A contemporary soul trio from Los Angeles, California, USA, Hillside launched their recording career in 1996 with a self-titled collection released on their own Organized Fun label. Comprising Anthony ‘Rox’ Brown, Wayne Cockerham and Eric ‘Junx’ Jenkins, their album highlighted the group’s tasteful blend of traditional vocal R&B harmonies with rhythms and melodies inspired by the soul and funk traditions. They had initially found the music industry disinterested in what they described as ‘the live, instrumental thing’, so the group set up Organized Fun, distributed by Bellmark, and produced Hillside themselves. The accent on live drums rather than a drum machine helped distinguish the group’s ‘classicist’ intentions from the plethora of male R&B groups, as did the absence of samples and their preference for their own musicianship (keyboards, bass and drums). The album was promoted by the release of a single, ‘Pearl’.