Holly Lerski
By Jason Barnard
Songwriter Holly Lerski traces her roots from the serene landscapes of rural Norfolk to her new album ‘Sweet Decline‘. It’s a testament to her resilience, born from a road trip across America’s West Coast. Recorded with the expertise of producer Matt ‘Truck’ Roley in Nashville, the LP fuses the raw authenticity of folk storytelling with an astute pop sensibility.
Can you share some specific moments or places that played a significant role in shaping the themes of ‘Sweet Decline’?
That’s a hard one to answer as every song was inspired by some moment in a significant place as I travelled. Each one shapes the album. In fact, the running order is the actual route I took so it’s like a song cycle. But the overall theme is getting over a broken heart. And that’s what happened as I explored the different landscapes. My city songs, ‘Chicago’ and ‘Home Is Your Shoulder’ opening the album is me feeling adrift but by the time I got out into the the National Parks like Yosemite, Sequoia and to the Pacific Coast, they started to get happy and hopeful. By the end of the trip I was feeling very happy solo travelling, I was having such a good time.
But if I had to pick one of my most significant places it’s Big Sur. I’d heard and read so much about it over the years, the beatniks, Kerouac, Ginsberg, the artist community there. I’d always wanted to see it for myself. It didn’t disappoint. I found it as wild and rugged as the Cornish coast — or the west coast of Scotland. Very remote with no phone signal so perfect for Bohemians escaping the modern world. Two songs came when I was in Big Sur, one for each visit. The first, ‘Nepenthe’, which I wrote sitting under the Nepenthe Restaurant sign the day before coming home. The second one was ‘Down at Deetjen’s, written in the honeymoon suite at Deetjen’s, this incredible old inn that’s been there since the 1930s. The irony wasn’t lost on me – in one of the most romantic places to eat dinner, ‘Down at Deetjen’s’, and I was on my own. Yet it was OK because I was happy discovering America alone.
You’ve just released the song ‘Chicago’. Can you tell me about its writing and what it means for you.
Chicago started in Heathrow departure lounge when I was waiting to board the plane, and came together mid flight over the Atlantic. I was thinking about my attachments, most especially to my ex, and whether leaving England would finally cut the cords. That idea must have been percolating in my head because once we began flying, I remember looking out of the window and seeing this brilliant blue sky with these vapour trails criss-crossing the sky from all the other planes. I started to see them as heartstrings going all the way back to England. From then on the song came in a rush. I could hear an orchestra very clearly in my head. I heard them for real when SistaStrings came in on the Nashville sessions. They accompanied Joni Mitchell on the recent Grammys. If there’s one thing that song means to me, it’s that I should always finish a song. I could have let it go, but I let it flow. It was the start of me being brave, following through with dreams and making things happen.
How did the collaboration with producer Matt ‘Truck’ Roley contribute to the album’s sound?
Meeting and working with Roley was a complete stroke of luck because we totally clicked musically – and as friends. I’m not sure if I’d ever met anybody so on my wavelength when it came to recording music. He totally got what the whole project was about – connection and how getting into a creative space like that, following your bliss, things fell into place. It was the key. Synchronicity and all that crazy stuff. So we were both – we are both – very intuitive about how to translate that feeling into a sound. Roley also loves The Beatles and George Martin’s production, so again, we were like one brain collaborating. I had a lot of sounds and parts already in my head. He was open to that. He would suggest taking it in a totally a different direction. I was open to that too. We just served the song.
Can you highlight some songs from the album that capture this essence, and what they mean to you personally?
‘Carmel’ is an example. I recorded an early version on my second trip with Hutch (James ‘Hutch’ Hutchinson, Bonnie Raitt’s bassist) who I’d met years before when I toured with John Hiatt. He reached out and offered me a place to stay when I got to LA as I was doing everything on a shoestring, and we ended up spending 2 days together in the studio when I returned a couple months later. I was planning on doing the whole album with Hutch and started a Kickstarter, then COVID arrived. So, we finished ‘Carmel’ remote and I put it out as a double A side with one of his songs. With this album, ‘Carmel’ had to be included since it was part of the song cycle, but it had to be either as good as, or better. We were going to record live around a campfire but we ran out of time (I had a flight booked a couple of days later) so instead Roley and I ended up jamming it round one mic with him on acoustic and me on ukulele. Neither of us had planned anything, we just played off each other That’s how it came out.
