Hilltop Festive Special

Michael Baker

After releasing his stunning sophomore album Salt, which Atwood praised as “an achingly honest & heartfelt reckoning full of striking vulnerability & intensely intimate, beautiful songwriting.” Michael released his 3rd studio Album ‘How Come You Sleep’, recorded with Lucy Rose band member Andrew Stuart-Buttle during the first lockdown of 2020, & mixed by Oliver Baldwin (Aldous Harding, First Aid Kit). ‘How Come You Sleep resonates with soaring melodies & glistening string arrangements that add depth & colour.

The simplest of things can be most effective. Michael’s music is sparse, skeletal yet often deeply moving” – Mahogany

Hayley Ross

“I have my vision. I put my stamp on it. It can’t be any other way.” Hayley Ross is an outlier, a one-off, a self-starter and quiet disruptor who refuses to be pinned down.

Hayley’s dark and dreamy cinematic lo-fi creations also have one toe tentatively dipped in alt roots. This landscape consists of listening, writing, & playing the necessary instruments to carve out her own musical space.

High points in her career so far have included airtime on Lauren Laverne’s BBC6 music show, BBC Introducing the South and a number of her songs successfully synced on popular TV shows in the US including Orange Is The New Black, The Blacklist & Riverdale.

Sennen Timcke

Deriving from folk roots, Sennen Timcke is a singer-songwriter inspired by classic British and American Folk music. He has a unique and compelling sound. Exploring the connection and disconnection between human nature and the environment. With an unusual voice and deft finger-picking guitar style, his live performance has vulnerability and depth, offering a sincere and heartfelt take on the world.

His first self-released single ‘Distance & Time’ was aired recently on BBC Introducing and described as -

‘Gorgeously Atmospheric’ - BBC Introducing and he is currently recording his debut album, due out in 2023.

Maia Eden

Ever since she was a young lass growing up in the Scottish Highlands, music has been (Hilltop Sessions co-founder) Maia Eden's love and refuge.

After a successful spell session singing in the 1990’s, song writing became a nightly routine as a single mother after putting her daughters to bed, developing the personal, confessional style that has become her trademark. But it took a few years for her to see herself as a solo performer, having started her performing career in bands including In Bob We Trust and Edenwood, the popular Lewes duo known for their striking harmonies.

Her personal lyrics about life and love bring Jackson Browne to mind, while her unique voice is reminiscent of Natalie Merchant and K.D. Lang. 

Her EP, 'New Horizons' is firmly establishing her as an exciting new voice in the indie-folk scene.