Delilah Holliday is one to watch - and listen to. The North London artist has got us hooked with her recent singles Silent Streets and Everything I Ever Wanted. Last week at the Hermès menswear show, our worlds collided when Silent Streets was exclusively selected to play as part of the show's soundtrack.

Today, Delilah's new EP Invaluable Vol. 1 has arrived. Psychedelic electronic, pop, trip hop and damn good beats make up the six tracks that float in the realm between reality and fantasy. "All of us on this planet have had a unique experience," Delilah says. "And I feel like they're invaluable experiences, and they are the riches in life, because they make you who you are. Growing up on a council estate, I feel like that's made me the person I am, made me create the art, and I just want the visuals to reflect that and be real. Because although I love conveying fantasy worlds and things like that, I do feel like sometimes realism is very important. And the brutal nature of London is the making of me personally as an artist. And although I like to be away with the fairies, it's good to come back down to earth and to portray that."

We spoke to Delilah about writing the EP, working with composer and producer Raphael Ninot and hearing her song in an Hermès show.

We are obsessed with Silent Streets. It’s so good. Tell us about this track. When Raphael Ninot sent you the beat, how did it make you feel? What was inspiring you as you wrote to it?

Omg thank you! It’s honestly one of my favs from this body of work too - Raphael sent me the beat I think two years ago now and I instantly knew I wanted to jump on the track. My first immediate thoughts were it was giving like a futuristic 80s workout VHS vibe and I love that aesthetic. Obviously at the time we were all as a collective adjusting to coming out of lockdown and I thought it was a unique experience that may never (I hope) happen again and I wanted to capture and preserve these feelings of being connected yet disconnected at the same time.

Silent Streets was recently played at the Hermès show. How did it feel to see your song being played at one of the greatest shows in Paris? We were so excited for you!

Thank you so much! It was honestly a mind blowing experience to be an emerging artist and have a high profile global brand like Hermès back you and your creative vision. Things like this aren’t supposed to happen to women like me statistically so I feel very humbled and grateful to all things that aligned for me to experience this opportunity and to Véronique Nichanian for taking a chance on me and picking my song. I’m still pinching myself to be honest!

Everything I Ever Wanted is beautiful. We love your version of a love song. It feels super intimate and personal. Where were you when you wrote this? How do you hope people feel listening to it?

I wrote this song at Neneh Cherry’s house in Sweden. The house was were Moki Cherry and Don Cherry created all their iconic art in the 70s so I feel like that energy is really powerful and has been consecrated into the house so it definitely had an effect on me. When I was playing and writing on the piano Don once played I feel like all the lyrics just flowed out of me and the song just wrote itself- I actually recorded the vocals underneath a duvet in the guest room so the song is very intimate. I hope whenever anyone is listening to the song they feel understood, less alone and some hope.

Your new EP Invaluable Vol. 1 is coming soon. We’ve read it exists in the space between fantasy and reality. Tell us about this space!

So when me and Raphael were creating this body of work we decided to picture a house and what each room would sound like. To be honest I’ve just accepted that I am a conceptual artist now and that’s the most productive way for me to produce work. At the same time although we birthed the music out of fantasy I wanted all the visuals to be based in my origins and the reality of were I grew up. 

What was your intention with this EP? What did you hope to evoke on this project?

Sonically I want to take the listener on a conceptual journey through this crazy fantasy house we dreamed up. This house is a haunted house party in the heart of London so some of lyrics are a nod to London night life. Visually I want to portray the reality of growing up in Britain and pursuing your dreams without a silver spoon in your mouth.

What were you listening to, reading, watching etc as you wrote this EP?

When I wrote this EP I was listening to a lot of Burial, Overmono, Sneaker Pimps, Massive Attack, Portishead and Faithless. Also the cover was very much inspired by The Streets - Original Pirate Material. I was reading “The Yellow Wife” by Sadeqa Johnston and watching The Fifth Element I was going through a dark transitional period so when I was traveling to studio on the tube I had Beyoncè's Renaissance on repeat and that body of work also gave me the energy and power to create.

What did Raphael bring to your world on this EP? What did you learn from Raphael?

Raphael has a completely different visual and sonic aesthetic to me. I’ve always admired their love for IDM, trance and dark techno. I feel like both of our brains combined have created something magnificent. They also encouraged me to think outside of the box when it comes to the lyrical content, instead of attacking it from a feelings point of view which I usually do. We tried out more conceptual styles of writing lyrics like using the William S Burroughs cut up method. I find that method to be really strange and almost psychic because you end up conveying your feelings in your lyrics anyway it’s just more abstract than literal.

The EP touches on how we are all products of our upbringing and surroundings. Tell us about yours. How did growing up in North London shape you and your sound?

I’ve grown up on a council estate in North London my whole life, and whilst it’s not always been easy I wouldn’t change it for the world. My parents brought me up on punk, grunge and rock n’ roll. Being exposed to different cultures and the sounds that come with it has made me a very eclectic and prolific person sonically. I could never stick to one genre personally, I would go insane. I have to create a response to the musical melting pot I’ve been exposed to my whole life. I’m a diamond in the rough. 

You’ve said you like to be away with the fairies but also come back down to earth. We love that. What’s been grounding you recently?

I’m very much into spiritual well being so of course the obvious meditation, incense and crystals always help me come back down to earth. Maintaining good spiritual hygiene is very important to me. I also find soaking in the tub with Himalayan salt is a very powerful cleanse and taking sea moss internally and externally has been amazing for grounding me lately.

Best place to listen to the EP in full?

I would say at the beach, the forest, a haunted mansion or simply underneath your duvet would be the best place to experience Invaluable. Vol 1.

Listen to Invaluable Vol. 1 HERE.

@delilahholliday