Take 5 With Essie Holt
Melbourne dynamic pop savant Essie Holt has just released her debut EP Silent Wars. The six track Ep is a raw and honest collection of music about the internal battles we face and can sometimes repress.
“For me, this was being queer. I came out in the middle of writing these songs, and the work evolved as my journey unfolded.” Essie shares. “I got to know myself really well in this time and answered some really honest questions that I guess I’d always been too scared to dive into. It was confronting and at times pretty painful, but now I am living my truth, and that feels pretty special.” – Essie Holt
We thought we’d hand it over to Essie to share with us some music from her friends that she’s loving.
My friends are making incredible music rn and you should def get across these new songs!
Shannen James – Collide
I’ve been a friend and fan of Shannen’s work for a couple of years now after we bonded over an eggplant roti wrap during a writing session break.
Her new single ‘Collide’ is a big fave of mine at the moment. It’s delicate and playful and Shannen’s got this amazing way of putting a song together that feels so seamless, yet has so many intricate details.
The way she uses her voice in this song is pretty special – there’s so many beautiful tones and textures that come through, especially in the verses which are instantly captivating. Her writing makes me feel very nostalgic and after I heard Collide I had to go and listen to listen to ‘Rumours’ by Fleetwood Mac.
Hauskey – Slow
I love Hauskey! His debut single ‘Slow’ is so instant and immediately impressive from the first listen. I’ve been familiar with Andy’s work as a producer and it’s great to see his solo project getting so much love.
The writing is so clever and I think we can all relate to feeling a little lazy at times.
St. South feat N.Y.C.K – If It’s Not You
I was recently introduced to Liv (St. South)‘s music on a drive home from a weekend away and I was immediately blown away. This song gives this beautiful suspending feeling and captures missing someone so beautifully. ‘Reaching for pillows, breathing your name’ – what a lyric, how dare you!
She’s an incredible producer and everything she does is super tasteful and detailed. I watched her IG live of her just sitting at the piano the other night and honestly.. she’s so special.
Yorke – Nights We Waste
Gracie is like a little sister to me and the biggest ray of sunshine in my life. I’ve watched her make this EP over the last year or so and her work ethic astounds me. It’s a total joy to watch her journey and form a really exciting career.
‘Nights We Waste’ is a big fave of mine and has these brooding moody verses, but when the chorus hits it turns into a huge bop. Grace is such a natural pop writer and her melodies and lyrics are always weaving around in my head. She’s a joy of a human and cares so much for the people around her, and this whole body of work beautifully reflects that.
Banoffee – Contagious
Pretty sure I’ve played this song daily since it came out. It was a big break up song for me and is pretty devastating but feels so good to sing.
Banoffee has been dissecting her writing and production in little IG live videos lately and it’s fascinating to watch the way she works and see all the detail broken down in her songs. I recently saw her album launch at Red Rattler and walked away being an even bigger fan.
Essie’s EP Silent Wars is available everywhere now. Go give it a listen.
