On The Verge

Holly Conlan

Los Angeles, Calif.
Classically Trained Songstress
www.hollyconlan.com

While singer/songwriter Holly Conlan grew up listening to Joni Mitchell, Queen and Radiohead, she also has roots in classical music. Her father was a classical composer and, as a teenager, Conlan realized that she needed an outlet and sat down at his piano. She was quickly hooked and started writing songs, then went on to study classical composition. Shortly after, she became a fixture in Los Angeles’ famed Hotel Café scene. “Living in LA—as wonderful a town as it as—there is a bit of a lack of appreciation for true music,” Conlan says of the town that often inspires her lyrics. “Where I was in my life and relationships and the path that I’m on as a performer” as well as the “frustrations and judgments that come along with forging a career” were the catalysts for 2009’s LP Fascinator, she says. 2008’s Bird EP is bouncy as well as “cleaner and more pop-centered,” while Fascinator is “louder, more serious and dark” with both sweeping classical instrumentation and a rock edge. Conlan is currently in the studio working on her next release, which is due in mid-2011. “It’s indie-pop with a little bit of rock and roll,” she says, “playful and also sincere at the same time.”