Learn More About… holybones

      Hello and welcome back to DIY’s feature, Get To Know… which aims to bring you closer to the most talked-about acts that have recently caught our attention, exploring what drives their creativity. Without a doubt, many artists aim to keep their art as the primary focus, unclouded by biases or assumptions. However, few accomplish this as effectively as holybones - the underground alt-electronic collective that, by wearing facial bandages to maintain their anonymity, allows their work to speak for itself. Combining spoken word poetry reminiscent of Antony Szmierek and rising talent Dan Whitlam with glitchy beats and soulful elements (particularly highlighted in ‘SALTYWATER’), their debut EP ‘I got a good night's sleep’ evokes both the hazy joy of a basement dancefloor and the lingering melancholy of a solitary night bus ride home, achieving the intriguing feat of expressing intimacy and community without disclosing their identities. To celebrate the EP’s release, we connected with… some members of holybones (we're still uncertain who) to satisfy at least some of our curiosity.

      Describe your music in the style of a dating app bio:

      I’m not quite sure why I’m here. I’m scared and anxious. Help. (6’2”)

      Who were some artists that influenced you when you were first starting out (and why)?

      It was the Soundcloud bootleg culture and the trashy EDM of the 2010s that initially drew us into music production. ‘Untrue’ by Burial really shifted our perspective on electronic music - how it could evoke something truly delicate. ‘EP2’ by FKA Twigs (produced by Arca) blew our minds regarding the potential of laptop music as well. During our teenage years, Seamus Coyle’s guitar riffs and Beaker Best’s drumming for Sticky Fingers created some of our best gig memories, alongside early Jungle and The xx. We admired Philip Larkin - there was something charming about his somewhat grumpy demeanor as a poet, and we would have loved to meet him. Baxter Dury’s lyrics and storytelling had a significant impact on us - he influenced our first track ‘Dogs’; the idea of spoken word over music that felt raw and edgy was incredibly appealing. Additionally, our strong shared passion for cinema and theatre helped unite the concept of holybones: Danny Boyle, Gary Owen's Killology, and Anna Jordan's Yen were all major influences.

      What were the first songs/albums you became obsessed with (and why)?

      In the early days, there was a band called The Huckleberries - a local bluegrass group from Salisbury (where one of us grew up). His dad got a CD from them when they were busking in the town square and played it every time they sped through the lanes in his ‘90s VW Golf. For another member, it was the official Lion King soundtrack - he would make his mum play Jeremy Irons’ ‘Be Prepared’ repeatedly while he and his brother sang along out of tune in booster seats in the back (sorry mum). Then there were also ‘Motion in the Ocean’ by McFly and Busted’s self-titled album. After that, we became friends with our cooler older brothers, and we got into ‘American Idiot,’ Flume’s debut album, Porter Robinson’s ‘Worlds,’ Tribes’ ‘Baby,’ Circa Waves’ ‘Young Chasers,’ Justice’s ‘Cross,’ Arctic Monkeys’ ‘AM,’ Peace’s first two albums, Sticky Fingers’ ‘Caress Your Soul’ and ‘Land of Pleasure,’ Deadmau5’s ‘For Lack of a Better Name,’ and Wolf Alice’s ‘My Love is Cool.’

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Hello and welcome back to DIY’s feature, Get To Know… which aims to bring you closer to the most talked-about acts that have recently caught our attention, exploring what drives their creativity. Without a doubt, many artists aim to keep their art as the primary focus, unclouded by biases or assumptions. However, few accomplish this as effectively as holybones - the underground alt-electronic collective that, by wearing facial bandages to maintain their anonymity, allows their work to speak for itself. Combining spoken word poetry reminiscent of Antony Szmierek and rising talent Dan Whitlam with glitchy beats and soulful elements (particularly highlighted in ‘SALTYWATER’), their debut EP ‘I got a good night's sleep’ evokes both the hazy joy of a basement dancefloor and the lingering melancholy of a solitary night bus ride home, achieving the intriguing feat of expressing intimacy and community without disclosing their identities. To celebrate the EP’s release, we connected with… some members of holybones (we're still uncertain who) to satisfy at least some of our curiosity. Describe your music in the style of a dating app bio: I’m not quite sure why I’m here. I’m scared and anxious. Help. (6’2”) Who were some artists that influenced you when you were first starting out (and why)? It was the Soundcloud bootleg culture and the trashy EDM of the 2010s that initially drew us into music production. ‘Untrue’ by Burial really shifted our perspective on electronic music - how it could evoke something truly delicate. ‘EP2’ by FKA Twigs (produced by Arca) blew our minds regarding the potential of laptop music as well. During our teenage years, Seamus Coyle’s guitar riffs and Beaker Best’s drumming for Sticky Fingers created some of our best gig memories, alongside early Jungle and The xx. We admired Philip Larkin - there was something charming about his somewhat grumpy demeanor as a poet, and we would have loved to meet him. Baxter Dury’s lyrics and storytelling had a significant impact on us - he influenced our first track ‘Dogs’; the idea of spoken word over music that felt raw and edgy was incredibly appealing. Additionally, our strong shared passion for cinema and theatre helped unite the concept of holybones: Danny Boyle, Gary Owen's Killology, and Anna Jordan's Yen were all major influences. What were the first songs/albums you became obsessed with (and why)? In the early days, there was a band called The Huckleberries - a local bluegrass group from Salisbury (where one of us grew up). His dad got a CD from them when they were busking in the town square and played it every time they sped through the lanes in his ‘90s VW Golf. For another member, it was the official Lion King soundtrack - he would make his mum play Jeremy Irons’ ‘Be Prepared’ repeatedly while he and his brother sang along out of tune in booster seats in the back (sorry mum). Then there were also ‘Motion in the Ocean’ by McFly and Busted’s self-titled album. After that, we became friends with our cooler older brothers, and we got into ‘American Idiot,’ Flume’s debut album, Porter Robinson’s ‘Worlds,’ Tribes’ ‘Baby,’ Circa Waves’ ‘Young Chasers,’ Justice’s ‘Cross,’ Arctic Monkeys’ ‘AM,’ Peace’s first two albums, Sticky Fingers’ ‘Caress Your Soul’ and ‘Land of Pleasure,’ Deadmau5’s ‘For Lack of a Better Name,’ and Wolf Alice’s ‘My Love is Cool.’

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