Holly Lester
DJ | Producer | Label Manager
Founder of the label Duality Trax, resident of the Manchester-based Limbo Radio and past resident of The Warehouse Project, Holly Lester is a multi-talented artist whose every cell is occupied by music, particularly house, disco and some trance depending on the day of the week.
Having taught herself to DJ at aged fourteen, Holly has since followed a winding path in music which allowed her to develop and hone in on the sound of which she is truly ardent. In her early teens, the Armagh native consumed electronic music in all of its forms, listening to anything from minimal techno to jungle, DnB and hard dance.
A move to Liverpool at 19 signified a turning point in Holly’s path, soaking up the city’s buzzing dance music scene and DIY parties. It was here that she began playing for parties and events that resonated with her musically and slowly began making her mark in England's North West scene. Given her exceptional technical ability and well-tuned ear, Holly’s name soon started to appear on flyers for local gigs which later extended to bookings back in Belfast, down to Dublin and out to Ibiza.
Holly’s Boiler Room at AVA in 2018 rightfully put her on the map to a much bigger audience and judging by the raucous reaction of the crowd throughout the set, it’s more than safe to say she is an astute artist with a knack for releasing nostalgic bangers at just the right moment. No matter what the atmosphere, her crowd’s engagement and enjoyment is the number one priority as soon as the needle drops. Sets at London’s Printworks, IPSE Berlin, Electric Galway and a stint in Tbilisi, Georgia followed suit, not forgetting her first booking in Azerbaijan which was her last international show before the pandemic.
Covid-19 has brought its challenges to everyone on the planet. Uncertainty continues on but for now, Holly has accepted the slower pace of life and is putting her health first. Using this period to reflect, spend more time with friends and family and focus on her label and production, Holly reminisces on that last show in Baku and illustrates the whole experience below in her own palpable words…
Photo: Holly Lester
Where was this photo taken and why did you choose it?
So the photo I have chosen is one that I took just before my set at a new venue called PLACE in Baku, Azerbaijan. This was my last international gig before the pandemic struck and was also my first time in Azerbaijan, so that trip now holds even more meaning to me.
I played there towards the end of February and had been invited very kindly to stay for the weekend, as flights were quite complicated from Ireland. I jumped at the chance to stay a bit longer as I love exploring around new cities and of course, the nature of touring doesn't always allow for this. The city itself was an intriguing blend of paradoxes, with futuristic skyscrapers set against ancient sandstone forts, luxury shopping centres juxtaposed minutes away from crumbling residential areas and Soviet era buildings nestled beside Islamic architecture. This was the first time that I had been in a predominantly Islamic country so I was very intrigued to see how club culture would operate in this territory. Interestingly, there were no restrictions on club closure times or alcohol sales - something we are all too familiar with here in Ireland.
The promoter Natig explained to me over dinner that the idea of raving was very much in its infancy in Azerbaijan, so with no restrictions enforced the club-goers were keen to party well into the next day. Although there were a few bars selling alcohol in town, people preferred to smoke in tea houses with friends and, if anything, speed was the drug of choice in the club.
I had a look around the venue that evening - a brand new club in a disused shopping mall, where they were quite literally rolling out the finishing touches as I was looking around. The space had previously been a bowling alley and I later discovered a gigantic unused ice rink behind the DJ booth.
As expected, the energy and the enthusiasm from the punters and local DJs was truly refreshing, reminding me of how I felt way back in my early raving days. It felt very exciting to be playing a small part in a scene that was only just beginning its story. I played from 3am - 6am, with a few die hards apparently dancing ‘til 10am the following morning.
I followed on from a local DJ called INHERROOM, who played an absolutely blinding set of techno and electro. With this in mind, and a prior chat about Baku's preference for harder sounds, I decided to pick up where she left off, never dipping below 132 BPM for my entire set and generally playing a lot harder than I do usually. I tend to work my way up to the 130+ mark as I'm building to a peak in my sets - everything before that is considerably slower. I think it's essential to have those sets that truly challenge you as a DJ, even if it's something as simple as working at a different BPM.
Like any DJ, I absolutely love an opportunity to challenge myself and see if I can pull it off, and from the feedback the next day it seemed to do so. I spent the following day with the promoter and his friends showing me around the city, trying the local food and drinking lots of tea (any Irish persons dream). They even gifted me with some traditional Azerbaijani tea glasses!
How have the last couple of months been for you?
The last couple of months have been the definition of a rollercoaster ride; the ups and downs have been accentuated to say the least. I had just put out the first release from my record label Duality Trax, an EP by Dublin's Fio Fa, just a week before the world ceased to exist as we know it.
It undoubtedly impacted things in the first few weeks, but thankfully not as much as I thought it might. The A2 reached number 1 on Beatport's underground chart in May for about a week, which was a really nice thing to see after dealing with so much bad news. I have been working on getting DUALITY2 ready in recent weeks, and although the timeline has been a little delayed it is definitely going to be worth the wait.
As an artist, did you ever feel your motivation slip during the more intense period of lockdown?
Of course, and I think most artists felt that at some point. For me, the initial first month was extremely hard. It wasn't so much a lack of motivation, but more a complete inability to do anything at all. I was dealing with a lot of anxiety and could barely even listen to music, with the exception of ambient mixes. It feels like a life time ago now that I think back to it; things have improved dramatically since then.
Have you recently discovered any artists or reconnected with older sounds?
Recently I've been listening to a handful of old archived mixes for a BBC programme that I co-presented last week here in Belfast. It ran in association with Celtronic's online festival this year, looking back through the archives at some of the standout events in Northern Ireland's clubbing history. In particular, the Dave Clarke and Andrew Weatherall recordings from the early 2000s were stand-outs for me.
Moving forward as times evolve, what are your plans?
Regardless of how things progress in the next few months, I am hoping I will be able to maintain my new found balance and deeper appreciation for the simpler things and life in general, going forward. I'll also be continuing on with my plans for the label, radio work and production projects as usual. Whilst realistically 2020 is a write off for normal gigs, there are talks of smaller outdoor parties coming back to Belfast very soon which is a little something to look forward to.
What's been an unexpected positive moment for you throughout all of this?
An unexpected positive for me has been getting a better grip on my health, which might seem surprising given the current climate. I took a lot of time out in April and May meditating, practising yoga, cooking a lot of new recipes and spending time with family, which of course is more challenging for me to do in normal circumstances.
In June, I moved to the city with one of my best friends, which has been another welcoming change of scenery and has given me some new personal projects to focus on.
Listen back to part of Holly’s celebration of Celtronic here and follow her below: