#Artist Of The Week #0099 - Common Holly
This week’s Artist of the Week is Common Holly, who has just released her album ‘When I Say To You Black Lightning’, She took a moment to talk to us in more depth about the release and her plans for the future.
Your album ‘When I Say To You Black Lightning’ is out now, is there a certain inspiration behind the title?
I wanted to use strong imagery. I was looking for something that would feel bold and kind of macho, and after filtering through wrestler names and then motorcycle names, I landed on Vincent’s Black Lightning bike. When I say to you Black Lightning is meant to be an unanswered question, something that asks for a response from the listener, and that’s how I want the album to be heard.
It’s been a few years since your debut album ‘Playing House’, how does this record differ from it?
I spent some time listening to music between the recording of the two albums, which wasn’t really something I did a lot of in the years before, to be honest. This time around, I didn’t just end up with whatever music I happened to be writing, I think I wrote the album with a little more intention. It was something I wanted to make. I think with each album you get to experiment further and further because it stops feeling like a statement of your identity and just gets to be an expression that encapsulates a moment.
Where was the album recorded? Are there any behind the scenes stories from the recording process you are happy to share with us?
Most of the album was recorded at my family cabin, about an hour outside of Montreal, in the winter when it was covered in snow. Devon (my producer) and I went there with a bunch of gear and a drum kit—I got to play my own drums this time,— and all the weird instruments we could find. He has a great selection of weird instruments. And then every time a song needed something, we would go into the instrument pile and play around until we found the right sound. When we needed a recoding break we would “suck some air” by opening the back door and literally sucking air through a mimed straw. We went a bit insane out there. I think you can hear that on the record.
What are the key themes of the album?
Just the light topics— death, mental illness, love and loss, denial, and laughing a little bit at all of it.
This release feels like you are having a conversation with yourself, and you are working through the challenges on it. Is that how your creative process works when it comes to song writing?
I definitely use songwriting to work through thoughts and feelings and experiences. That said, the songs only serve that purpose until they are recorded and performed. At that point they start to take on an entirely different meaning, like when you wake up from a dream and piece together what the dream was about with some analytic perspective. I think that’s one of the best parts about making music, is getting to decide later what it’s all about.
Do you have a favorite lyric from the album? If so, why?
I am secretly pretty proud of the incantatory feeling in “piling in pockets with rocks and shipping them off to the river,” from Uuu.
Now the album is out there, what next? What are your plans for the next few months?
Now I will be touring a whole lot and trying to figure out how to make money from music so that I don't have to quit! Haha… For real though, having a touring band is very expensive. But once I make it through that, I will be recording and releasing an EP and then more albums because that’s my favourite part of the job.