I wanted to get the essence of how insanely magic it all been coming together – we recorded all of it in 20 days – so we got everyone who’d be hanging out at the studio to sing at the end. Abby Dees, who I’d met on the first trip when she interviewed me for a radio show. We became best friends and she helped me on the second trip, lending me her car to go to the desert in. Kate Urmy, who I was dating at the time and who’d introduced me to Roley, and Roley’s dad, Scott Roley, a Nashville singer songwriter from the Christian music scene. My trips had been all about the importance of connection, and the creative energy it creates – ‘Carmel’ captures that essence perfectly.
Growing up in Norfolk must have shaped your early musical influences. Can you share a specific memory or experience from your time there that you feel has left an indelible mark on your music?
I guess the most indelible mark was moving to Norfolk in the first place. I write about it in my book that accompanies this record. I was nine when we moved. My Dad worked as a sound engineer in television, so I’d been obsessed with rock ‘n’ roll from toddler age. He got a job in Norfolk and so when we left London they put our furniture in storage while they looked for a house. The only toy I had to play with was my guitar. I’d had a few months of guitar lessons in London with a school teacher called Mr Seth, who wrote songs for the school plays, and he’d suggested my Mum buy me a Beatles Complete songbook to work from. So that’s all I did, play guitar for months. The temporary school I went to, I was quite lonely, the kids weren’t that friendly, so guitar was a real comfort. That’s when I first started to try to write songs. I wanted to be a Beatle so bad!
How did your musical influences and experiences, both with Angelou and as a solo artist, shape ‘Sweet Decline’ and how does it compare to your earlier records?
I think you can hear the same kind of asymmetrical thing going on with all my albums – I like to play with expectation and keep the listener interested – and I’ve always written from a very emotional place. But ‘Sweet Decline’ is my most personal album. My other records all have very personal songs on them, but this collection, I never intended to even write it. Let alone record it. This was my reaction to a broken heart, and dealing with it by going to a country I knew nobody and re-discovering myself. I’d lost my belief in love – which is a big deal as a songwriter, let alone human being! This was me trying to mend it. It was just a happy accident, discovering the more I engaged in life and consciously connected with others, the more creative I got. When I returned home after the second trip, I realised I had to share the secret. Seemed like the key to happiness.
Looking back at your career, how has your approach to songwriting and storytelling evolved, and what aspects of your musical journey continue to drive and inspire you?
Looking back to when I first started to take my songwriting seriously – and we’re talking 30 years, from my first attempt at getting a record deal with The Rainbyrds – I think the less I’ve cared what industry or what people think, the better it’s got. I had years of doubting myself and listening to one or two critics rather than the people who loved my music. As soon as I let go of that and realised I was enough – and it was enough – I think my songs got better. It’s like that seeking approval thing from a parent who never gives it. As soon as you let go and realise the love is inside, you stop seeking approval externally. It’s a Zen letting go thing! And the more I’ve done that, the more honest I get. Then the more honest I get – better the intent – the better the art.
What’s next? Do you have any upcoming projects or directions that you’re excited to explore?
I have so many!! This has been the longest and biggest project I’ve ever tried to complete. It’s turned into a bit of a life mission, so I haven’t been able to do much else. Last Christmas I did manage to put out a little children’s bedtime story book which I also illustrated. I trained as a fine artist, and do still love to draw, so I’d like to do more of those. And I’m still working on the book that accompanies the album. But musically, I wrote a batch of new songs when I was in Crete last summer I’d like to record. Crete’s another one of those Big Sur places for me. I sold my house so I could free myself up to do this fun time, and had nowhere to live, so went to this cheap eco place I’d been to a few years back. Basically caves carved into a gorge. It was, again, a perfect pace to be in the moment, connect with nature, and source, and be creative. I’m thinking of making them into a little summer E.P. with Roley – a kind of nod to Joni since she’s got history there too. We’ll see. As I like to say these days, thoughts become things.
Further information
Holly Lerski’s new album ‘Sweet Decline’ will be released on 26th April 2024. For more information visit hollylerski.com
