SJ Hill’s Spell On Me, written with long-time collaborator Tommy John, captures a love that lifts and erodes in equal measure, pleasure and pain sharing the same space.
Spell On Me focuses on discomfort as it traces vulnerability, emotional dependency, and the quiet chaos of staying when you know you should leave.
Recorded in a former Salvation Army building in Wales’ Rhondda Valley, Spell On Me holds a quiet intensity that reflects its emotional weight. Below, Hill unpacks why honesty became essential, how trust guided the writing, and why leaving the song unresolved was the only honest choice.
Emotional dependency is messy and uncomfortable, but it’s also very real, and pretending otherwise would have taken the power out of the song.
Spell On Me feels heavier than your recent work. What pushed you to go this emotionally open?
It came from the starting point of the song. When Tommy brought the idea in, it was already emotionally exposed — there was no hiding place in it. Once we started writing together, it felt wrong to hold anything back or dress it up. Going emotionally open wasn’t really a decision; it was a requirement of the song. If we’d pulled our punches, it wouldn’t have felt honest.
The song captures a love that both lifts and destroys. Did it come from one moment or a pattern over time?
It was more of a pattern. That slow realisation that something gives you so much emotionally, but also takes just as much away. It’s not usually one dramatic moment — it’s that cycle you find yourself repeating. That’s what made it resonate so deeply with me when Tommy shared it.
The lyrics balance pleasure and pain, calm and chaos. How did you write both sides without softening them?
We didn’t try to resolve the tension. A lot of the time, songs want to explain or justify feelings, but this one lives in the grey area. We constantly asked ourselves whether each line felt true to that imbalance. If it leaned too far toward comfort or clarity, we cut it. The discomfort is the point.
After the viral run of Tonight, did that momentum free you up creatively or add pressure?
There was definitely pressure at first — you’re aware that people are watching more closely. But Spell On Me wasn’t written with that in mind. Once I connected with the emotion of the song, the pressure faded. The focus became about honouring the honesty rather than trying to follow anything up.
Your voice feels especially exposed here. What were you trying to say with your voice beyond the lyrics?
I wanted the vocal to feel unprotected. There are moments where it’s restrained and others where it almost breaks, and that mirrors the emotional state of the song. Beyond the words, I wanted people to hear the vulnerability — the hesitation, the pull, the conflict — all of that lives in the delivery.
How did recording in an old Salvation Army building shape the track’s mood and sound?
The space had a real sense of stillness and history to it. Being in that isolated environment in the Rhondda Valley gave us room to sit with the emotion properly. There was no rush, no distraction — just the song and how it felt. That intimacy definitely made its way into the final recording.
How did you decide when to hold back and when to push the production harder?
We let the emotion lead. If the production started to overpower the feeling, we stripped it back. But when the tension needed heightening, we weren’t afraid to lean into it. The goal was always to support the vocal and the story, not distract from them.
Working again with Tommy John, how did that trust help you go darker emotionally?
There’s a lot of trust between us now. Tommy writes from a very honest place and isn’t afraid to sit in uncomfortable emotions, which gives me permission to do the same. When you trust the person you’re writing with, you don’t feel the need to protect yourself — you can just be real.
The song leans into emotional dependency. Did honesty ever feel risky, or was it essential?
It definitely felt risky, but that’s how I knew it was essential. If it felt safe, we probably weren’t going far enough. Emotional dependency is messy and uncomfortable, but it’s also very real, and pretending otherwise would have taken the power out of the song.
For listeners in that same push-pull kind of love, what do you hope Spell On Me gives them?
I hope it makes them feel seen. Not judged, not fixed — just understood. Sometimes knowing that someone else has felt that same conflict can be a comfort in itself. If the song gives people permission to acknowledge those feelings honestly, then it’s done its job.
©fm