A chat with Holo...

From Australia to Berlin, Holo has been quietly carving out a distinctive space in contemporary deep house, one built on emotion, subtle detail, and an instinct for melody that lingers long after the track ends. Since his early breakout via Houseum, he’s evolved steadily, drawing from a wide palette of influences and translating them into something deeply personal yet universally resonant. With a new EP ‘Astro’ landing on Last Year At Marienbad’s Oath imprint, we took the chance to step back from the release itself and dig deeper into the person behind the project, his roots, his creative mindset, and the path ahead.

Thanks for joining us Holo, you’ve just released a new EP ‘Astro’... talk us through it

Thanks. I’m super proud of this EP, because I tried a lot of new things. On ‘Astro’ I worked with a jazz musician here in Berlin, Fox, who plays flute and saxophone. His playing is phenomenal and it’s inspired me to try and collaborate more in general. ‘Spirits’ was an experiment with new production techniques and contrasting textures, and ‘Cycles’ was me attempting my own interpretation of a techno track.

You grew up in Australia, what was your environment like there, and how did it shape your relationship with music early on?

I’m from Canberra - Australia’s capital city - and I wasn’t exposed to a lot of live music or DJs growing up there. My Dad loves music and writes songs so that definitely got me interested and on the journey though. I played classical instruments in school and in later years found the guitar, which I really fell in love with. Playing and writing music has been something I’ve found refuge in ever since then.

Before electronic music, what were you listening to obsessively as a teenager?

As a guitarist I was almost exclusively listening to classic rock in high school. Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Yes, Black Sabbath, Hendrix, Guns N Roses, AC/DC … I also adored Radiohead - still do - for their songs but also their ability to shapeshift each album, and experiment in their production without ever going too far. They’re all about serving the song.

Moving from Australia to Berlin is a big shift, what’s been the biggest cultural or personal adjustment for you so far?

I think that people aren’t as friendly as they are back home. I didn’t really appreciate it until I moved, but Aussies generally go out of their way to be nice and to avoid conflict, whereas in Berlin someone might scream at you for stepping into a bike lane and people in customer service roles can be indifferent to the point of rudeness, haha. There’s also a strong sense of individuality and self-expression here, whereas in Melbourne there’s a kind of unspoken pressure to behave in certain ways and have achieved certain things by a certain age.

Berlin can be both inspiring and overwhelming, how do you stay grounded and maintain your own identity as an artist in such a saturated scene?

I’m not trying to play in clubs every weekend so I’m not overwhelmed by the challenge of carving out a spot as a DJ in Berlin. I play occasionally at Sisyphos Wintergarten which I love, occasionally other places too, but otherwise focus my energy on production and my non-musical life. Having one foot out of the Berlin scene has helped the quality of my music because I can do it for myself without worrying about being compared to others, as well as the quantity because I can spend entire weekends producing.

Your sound pulls from a wide mix of influences like pop, rock, hip hop, and acid, do you actively try to blend these or does it happen subconsciously?

Definitely subconsciously. When I write music I usually start with drums, and once I’m satisfied with the groove I’ll play around with different sounds (keys, synth pads, bass guitar, samples) until something catches my ear. I think when I blend other influences it’s usually a random moment where my intuition tells me ‘I bet an acid line would be cool here’ or I randomly feel compelled to sing a melody, which I’ll place subtly in the mix as a supporting instrument, and a bit of an easter egg for those who are properly listening.

How has your creative process changed from when you first started producing to now?

I’ve become a better engineer so I spent a lot of time in the mixdown stage trying lots of different tools to solve problems that I never would have noticed before. Unfortunately this takes me forever and I often doubt my choices at the time. It’s pretty torturous! I doubt the effort I spend affects the listener much - it’s more for me at this stage, so I don’t criticise myself when listening to the final product. I’m also collaborating more with other musicians and producers, which I want to continue. Otherwise, it’s the same - I just try and play around and have fun, and things eventually come out of it.

What does a typical day in your life look like when you’re not touring or releasing music?

I have a day job, so I’ll wake up around 7, produce for a couple of hours, take the U Bahn into the city to go to the office, come home, cook - I love cooking - have dinner with my wife, then hopefully produce in the evening too. At least it’s like this now, because I’m busy finishing mixing my second album. I often dig for tracks whilst listening to music at work, and listen to my own tracks in progress too. I take notes on what I want to improve and make those changes in the evening. I like this balance of listening then creating, and I’ve found having a day job quite useful in that aspect as well as not needing to worry as much about the commercial success of my music.

What’s something about the music industry that surprised you once you became part of it?

The importance of networks and social media in getting DJ gigs. I used to think if your music’s good and being listened to, you’ll get lots of opportunities for gigs. But at least in my experience, having listeners is much less important than having real relationships with people in the scene, and having enough Instagram followers which quantify your popularity and signal your ability to sell tickets as a DJ.

What’s a completely non musical experience, like a place, film, or memory, that has deeply influenced your sound?

That’s a good question. I think my relationship with colour and light has really affected my music. I’ve always been attracted to bright colourful things - flowers, coloured lights, bright objects. I try to write music that’s interesting, bright and decorative - I guess the auditory equivalent of what you’d describe as ‘eye-catching’. Ear-catching? In a musical context, bright colours probably mean melodies in the higher frequencies, such as piano leads (Spirits, In My Dreams), synths (You, Shosa) and samples (Jaune, Bleu). I’ve even named plenty of tracks after colours.

And finally, what can we expect next from Holo in 2026… more releases, collaborations, or perhaps something beyond music?

I’ve got a new EP coming out on Houseum Records which I’m super excited about. Like my Astro EP, it’s full of me doing new things and I’m really excited about it. I’m also currently finishing off my second album which should be released toward the end of the year. I’m collaborating with Fox again on a new track - this time with flute - which is more jazzy than my usual stuff and a bit like Chaos In The CBD. And hopefully I’ll finish an EP with a friend of mine, Carlo, who plays bass guitar. We’re writing stuff in multiple genres so it’ll be exciting to see what takes form.

‍Buy / Stream ‘Astro’ HERE