Berlin-based experimental beat-related music. The listeners will be taken to new places by the futuristic and cutting-edge vibes! Check out the exclusive interview below:
1. Can you tell us a bit about where you come from and how it all got started?
HOLY B: I was born in the south of Germany and after many years living in Amsterdam I relocated to Berlin in the end of 2019. I started playing guitar when I was a kid and then later switched to bass guitar. When I was 20 I went to Amsterdam to study bass guitar and travelled around to explore music, visited places like New Orleans, New York, Brazil, to soak up as much music as I could. HOLY B was motivated by my desire to produce music and combine it with my background as a bass player.
2. Did you have any formal training or are you self-taught?
HOLY B: I took some guitar and bass lessons when I started playing. Later on I studied Jazz Electric Bass at the conservatory in Amsterdam.
3. Who were your first and strongest musical influences and why the name ‘HOLY B?
HOLY B: Can’t say they were the first ones, but definitely the more important ones for my later development. I drew a lot of inspiration from Mono Neon and Thundercat but also Flying Lotus, Micachu and J-Dilla. About HOLY B: I was called „Holli“ at school when I was a kid; a nickname version of my family name. My first name starts with a B, so that ended up in HOLY B.
4. What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners, and how would you personally describe your sound?
HOLY B: I like to think of my elements as a mirror of my character: eccentric, playful, contrastful, intense, intricate, edgy. My sound is a mix of lo-fi, rough, industrial, Hip-Hop/Beat with a psychedelic edge.
5. Do you feel that your music is giving you back just as much fulfillment as the amount of work you are putting into it or are you expecting something more, or different in the future?
HOLY B: I most certainly feel that. At times this can be hard, as it can not be measured in terms of financial compensation, but on all the other levels. For me my music gives me so much, as I feel I do a journey with it, exploring my intuition and therefore myself, that I don’t know yet. It only comes through work, but that process that I did, nobody can take that away from me. I feel privileged and grateful for having the luxury to do this and in the future I would love to be even more daring and trusting and appreciating.
6. For most artists, originality is first preceded by a phase of learning and, often, emulating others. What was this like for you? How would you describe your own development as an artist and music maker, and the transition towards your own style, which is known as HIPHOP?
HOLY B:
I can definitely relate to this. I felt very much in that phase, when I studied at the conservatory. I felt overwhelmed by the amount of exciting music and ideas, which are out there. I did spent most of my time exploring all kind of different music. It was in between my bachelor and master studies when I had started exploring my own style, which later continued when I moved to Berlin. The corona lockdown for sure helped having space and time to go inside of me and developing my own voice as well as open up to other genres that have not been on my radar before. It’s been quite a transition and I learned a lot about music and myself and what draws me to the things I like. For me, knowing myself is the key element to be able to make music in an authentic way. As a former bass player I am drawn to groove and therefore like Hip-Hop and Beats, but I wouldn’t restrict myself to that. It’s been a predominantly force for „Adventures in Lo-Fi“ but there are so many other elements that I like, such as Noise, Glitch, Ambient, Elektronika, IDM, experimental, Improvisation, Jazz and more. I guess for me that element of Hip-Hop was the rhythmical frame and sound ideal, which kept it all together. I love rhythm and what it can do, especially playing with subdivisions and micro timing. For me music is a carrier of energy and emotion and there are so many elements in music which bring different possibilities to express.
7. What’s your view on the role and function of music as political, cultural, spiritual, and/or social vehicles – and do you try and affront any of these themes in your work, or are you purely interested in music as an expression of technical artistry, personal narrative, and entertainment?
HOLY B: I believe that music, especially authentic music is spiritual, cultural, political… all of it. We are a mirror of our environment and the way we do music is a powerful tool how we turn the input we receive into output, a manifestation of sorts. I like to think of my music as a post-contemporary beat-album, combining elements, sounds and ideas from „the future“. I like to think of music as a tool to widen people’s consciousness and mental capacities to grow. I like the idea of breaking out and presenting something that people don’t know yet.
8. Could you describe your creative processes? How do usually start, and go about shaping ideas into a completed song? Do you usually start with a tune, a beat, or a narrative in your head? And do you collaborate with others in this process?
HOLY B: Due to the lockdown I’ve been working mostly alone, but during the last year I started opening up and collaborating more again. After that introverted time it feels good to do music with others again. About the process: I try to listen to my intuition and my ears. My background as a Jazz bass player helps me enormously with this. My challenge is the patience and discipline to stick to follow one idea and let it grow through time. My intuition is drawn to different things, it can be a quality of sound, that I’d imagine having a rhythm, or a rhythm that I’d like to hear on certain instruments, so there is a lot of imagination happening that I need to translate into reality somehow. Some other time, I could start with a Drum-sound, a beat and just develop it and see what else I find along the way that resonates with it. When I work with others, then I am happy to not have that full responsibility of this process on myself only. It’s nice to get feedback and new inputs and help in developing ideas and shaping them. In the end it is all about spending the time with it and trusting my intuition.
9. What has been the most difficult thing you’ve had to endure in your life or music career so far?
HOLY B: The lockdown was very hard but also very much needed. I could not have imagined having the time and space I had to invest in myself and think about things. But also, yeah… just starting to come back now again feels really challenging, getting back the energy and drive, that I had before. Mostly also because I feel so privileged and with everything going on in the world. I have been thinking about things that are having a more concrete and direct impact on people and the world. Now is quite a challenging moment.
10. On the contrary, what would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your life or music career so far?
HOLY B: That I am still here and I am still doing music despite of what is going on in the world. I am proud of having done „Adventures in Lo-Fi“ and allowing myself to be curious and explore. I am grateful for every new moment with music.
11. Creative work in a studio or home environment, or interaction with a live audience? Which of these two options excites you most, and why?
HOLY B: I love studio work, especially when I get to feel comfortable. I have had many playful moments in the studio and I feel I can focus in it, though its also very draining. Some years back I was doing mostly live-shows and now I am starting to miss it. I did a short release tour on which I performed my music for the first time live and it gave me so much. I love energetic exchange and group dynamics and when it all comes together then that is exactly why I wanna do music!
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