Hill Kourkoutis

• 1. Introduction

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  Hill Kourkoutis became the first woman to win the Juno Award for Recording Engineer of the Year in 2022. That same nomination also made her the first woman ever nominated in the category. She works as a Canadian record producer, songwriter, audio engineer, multi-instrumentalist, and director. What turned a teenager cast in a Canadian television show into an engineer credited with a Juno first? And which records carried her into that historic seat?

• 2. Early Life and Roots

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  Kourkoutis was born in Toronto on the 23rd of January 1988 and raised in Greenwood, a small hamlet east of the city. She is of Greek descent. Her father's family comes from Palaiokomi, her maternal grandfather was from the island of Lefkada, and her parents grew up in Athens.

  At age eight, Kourkoutis began guitar lessons at Durham Music, adding piano lessons a year later. In sixth grade, she enrolled at Trafalgar Castle School, a private girls' school in Whitby. There she deepened her studies in piano, vocal performance, and music theory through the Royal Conservatory of Music syllabus. In Grade 7, she formed her first band, The Sirens, with schoolmates including future country singer Meghan Patrick.

  None of that schoolyard music training hinted at the television casting call still ahead of her.

• 3. From Actress To Engineer

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  At age 16, Kourkoutis was cast in the television series Radio Free Roscoe after its producers needed a girl who could play drums. The show aired on Noggin in the United States and on The Family Channel in Canada from 2004 to 2005. Kourkoutis played Megan, the drummer for the show's fictional band, in a recurring role that ran for 10 episodes.

  After graduating from Trafalgar Castle, Kourkoutis enrolled at Toronto Metropolitan University, then known as Ryerson University. There she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts with honours in Film Studies, chasing an interest sparked by her time on the Roscoe set.

  That degree in film pointed her toward the studio work that would define her next chapter, engineering albums rather than acting in them.

• 4. Producing Canadian Music

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  Kourkoutis works primarily out of her own studio, The Lair, in Toronto, producing and engineering work that spans multiple genres.

  She produced and mixed Leela Gilday's North Star Calling in 2019, an album nominated for the Juno Award for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year. The record went on to win the Juno Award for Indigenous Artist or Group of the Year.

  SATE's The Fool, released in 2021, marked her breakthrough as a producer. The album earned a nomination for the Juno Award for Alternative Album of the Year and reached the 2022 Polaris Music Prize long list.

  In 2023, two albums she produced went head to head in the Juno Award for Contemporary Indigenous Artist of the Year category. Digging Roots' Zhawenim won it, while Aysanabee's Watin did not, though Watin reached the Polaris Music Prize shortlist that same year. Watin's single "Nomads" reached number one on the Canadian alternative rock charts.

  In 2024, Kourkoutis received a nomination for the Jack Richardson Producer of the Year Award. The nomination cited her work on Aysanabee's "Ego Death" and Tafari Anthony's "Whiskey Bar." In 2025, she added a second nomination for the Juno Award for Recording Engineer of the Year. That nomination recognized her work on Sebastian Gaskin's "Ghost" and Emi Jeen's "Should We."

  Sebastian Gaskin's album Lovechild features "Ghost," a track Kourkoutis co-produced, mixed, and co-wrote. Lovechild itself earned a nomination for the Juno Award for Indigenous Artist or Group of the Year.

  Aysanabee's 2025 album Edge Of The Earth carries two Kourkoutis-produced tracks, "Gone Baby Gone" and "Dream Catcher." The record won the Juno Award for Alternative Album of the Year and the Juno Award for Contemporary Indigenous Artist of the Year.

  Kourkoutis has also written songs for Royal Wood, Meghan Patrick, and Martha and the Muffins.

  Awards and chart placements marked one visible measure of her work, but her production credits reach back over a decade into studio sessions no awards ledger tracks.

• 5. A Decade Of Credits

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  Kourkoutis's production discography reaches back to 2013, when she produced, engineered, and co-wrote The Cliks' album Black Tie Elevator.

  In 2019, she also co-produced, mixed, and engineered Madison Violet's album Everything's Shifting.

  Martha and the Muffins' 2021 release Marthology: In and Outtakes lists Kourkoutis as co-producer and co-writer. Her credits there include co-writing "Act Like A Woman" and contributing to "Big Day" and a 30th-anniversary version of "Echo Beach."

  Amanda Rheaume's 2022 album The Spaces in Between credits Kourkoutis as producer, mixer, engineer, and co-writer.

  Before she stood behind any of these recording consoles, though, Kourkoutis spent years standing in front of an audience instead.

• 6. Bands, Session Work and Touring

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  Before focusing on production, Kourkoutis performed in the alternative pop-rock duo Drowning Girl alongside David Paoli.

  She later formed Hill & The Sky Heroes, a collaborative solo project once described as "alien surf rock." The project released an EP called 11EP on the 11th of November 2011, followed by the full-length album 11:11 in June 2012. That album featured contributions from Serena Ryder, Martha and the Muffins, Donna Grantis, and producer Adrian Eccleston. A trilogy of EPs titled The Great Year followed in 2015.

  As a touring guitarist, Kourkoutis has performed alongside Serena Ryder, The Weeknd, Martha and the Muffins, Danny Michel, SATE, The Cliks, and Tara Slone.

  From 2018 to 2019, she played guitar in the house band for the CTV series The Launch, created by Scott Borchetta. She appeared in 14 episodes as herself, the house band's guitarist.

  That same run of touring and session work unfolded alongside a separate creative track, writing and directing for the screen.

• 7. Composing and Directing

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  Kourkoutis has composed music for children's television, writing the theme songs for Dino Ranch and Remy & Boo. She has also contributed songs to Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go.

  In 2018, she remixed Jill Barber's "Girl's Gotta Do" and Good Lovelies' "I See Gold." In 2025, she was selected as one of the remix artists for the 2026 FIFA World Cup official theme, representing Toronto.

  As a director, Kourkoutis has made music videos for Serena Ryder, Mother Mother, Sass Jordan, and Alex Cuba. In 2009 alone, she directed Mother Mother's "Hayloft," Sass Jordan's "Why Did You?," and Serena Ryder's "All For Love." That same year she also directed Alex Cuba's "If You Give Me Love" and Crystal Shawanda's "I'll Be Home for Christmas." The following year, she directed Serena Ryder & The Beauties in "Ramblin' Man," "No Air," and "The Funeral."

  That FIFA selection carries her Toronto studio work toward the 2026 World Cup broadcast, far beyond the house bands and cartoons that built her career.