pianist and theorist in classical and contemporary studies. For 5 years I taught piano, music theory and singing at East London Piano music school in Hackney. I have given young pupils their first ever lesson and also worked with adult intermediate/advanced pianists to improve on their technique or take higher level exams. I have performed in various function bands as a pianist, singer and bass guitarist and during college I was constantly in demand for local recording sessions. In London my performing career continues as a pianist, singer and bass player in jazz and popular music scenes.

As a singer I have performed in choirs since I was 5, starting formal training at 11 and completing all ABRSM grades by 17. In my teenage years I often sung with bands at local festivals and other professional gigs. At College I took on first musical role, performing as 'Harry' in Stephen Sondheim's 'Company'. At Goldsmiths I continued formal vocal training and performed in my first opera playing the role of 'Theseus' in 'Midsummer Night's Dream' by Benjamin Britten. I now often record from home for various jazz and pop tracks.

Click the 'Contact' above to get in touch. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Languages

English
German
Latin
Russian

2 Reviews

Endorse Alex Hill-Knight

by Jaron D.
Verified
Alex is a talented vocalist. Quick turnaround!
by Paal
Verified
We had a wonderful experience working with Alex. He was able to bring our demo vocal into life and understood exactly what we very looking for. He has a very powerful and flexible voice that grabs your attention.

Alex is a professional musician and singer that I highly recommend and hope to work with him again. We also appreciated how smoothly it was to communicate with him. Great experience.

Interview with Alex Hill-Knight

Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?
A: Cattails is a video game. The composer for the music was Tormod Garvin, and I played a lot of piano on that soundtrack. I really feel that we made a beautiful atmosphere for that game. I'm still extremely proud of what we created.
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: Piano for game, voiceover work for game and audio books.
Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?
A: Melody Gardot (yes I know it’s unlikely to happen!) Because she’s one of my favourite female jazz singers and to accompany her on the piano would be... divine.
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: Colourful, thoughtful.
Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?
A: -
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: Both have their place.
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: To prioritise their vision over my preferences.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: Love it all.
Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?
A: -
Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?
A: -
Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?
A: What their project is about. How they came up with the idea. How my material will be used. How I fit in to the bigger picture. Deadline. Cost.
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: Talk to them over the phone or other audio platform. Discussion and good communication beat everything when it comes to understanding what you get out of your performer.
Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?
A: Piano, whiskey, wine, burger, sofa.
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: I've played the piano since I was 3 years old. I've been performing in functions bands since I was a teenager. I've performed in musical theatre and choirs all my life. I did my music degree when I was 18 at Goldsmith University London. I played then directed a local big band. I I taught piano for 5 years in Hackney for East London Piano while keeping up the performance and recording side of my career. Everything has had is purpose and its place of bringing me to where I am now.
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: Don't over do it.
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: Jazz standards, video game soundtracks, pop and musical theatre.
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: Jazz piano pieces and deep, resonant vocal recrodings.
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: I bring exactly what the client wants with my own lively and emotional tones and articulation.
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: Listen, process, warm up, rehearse, record.
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: I have an acoustically treated studio where I can record clean vocals with my RØDE NTK vocal mic. I record piano into logic, running with various samples, and would always provide the midi to any client as well to use with their own samples of choice.
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: Jacob Collier, Niel Hannon, Donald Fagen, Herbie Hancock
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: I most often perform and develop themes into more complex piano works including improvisation when required. I record vocals for various genres of music and have most recently started voiceover work for commercial purposes, audio books and video game characters.