Introducing: The Soulful Hollie Carmen
Born and raised in London, Hollie Carmen is the singer, songwriter that needs to be on everyone’s radar in 2019. Her soulful and bluesy sound
Growing up, the burgeoning songstress was inspired by the R&B genre and artists like Ray Charles, Erykah Badu, and Lauryn Hill. You can hear their influence in her tracks Butterflies, Warrior Love and her newest single Plan B .
Making her own path in the R&B genre, were excited to see what the future holds for this star on the rise. We got a chance to chat with Hollie Carmen and discussed everything from her new single Plan B, the top five artists that inspired her, and so much more…
Who are the top 5 artists that have inspired your music?
Such a hard question! If I had to answer it would probably be based on who I listened to the most growing up which is: Michael Jackson, Ray Charles, Sade, Lauryn Hill, Usher; basically lots of 90s rnb artists and all Motown artists.
Plan B is your newest single, it’s such an R&B banger, what was the creative process for you in the studio during the making of this track?
I was in the studio with Oscar and as I was telling him how I felt, he started playing the chords. We figured out the hook and the concept and the rest just flowed so easily. Oscar put down this dope bouncy base line and I remember after I put down the vocals, we were both dancing round buzzing. We knew we’d written a banger!
Did you pull from any experiences when creating the song?
It’s very real and 100% pulled from past experience. All the lyrics are true! I will try to sum up this quickly! During my last relationship I felt I always came second best. I promised myself I’d never let that happen again. I am constantly writing down thoughts, feelings, ideas, voicenoting melodies into my phone so I feel I was actually writing this for a while!
What was it like working with Oscar Scheller, who collaborated with the likes of Lilly Allen, and Mabel previously?
Oscar is just an absolute dream and insanely talented! As a writer, producer, and very good friend. He has a special way of making the space so safe and comfortable so I can really get out what I want to say.
Your debut EP is dropping in March of this year can you give us a hint as to what we can expect? What type of sound does it encompass?
I am so excited! Definitely got a lot of live elements, jazzy chords and hooky choruses! It’s also essentially my diary! Lyrically, every word is true.
Will you be featuring any other artists on your EP?
You will have to wait and see!
If you could collaborate with any musician dead or alive who would it be and why?
Wow that’s a tough one. I can’t pick one! Id love to work with Mark Ronson. I’d love to collab with Tupac and also 1990s Usher.
With it being of 2019, what goals would you like to see be accomplished by the end of the year?
I am so excited to play live. I keep dreaming about going on tour so fingers crossed!
Check out Hollie Carmen and her new single Plan B below.
