When Holy Holy released their album 'Hello My Beautiful World' last year, the band's guitarist Oscar Dawson admitted that collaborating with artists – CLEWS and Queen P among them – outside their own indie rock genre wasn't "totally different", that there were "heaps of similarities", that "music genres aren't black and white".
Now, a year later, Oscar's bandmate Timothy Carroll says the same sentiment applies with Holy Holy's headline appearance at this year's Valley Fiesta later this month in Brisbane.Set to brush shoulders with the likes of Alter Boy, WIIGZ, Gordi, Kian, Jess Day, Dulcie, CLOE TERARE and more, Tim is a fan of music experiences that are as diverse as possible.
"I think programming festivals where the soundscape and palette of sound changes dramatically from band to band is quite a fun and entertaining way to do programming," he says.
"Music can be so many different things and there's beauty in all the different parts that can be expressed. I'm quite excited to be on the bill with these other bands."
Since the release of 'Hello My Beautiful World', their fourth album, Tim has had time to reflect on what he and Oscar achieved and admits it's safe to say they did expand their own creative palette.
"We're often driven by, in some ways, by my boredom," Tim says candidly. "It's quite a natural process.
"It's not so much the case that we're like 'Okay, we need to make a record that sounds completely different this time'. It's more like we never want to repeat something we've done before.
"But in the process of making a record, we learn things, our tastes change and evolve, so when it comes to start writing again, we're in a different place, so different sounds evolve."
Tim elaborates saying he's continually shocked that he and Oscar – being different people from different musical backgrounds – maintain an unspoken understanding when it comes to songwriting.
"Every time we've gotten into the studio, we're on the same page about what we want to do and the direction we want to go in.
"I am proud of each of the records, but 'Hello My Beautiful World', it was an interesting one because it was made on the backdrop of the pandemic, a crazy time for us and the music world – I think it's a worthy body of art."
In the spirit of Holy Holy's continued evolution, Tim says he and Oscar have brought forward these reflections into a new body of material.
Maintaining his outward musings, Tim pensively says: "I go through this phenomenon sometimes where, before a record is out, I often look and listen to previous records, and I think, 'Oh God, how can we make something that isn't worse than what's come in the past? How can we do something that's as good or better?'
"Now I'm at the stage where I look back on 'Hello My Beautiful World' and now again I'm like, 'Oh crap, how can we now do something as good as that for the next record?'. It's funny, as records get released and they go in the pile, it changes how I feel about them.
"We do tend to have a reasonably incessant approach to creating music and putting out music. Even at the very last sessions for 'Hello My Beautiful World', I set up a microphone and dashed out a couple of demos and some of them have now been fleshed out.
"So, there is definitely another body of work that we're in the thick of, kind of navigating and understanding, and trying to make sense of as what will be another record."
Tim says the newer material will be given its own space once Holy Holy have seen to their current commitments, among them that Valley Fiesta appearance. "It's an honour to be asked to [play] Valley Fiesta. I remember attending and seeing all kinds of bands.
"I remember seeing Jack Ladder onstage all those years ago, Kirin J [Callinan] in a wedding dress. I have such fond memories of the event so it's surreal to be headlining."
Valley Fiesta's 25th anniversary event takes place at various venues in Brisbane's Fortitude Valley from 25-27 November. The three-day festival is a free event. Holy Holy also play Harvest Rock festival in Adelaide 20 November.
Valley Fiesta 2022 Line-up
Holy HolyWIIGZ
Alter Boy
Gordi
Kian
Jess Day
Dulcie
MOSS
Dean Brady
CLOE TERARE
VOLI K
Ash Lune
Tralala Blip
Radium Dolls
Andy Martin
DANCINGWATER
Elcid Flores
Paris Irwin
I Was Eros
Arig
Guppy
Doggie Heaven
QUIVR DJs
SIREN @ Stranded
4ZZZ All Ages Carpark Party
Access All Areas Stage
Harvest Rock 2022 Line-up
Jack White (only Aus show)Crowded House
The Black Crowes
Khruangbin
Groove Armada
Sam Fender
The Lumineers
Tones And I
The Avalanches
Courtney Barnett
Kurt Vile (only Aus show)
Angus & Julia Stone
The Teskey Brothers
Hot Chip
Goanna
Genesis Owusu
The Living End
Cat Power
You Am I
Meg Mac
Marlon Williams
Holy Holy
Alex Cameron
Ruby Fields
Allen Stone
Electric Fields
Towns
Slowmango
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