Biography
Holly Holden is a singer and songwriter from London. A long-term love affair with Latin America and the Caribbean and many years spent music-making in the region have shaped her unique sunny, Spanglish soul-pop sound.
Holly formed electric trio Holly Holden y Su Banda with David Beauchamp and Frank Clarke in 2015. Together they performed at major UK festivals including Glastonbury, Greenman and Boomtown and shared stages with Vicente Garcia and Johnny Flynn in London. They also played at international music festivals in the Dominican Republic, Haiti and New York.
In 2017, released six-track EP ‘Tropical Soul’, and, shortly after, Aguá Salá - a bossa-bolera recorded in Cartagena, Colombia with Christhian Salazar Rivera. Her debut album Green Guava came out in August 2020.
Holly’s new album - ‘al andar’ (July 2025) was composed on a Venezuelan cuatro during stints spent living in Mexico and Colombia, and recorded in London with multi-instrumentalist and producer Greg Sanders (Juanita Euka, Teotima, Lophae). ‘Al andar’ is an innovative and eclectic fusion of influences, with a warm, raw acoustic feel that pays homage to the artists that inspired its creation - Simon Díaz, Lucila Campos, Andrés Landero, Mercedes Sosa, Polo Montañez, Violeta Parra, Omara Portuondo.
This album marks an exciting new development in Holly’s sound and features some of the most celebrated musicians in London's Latin scene including Venezuelan singer and cuatrista Luzmira Zerpa (Family Atlántica), Colombian accordion prodigy Hernando Arias, Cuban trumpet player Yelfris Valdés (Chucho Valdés) and percussionists Will Fry (Jungle), Ernesto Marichales (New Regency Orchestra, Jordan Rakei) and Fabio Moreno (Babo Moreno).
Aside from her solo project, Holly has been a member of the all-female and non-binary vocal collectives Deep Throat Choir in London and El Palomar in Mexico City. Holly is also a member of Johnny Flynn's River band and The David Tattersal Group and has recorded vocals on albums by Cosmo Sheldrake and The Wave Pictures. In 2013, she toured as a vocalist with dubstep producer Mala in live performances of his acclaimed album ‘Mala in Cuba’. Holly recently recorded an EP with Havana-based producer DJ Jigüe, due to be released on Guampara Records.
Press
"a captivating fusion of Latin fusion and contemporary soul-pop"
"...one of the most authentic and versatile voices of the alternative panorama".
The album confirms Holden as one of Britain's most compelling cross-cultural voices, an artist whose nomadic heart has found its proper home between languages, between traditions, between who she was and who she's becoming'.
'al andar is an honest and delicately crafted work that invites you to listen to it in its entirety, like an introspective walk that celebrates fusion, emotional connection, and the transformative power of music.'
“a songwriter of great subtlety”
- Clash
"Wow, just wow, what a voice!"
- Mark Toal, Fresh on the net
“Infectious, euphoric and optimistic”
“Holly Holden is a modern example of an artist who thinks beyond borders”
"Her sound has an element that makes us vibrate…There is no point in trying to put a label on [it]. According to Holly there are no labels, nothing is pure and music in its essence is a conversation.”
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