Holly Rees Releases a Mental Health Anthem. [Q&A]
Interviewed by: Sarah Evangelista
From the UK, the down-to-earth indie/folk artist is known to write really truthful and heartfelt songs. Holly Rees recently released her first recorded single of the year, and I had the chance to chat with her about the new song, and her tour. "Getting By" is a hate song towards depression that the world needs.
You recently released a new single "Getting By", why do you think this song was a great choice to be your first recorded/non-live song of the year?
It's the first song I wrote after pulling the band together, so that was a really cool experience to bring them this song when it was still very fresh and work through it with them, and it just worked so well that it was just like yep, we have to put this out next. You always think the thing you've just written is the best but I'm still proud of this song even after a year of touring it.
Do you feel like your music has already evolved just by last years releases and "Getting By"?
I think so. I'm always learning and changing and getting better, and you always want the next thing to be an evolution from the last, hopefully in a positive way. Trying my best anyway!
Here's a basic question, but what inspired this single?
It's a song about how messy life is, especially when you're struggling with mental health. Sometimes I'm like in awe of how brilliant everything is – my wonderful friends and family and a life making music, and sometimes I don't want to get out of bed, even though I have all these great things and I guess I wanted to write a song about how that's okay. You're allowed to feel, and just get through it. It's a song about all these kinds of juxtapositions that just happen in life and I think sometimes I struggle with the idea that they can co-exist, but the song is about how they can and do and that's okay. You can be doing great and feeling terrible, you can be having a mint time with your friends and also be consumed with worry about climate change, you can be confident and intelligent and still irrationally worried about what people think of you.
You're also almost finished traveling around Canada on tour, what are your favourite things about tour?
This is probably such a cliché answer but honestly it's been the people. I've met and played for and played with so many incredible people this year, and I'm so grateful.
What can we expect next from you, musically?
I'm really excited to get back to Newcastle and get back into rehearsals with the band for live shows and to start working on some new material. I've been writing whilst on tour so I'm really looking forward to bringing that to the band and getting back into the studio with them, building on what we started with the live EP and “Getting By”.
Stream "Getting By" on Spotify, here.
Watch the lyric video, here.
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