Holly Macve on working with Lana Del Rey and her new EP 'Time Is Forever' • Interview • DIY Magazine

With a discography that’s soaked in authentic country-led Americana, it seems an odd juxtaposition that Holly Macve wrote the majority of her new EP, ‘Time is Forever’, in a quintessentially British house West of London. “It hadn’t changed since the ’50s”, Holly says, “there wasn’t any central heating or anything - it was really old school. But there was this old piano there that had this magical thing about it, like it was part of a time capsule. I wrote most of the songs on that and they came together really quickly.”

The EP - a collection of five eerie, beautiful slow-burning songs - fits right into Holly’s sound, but also takes a marked step forward: the guitars are all but absent, replaced by subtle synths that make way for her crystalline vocals. “I don’t really put myself in a box in terms of genre”, she shares, “and I think the people I respect the most are the ones that do different things at different times in their life and career. This is what felt right to me now, in this period of my life.”

Holly's stay at the old house was the result of an unfolding break-up - the central event around which much of the EP revolves. “It's about moving on, about coming to terms with the end of that relationship", she affirms. "It's sad, but it's also hopeful, because you're realising who you are and what you want in your life. I've always been scared by the passing of time, but now I'm embracing that and feeling at ease with it for the first time in my life.”

Throughout 'Time is Forever', we catch glimpses of Holly's life from that time: 'Beauty Queen', the opening track and first song she wrote for the record, tells a story of a relationship she had as a teenager with someone much older. “That's about a past experience”, she says, “and that song is me reflecting on my younger self. There's a lot of reflecting on the EP. I usually write very personal lyrics just because it's my way of processing things.” The lyrics, with their country adjacent storytelling, tell a disjunctive narrative that shifts throughout the EP; Holly admits that the songs have a chronological order that doesn't follow the tracklisting, which contributes to the almost dream-like state of the music. “Sometimes it's like a premonition: I write these songs and they make sense a week or a month later. Sometimes my subconscious knows before I do.”

Much of the excitement that has sprung around this EP followed the release of 'Suburban House', which features vocals from Lana Del Rey. It comes as no surprise, in particular on this EP, that Lana's music was a big influence on Holly. “I was around 15 when 'Video Games' came out, so that was a pivotal moment for me - both the song itself, and [in terms of] me finding other artists that were inspirational at the time”, Holly explains.

The story of their meeting seems like a fantasy every 15 year old would have about their idol: an unexpected message of support over Instagram turned into a burgeoning friendship, during which Lana hosted Holly in her Los Angeles home and took a liking to her new demos. “The cool thing about her is she doesn't care about numbers, if she likes something that's it”, says Holly. “When I showed her 'Suburban House', she said she wanted to sing on it, and that was it. We went to the studio the week after and just did it, it was quite spontaneous really. It still gives me goosebumps hearing her voice on it.”

As if that wasn't a feature fit to last a lifetime, Holly has also released a collaborative track not included on the EP - a cover of Elvis Presley's 'Blue Moon', recorded with Laura-May Carter of Blood Red Shoes. The pair, who are fast friends and live together, bonded over their shared love of Elvis. “The memorabilia in this house is quite insane”, Holly smiles. “We fit together really well, and really like each other's music. We've been meaning to do an Elvis song together for years, and that was just one we really felt we could pull off. It has such a beautiful atmosphere, it was written in the '20s and is a really timeless piece of music.” On the question of future collaborations, Holly rules nothing out. “I'm really excited by working with people”, she says, “I'm quite a solitary person, especially with writing, so I'm enjoying coming out of my cave sometimes and definitely want to do more.”

As 'Time is Forever' represents a shift in Holly's music, so too has her live show changed. But moving away from her usual setup brings excitement rather than trepidation. “I played with Lana at Hyde Park, and that was the first time I played these songs live”, she says. “I really enjoyed it because I wasn't behind my guitar the whole set. I'm seeing this as a whole new fresh start, I'm playing with some really great musicians and tying in new visuals. I'm making it something really new.”

'Time is Forever' represents something of a watershed moment for Holly and the change is palpable, although the true effect of the record will only be felt on stage. “It's quite strange because I haven't toured since 'Suburban House' came out, so it doesn't feel real yet”, she says. “I think when I'm playing live it will feel a bit more real, but it hasn't really changed anything yet.” With a European tour in support of Matt Maltese on the horizon, that moment can't be far away.

In the meantime, Holly is busy with her own label, Loving Memory - through which she released 'Time Is Forever' - and has some new music in the pipeline already. It feels like a rich time in Holly Macve's world, and she's not stopping for anything. “It feels nice to be on your own timeframe”, she says, “I like that I can keep releasing things before anything becomes boring to me. It's just about the songwriting to me: I can go in any direction I want.”

'Time Is Forever' is out today; read our review here.

Tags: Holly Macve, From The Magazine, Features, Interviews