Name: Holly Wellington aka Holysseus Fly

Nationality: British

Occupation: Singer, songwriter
Current Release: Holysseus Fly's new single "Out Of This World" is out via Severn Songs.

If you enjoyed these thoughts by Holysseus Fly of Ishmael Ensemble and would like to stay up to date on her music and releases, visit her on Instagram, Facebook, Soundcloud, and twitter.

For a deeper dive, check out our earlier Holysseus Fly interview. We also have an Ishmael Ensemble interview with the band's Pete Cunningham.
 


Do you think that some of your earliest musical experiences planted a seed for your interest in your voice and singing? How and when did you start singing?

I have always loved soul and r’n’b singers.

I started singing a bit later in life, maybe 15? I just tried to copy what they did.

If you're playing other instruments, how does the expressive potential of these compare to your own voice?

I can express my feelings most authentically with my voice. The voice is the most direct way we can communicate!

What were some of the main challenges in your development as a singer/vocalist? Which practices, exercises, or experiences were most helpful in reaching your goals – were there also “harmful” ones?

For me, mental health has had the most effect of my voice! If I’m singing and my internal dialogue is critiquing my performance (in a gig) then I will sing worse.

I struggled with this for many years! Until I met the woman that changed my vocal life, Hannah Williams. She has been teaching me the Estil Technique and raised my confidence in otherworldly measures.

The Estil technique teaches that anyone can sing and that we can approach different parts to our voice using everyday sounds. It’s been so liberating for me. I use lots of these techniques to create sounds that feel good.

Harmful things for my voice specifically are: alcohol, stress, shouting in a loud room and feeling self critical.

How do you see the relationship between harmony, rhythm and melody? Do you feel that honing your sense of rhythm and groove has an effect on your singing skills?

As someone with training in Classical music and a bit of Jazz - it has definitely had an effect, but I know a lot of vocalists who are really insecure about their knowledge in these areas - so I think it can definitely help but it’s not everything at all.

Sometimes I think less is more. With my new song “Out Of This World,” the chord changes and melodies etc are pretty simple, but I just feel it so much.

Sometimes simplicity speaks the most direct.

What are the things you hear in a voice when listening to a vocalist? What moves you in the voices of other singers?

It’s all about emotion for me. I don’t care if it’s pitch perfect or perfect technique - obviously that’s amazing to witness! But I just think there’s so much more to it than that.

When someone feels something and they can convey it authentically - I’m so with them. I get moved when I hear someone close to tears and I love riffs and runs, I just love hearing the voice.

What kind of musical settings and situations do you think are ideal for your own voice?

Anywhere I feel at peace, empowered and safe. Also somewhere big and reverberous.

I have loved opening for Nick Mulvey on his UK tour this week, I played Manchester Albert Hall last night - the reverb felt majestic! I loved singing in that space!

We have a speaking voice and a singing voice. Do these feel like they are natural extensions of each other, ends on a spectrum or different in kind?

They’re so interlinked. It’s the same voice but being used differently.

But we can approach different sounds by the way we use our voices everyday.

From whispers to screams, from different colours to dynamics, what are the potentials and limits of your voice? How much of your vocal performance can and do you want to control?

I mean I do my best to control all of it, but sometimes my emotions get the best of me.

In the final part of my song “Marigold” I’ve left in a take where I felt super emotional. I wanted to re-do it for a while but then decided to leave it as it’s real.



Whenever my voice wavers during a performance it’s because I am emotional.

Strain is a particularly serious issue for many vocalists. How do you take care of your voice? Are the recipes or techniques to get a damaged voice back in shape?

For me rest is key. If I do something vocally and it hurts, I will stop doing it!