Kat Harlton
Toronto’s favourite, unconventional electronic rock band Holy Fuck recently released their new single “Lost Cool” via AWAL on all streaming platforms. The track features vocals from Madrid-based Electro-Pop artist Lucia Tacchetti, and sees the two artists exploring a retro-cool vibe that harks back to a dark eighties electro-pop aesthetic; shaped by Holy Fuck’s distinctive sound.
“Lost Cool” follows the release of Holy Fuck’s other recent single “Airport Dreams” featuring Sarah Bonito from British Indie-Pop band Kero Kero Bonito. “Airport Dreams” showcases two of today’s most innovative recording acts, combining their talents for something bigger, even when greater forces like the pandemic are physically keeping people apart.
We had the opportunity to speak with Holy Fuck’s Graham Walsh about the band’s new music, collaborating with other artists, and his creative process.
Kat: Can you talk about the inspiration behind your latest single “Lost Cool”?
Graham: Most of our songs start out as little seeds. Loops or sounds that are inspiring to build upon and flesh out into songs. Typically, we work on these together in the same room as a group, but we weren’t able to meet up this year, so we shared a bunch of these ideas in various states with each over the internet. We built up songs by trading files over the internet. It wouldn’t be our preference to make music that way, we still took to the challenge and made it work. “Lost Cool” started as a basic synth loop that came about by messing around. It might’ve sounded like something you’d hear on an old synth-wave compilation? Like any good riff though, you could pretty much layer anything on top of it, and it still sounded cool.
Kat: What was it like working with Electro-Pop artist Lucia Tacchetti to create “Lost Cool”?
Graham: She’s fantastic! We sent her a bunch of ideas to see if there was anything that was inspiring to her to sing on and she chose that one. It was interesting to collaborate with someone entirely through email, but she’s extremely creative and talented and was open to trying stuff out with no pressure. Her whole vibe and approach fit perfectly.
Kat: What do you hope fans take from “Lost Cool”?
Graham: I think, like anything, we just hope they’ll listen to it and like it!
Kat: You also recently released your single “Airport Dreams” featuring Sarah Bonito from British Indie-Pop band Kero Kero Bonito. Can you tell us a bit about that track?
Graham: She was another amazing artist we’d reached out to. She actually sang her part to an entirely different idea altogether, which then inspired all new ideas for us, so we re-built a new song entirely around her vocal performance. She and her band are amazing and super fun, so collaborating with Sarah definitely tapped into a side of our creative minds that was exciting to play around in.
Kat: What do you find is the most challenging part of your creative process?
Graham: Geography would be a recent challenge for us. We’ll get great results working on ideas together in the same room. Ideas and communication flow more freely, and that organic approach to working on music feels natural to what we do. We had to overcome that this year because our circumstances meant we weren’t able to meet up.
Kat: What has been a career highlight for you so far? What have you learned along the way?
Graham: So many moments have been amazing that the whole journey of this band can be seen as a highlight. First and foremost, just being able to travel around and see the world playing music has been a privilege. We likely wouldn’t have gone to or seen as many places, as we have had it not been for our ability to tour.
Additionally, Holy Fuck is excited to announce that they will be returning to the stage in February with their 2022 tour. The tour dates will cover the USA, Canada, Europe, and the UK, and are set to kick off on February 4th at the Fortune Sound Club in Vancouver, BC and wrap on May 7th at the Ideal Bar in Copenhagen, DK.
For additional information about the tour, and to purchase tickets visit here.