In the spotlight – HOL
HOL is Hollie Findlay from Blackpool (UK). She was born in Athens (Greece) in 2003 and grew up on the island of Kefalonia. She split her early teens between Greece and the UK. She considers both countries as her home, but Kefalonia is a little closer to her heart because of the many childhood memories. When she was younger she attended school with the little Greek kids, where she stood out with her freckles and green eyes. Growing up, she started home-schooling and her family started traveling more and more between the UK and Greece.
Hollie wrote her first song when she was 13/14 years old. She got it mixed and produced when it was finished. Before that, she hadn’t thought she could even write a song. “It never even occurred to me that I have all that I need: a pen and a paper.”
Nowadays, Hollie has a studio in her room where she records her songs. When writing songs, she usually starts by playing some chords on piano or guitar. She then records it into her software and adds some more sounds and instruments. “I start humming or singing random things until I really think something sticks well.” The same producer who helped her make her first ever song, still helps her with the mixing and mastering.
Her dad always had a big playlist of 80’s and 90’s songs that they’d listen to often. Hollie incorporates a lot of that generations sounds into her own music now. Did grewing up in Greece influence her taste in music? “Music-wise, I prefer English over Greek. Though, there are some nice Greek songs, I might only have one Greek song to five hundred English ones in my playlist.”
Does Hollie remember the first single she bought herself? “I don’t remember buying any singles myself, but I remember when my brother had. It was early in my childhood and Justin Bieber’s ‘My world’ album had just come out. We had this really bulky, old computer and I remember thinking it was a really big deal that he’d bought the album and it belonged to him.”
Hollie’s song ‘No Doubt’ is currently #6 in the Cool 20 chart this week. (The chart will be updated tomorrow!) In the Cool 20 New submissions 3 we can find another one of Hollie’s songs ‘Don’t Need Ur Love’. Both songs have a completely different vibe. ‘No Doubt’ reminds me of 80’s Blondie, while ‘Don’t Need Ur Love’ is very chill and has a dream pop feel. So, who is Hollie Findlay?
“That’s a question I find hard to answer, especially recently, as I’ve been experimenting more and more with music genres and who I am as an artist. But then I think, maybe I’ll find my perfect genre or self, or perhaps I’ll always experiment in all sorts of genres. So, maybe ‘Hollie Findlay’ is a canvas of sorts that I keep adding things to as I go. “
Hollie finds genres hard to keep up with. Especially, because she likes to switch styles up. So instead of describing it as a certain genre, she’d like to describe her music as authentic. “In the sense that you can be sure that I poured everything I had into every song.”
“I always used to say, I had no idols or influences in particular because I kind of strive to be something different. And, that probably stands too today, but I really have been enjoying ‘Clairo’ and ‘Wallows’ recently. If I could work with anyone right now, it would be them.”
What are Hollie’s plans for 2021? “I have so much planned out for 2021. My biggest goal is to get more and more people interested in my music. Songwise, I’d like to focus on releasing singles less frequently. I want to have hundreds of songs in my projects, only releasing the ones I’m obsessed with, the ones I spend weeks and weeks on. “
What’s Hollie’s favourite song in the Cool 20 chart? “The current #1’On a school night’ by Emma Halpin.”
You can find Hollie on:
Instagram: @hollie.findlay
Twitter: @HOL_twt
