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Hi Holly, welcome to VENTS! How have you been?
Very good, thank you! Busy making as much music as possible, and playing with real life humans to make up for the Covid dark age…
Can you talk to us more about your latest single “The Planes"?
It’s the first single from my new album ‘The Walls’. I chose this song as the first window into what to expect, because it sits very nicely in the middle of the range of moods and weirdness that occurs. It’s breezy, but certainly an insight into the whimsy and darkness that the rest of the album offers.
Did any event in particular inspire you to write this song?
I wrote The Planes while I was at home. I’d been staring out of the window, watching planes go by, probably from Gatwick Airport, taking people to a new, exciting place. And there I was, still, in the place I’d always been.
That feeling, met the one I’d always had. Intrusive thoughts creeping in at the most inappropriate times. Like when I’d sit on a plane, and imagine myself falling out of the sky, wishing I’d stayed home. But it isn’t a bleak song, it’s a reminder that the fears holding me in my place were not real. And I can open the door and leave them behind at any time.
How was the filming process and experience behind the video?
I’ve carried themes of isolation and fear through a lot of my music now, whether it’s visually, being stuck at home, being alone, either from the dark side of that, or even the ironic, tongue in cheek side of it all. I wanted to reference it in the video, in order to possibly leave it behind. So it’s a self portrait, type process. Looking inwards, until I get sick of myself. That’s the video!
The single comes off your new album The Walls – what’s the story behind the title?
The album is about a sense of place, so for me, it’s home. But then you ask yourself, is my home these walls? If I move, (which I did) that sense of place has to come from within, you carry it with you. So the ‘walls’ of the album give the songs a sense of place, but it’s a slight irony, the songs give the album its sense of place, not the walls. I’m still not sure if it actually makes sense.
How was the recording and writing process?
I shut away during the writing process, I feel like a twisted baker, working through the nights or mornings to create structures and ideas, so we have a base for the fun bits, the arrangements, instruments, details. So I love to leave my cave once I’m done writing, and take the songs into the recording space with a wonderful band, like the one on this album. My friends, but maybe more importantly, creative, lovely minds, ready to go absolutely mental with icing and sprinkles with me.
How would you say recording at a farmhouse influenced the album?
It reminded us of our sonic goals in a way. We maintained the necessity of authenticity of sounds, engineering, everything. We recorded everything live, and we were very selective, and still communal with the overdubs. A setting like that really keeps you focussed when you want to preserve happy accidents, and to not overproduce.
What made you want to change setting for this album?
I am a producer at heart, I think. I definitely possess the ability to be a maximalist, and to go crazy. Which isn’t wrong of course, but these songs were so intimate and so fragile, as my friend Richard of Ivy RecRods says, ‘don’t gild the lily.’
Where did you find the inspiration for the songs and lyrics?
Life! Life, love, isolation, I often turn to nature for my references when trying to process even the simpler moments in life, those things really collided when writing this album.
What else is happening next in Holly Henderson’s world?
I’m excited about the release of the album, obviously! There is another single to come first, another video, and looking onwards, just so much music to bring out. I hope to encourage new people to drop by and listen, and even stick around for the next part of the journey. There are lots of very cool people joining me, and I, them, so there’s all of that to look forward to, it’s going to be good times for the ears, I promise!
