Man öffnet die Tür und betritt einen verrauchten Jazzclub der 30er Jahre. Ein paar Leute an der Bar, ein einsamer Pianospieler, seine Band und eine einsame Sängerin die uns eine Geschichte erzählt. Holly schickt uns mit "The Tide" auf eine Reise. Ihre neue Single handelt von verlorener Liebe und Wachstum. Großartig arrangiert und stimmlich vorgetragen gelingt es der Künstlerin zu begeistern. So we have to say Achtung: simply perfect, simply amazing and that's simply Holly Fitzgerald.
Vor der Veröffentlichung ihrer neuen Single hatten wir die Gelegenheit Holly ein paar Fragen zu stellen, die talentierte Singer und Songwriterin aus den West Midlands erzählte uns wer sie inspirierte, wie sie arbeitet und auch ein wenig wer sie eigentlich ist. Thanks for your time and here she comes Holly Fitzgerald.
Holly Fitzgerald - Spotify
Who inspired you to make music?
I guess I’ve always loved music but I didn’t actually start singing, writing or playing till quite late. I took Music as a subject in the latter part of high school on a bit of a whim, with no idea whether or not I could actually sing. Turns out I was pretty alright at singing!
From there I fell in love with it, studied it, joined bands and then started writing my own songs. I wouldn’t say there’s one specific person who inspired me to write my own music but there’s a bunch who’ve inspired me on the way. Other than that, I’d say my high school music teachers who inspired me to start learning about it!
What is your creative process like?
That totally depends on my mood, but mostly I start with a guitar or a keyboard, then usually there’s a few chords floating around, maybe a riff or a melody. They kind of just appear to me as I sit at an instrument, maybe that’s weird? After the original idea, I play around with some extra chords to see where the song feels like it’s heading, I kinda just let the music dictate the mood of the song. Then I’ll hum along to it, creating melodies as I go - it’s then when the song really starts to get some life, when a feeling or a mood is born.
The next thing on my ‘creative list’ is lyrics, which is basically my diary/my commentary on what’s happening in the world at the time. The last parts are where I add instruments and play around with sounds in my DAW. Sometimes I’ll self-record everything and self-produce like I did for the Tide, other times I’ll hire session musicians to play my compositions and use a studio with a producer to complete the track. I tend to use Tom Brookhouse for my studio work, who - incidentally - did the mastering on The Tide.
Who would you most like to collaborate with?
Oooh that is such a difficult question! I love music by Lianne La Havas and SG Lewis so definitely those two. But I would love to have my vocals on a proper banger, you know the kind, summer floor filling dance. So maybe someone like Nathan Dawe or Joel Corry.
What is the most useful talent you have?
Are my musical abilities too obvious of an answer? Hmmm...
Maybe that I’m a pretty decent cook, so during lockdown I’ve been able to cook my way around the world as we’ve not been able to go anywhere! Some of my favs have been a soul food inspired night with mac and cheese, jerk chicken, sweet potato fries and fried plantain, a Vietnamese style chicken pho, and a Lebanese/Syrian inspired salad with falafel, tahini sauce, houmous and a bunch of pickles.
...and of course your most useless talent is?
Probably having slightly double jointed thumbs... they serve zero purpose. Either that or my unfailing ability to fall over on something that’s the slightest bit uneven…
If you could change anything in the past, what would it be?
I’m not too sure, other than the major atrocities of life and history, I’d love to rewrite them and bring about peace and equality, but then they say the butterfly effect wouldn’t allow that without consequence, right?
On a lighter note, I’d like to go back and tell teenage Holly that there’s definitely a few hairstyles and outfit choices she should rethink. Those sweeping emo fringes and fake lip piercings were NOT a vibe.
How do you feel the Internet (especially Social Media platforms) has impacted the music business?
When I did my degree this was a question much debated! I guess my conclusion from it all is that the internet has allowed independent artists to run their own show, to gain more exposure on their own, and to have the ability to release their own music into the world without the need for a record label. However it does mean that there is SO much more competition out there, and it’s really difficult to cut through the crowd to make your music noticed.
I think social media can be a great tool, and it can be nice for fans to see more of an artist and get to know them. If you look at my instagram for example, it’s part music, part travels, part food, part friends and family, so it gives you a bit more of an insight of what my life looks like in, around and out of music.
What do you know about Austria?
I don’t profess to know a huge amount about Austria, but I do know it looks beautiful and I’d love to visit! There’s the obvious things like Vienna, Salzburg, and taking a road trip across the grossglockner high alpine road, and then there’s the National Parks… I don’t even know where to start! I’m always open to tips!
Holly Fitzgerald is....?
Holly Fitzgerald is a singer-songwriter, born in the West Midlands of England. I write music that’s been coined as ‘dark cinematic pop’, because everything I write seems to have a bit of an edge to it. Maybe I have a bit of a penchant for the dramatic and slightly melancholic? This track seems to shy away from that a little though, as it leans a little more into my jazz roots. (My mom has always loved jazz so I feel like its somewhat ingrained in me)
My musical background is pretty varied, I’ve done a bit of classical, sang things from Whitney Houston, next to songs by Evanescence, next to Dusty Springfield. When I was a in my late teens I found a love for rock music and was part of a few different rock bands through sixth form and uni, but I moved on after I graduated to a solo venture. So now I write my own music, sing and play keys, guitar, bass and drums. I don’t profess to be a Joe Satriani or Marco Minnemann, but I do record a bunch of my own instrumental parts for my songs. I also record and produce a lot of my own work, which can be fun and tedious in equal measures. Self producing starts out great, and it’s exciting because you can see the track coming to life, but sometimes when you’ve written the song, performed it, recorded it, edited it, mixed it and mastered it, you can get a little bogged down in the detail and before you know it you’re on mix 102, and ready to throw your computer out of the window. In a nut shell Holly Fitzgerald is just a girl who loves music.
What’s next for you?
My daft and sarcastic answer would be global domination (sometimes I like a dad joke), but really I’ll be releasing new music this year, playing gigs (check me out at the O2 Academy in Birmingham on July 2nd) and I have a video shoot lined up for the beginning of next month too!
