Exclusive HIHF Interview: We Sit Down With Holly To Talk About his Upcoming EP and Playing his First Coachella

Holly is a rising star Bass producer who hails from Lisbon, Portugal. He’s been providing support for THE biggest names on the Midtempo scene, Rezz and 1788-L. He’s been crushing his sets over the past year and has no plans of slowing down any time soon.

He also has a collab in the works with legendary Dubstep act Zeds Dead, which the Canadian duo opened their Ubbi Dubbi Festival set with last weekend. Holly’s upcoming EP is also coming out through Zeds Dead’s label, Deadbeats.

This Friday, the Portuguese heavyweight is bringing us the first single from his Avenal 2500 EP and it’s titled “Encontrar“. We had the pleasure of chatting with Holly about his influences, some fun Coachella stories, and what’s he’s got on tap for 2019.

Who are a couple of your biggest influences?

Basically, everything in life that I surround myself with. My family, my best friends, skateboarding, movies, traveling, reading, The Prodigy, and nature.

Any influences outside of the music industry?

Yeah, of course, my biggest influences are pretty much outside of the ‘music industry’. I’m influenced by everything that I surround myself with. I love to be inspired by sounds from other producers and musicians but my mindset and the way I think is always more defined by the energies that I surround myself with.

What was playing Coachella like? What can you tell us about the vibes backstage at the DoLab?

It was great. I felt like I was making my 17-year-old self really happy and I was also achieving a goal that I had set for this year. It was my first time there too so was great to see how the whole festival works and get that perspective behind the scenes. The vibes backstage were great, we did a Portuguese Wine Tasting before my set where a lot of my friends showed up and was just good to hang and chill before my set.

drinking that portuguese wine w @tynanofficial pic.twitter.com/Z1R5osJUqO

— HOLLY (@beatsbyholly) April 23, 2019

We died at the picture of you and DMX. What was that run-in like?

I was at the backstage of the Sahara Tent and I saw this guy that looked like DMX but I wasn’t sure if it was him because it’s been a long time since I’ve seen a picture of him. I asked a friend of mine just to confirm and when he said yes, I immediately went to talk with him and asked for an email to send some beats. Ended up taking a selfie with him just for the memories.

DMX pic.twitter.com/qs1zATABVy

— HOLLY (@beatsbyholly) April 20, 2019

You have your first single from your upcoming EP through Deadbeats coming this week. What can you tell us about this new EP?

Yes! I feel this EP is the first step in my next musical journey. It’s the first project I have released in a while and it’s a mix between the different sounds and cultures that I’ve been influenced by. There’s a lot of rap music there but also weird/experimental/sound-design tracks. You’ll understand when you hear it.

You’re also playing Red Rocks in July, alongside some legendary acts like Noisia, Moody Good, and Liquid Stranger as well as some of our favorite rising stars out there, all for Zeds Dead’s Deadrocks. How did it feel to get that call that you were gonna be playing a show this size?

Feels good, but I’m already thinking about the next one haha! I’m just happy and looking forward to playing music with the Deadbeats family and be on the same lineup as some of my favorite names in the bass world. It’s been a goal of mine to perform at Red Rocks too so I’m glad I can accomplish that. I’m sure it’ll be a great night.

What is your favorite venue you’ve played in the United States (so far of course)?

Airliner/Low End Theory in LA!

What was the Deadbeats Takeover like in Los Angeles? We are huge fans of both yours and Blanke’s sets from that night and heard it was epic from those lucky enough to attend!

Thank you!! That was a great night. Always feels good to perform in LA and it’s even better when you have a lot of good friends showing up and supporting you. I love the Brownies and Lemonade crowd too, they are very open-minded and give you so much freedom to play whatever you want. It’s hard to think about a better party than this one.

What is your dream collab of someone you would like to work with? How about one in EDM and one outside the industry?

I’m sure all my dream collabs will happen somehow. I’d love to work with Liam Howlett from The Prodigy, Jimmy Page from Led Zeppelin, Kanye West, or Burial. Skrillex is definitely someone I’d love to have the experience to make music within the “EDM” world, same with other pop stars like Lady Gaga or Madonna. Outside of the industry, I’d love to create with Oki Sato, Elon Musk, Takashi Murakami or Virgil Abloh. There’s a lot!

Well, thanks so much for all of this Holly. We’ve really enjoyed chatting with you and will certainly be covering your new single “Encontrar” this Friday from your upcoming EP!