On The Couch with Holly Rey

House music star Holly Wasserfall, more popularly known as "Holly Rey" is one of the hardest working artists in the industry. Rey has done gigs across South Africa and across borders in Lesotho, Botswana and Uganda. The house artist recently received pan-African acclaim with a NAMA 2019 nomination for Pan African Artist of the Year. She was also invited to headline the awards events.
Rey, brought in the incredible production duo, Colours of Sound and the young breakout Zimbabwean producer Murphy Cubic. She was the executive producer on the EP, working with an incredible team of young producers. She built a house EP that smoulders with vocal depth and offers a fresh point of view in a growing cross over house market.  Tabloid Newspapers spoke to Rey about her newly released EP, and her journey through music industry.
Tabloid Newspaper (TN):
Describe Holly in three words?
Holly Rey (HR):
Tenacious, dependable and kind
TN: What inspires your line of work?
HR: People and life are my greatest inspiration. I love the human connection and so I am inspired by people’s stories. Music is an amazing way to tell a story because you can write lyrics for a song but set the mood, tone and interpretation of the story through the music and melodies.
TN: What did you want to be when you grew up?
HR: I can remember always wanting to be a musician, but if I had two lives I would have pursued Political Science because I always wanted and still want to somehow work in social development. Geography and History were my favourite subjects at school.
TN: Do you have any regrets about where you are in life?
HR: Yes, people say we should live without regret but I am someone who always wants more and always feels as though they are not doing enough. I wish I had taken my bursary to study Political Science at UCT. Who knows I may do a second degree.



TN: Tell us a little bit about your newly released EP?
HR: YOU, was made with all the right energy. I worked with an incredible group of people and there were so many great creative moments in the process. It is a journey about learning to love, learning to let go of bad love and learning to let the good love in. Musically the EP is true to Holly Rey, I am always trying to push the boundaries with a sound that is true to house but distinctively my own. For the first time as a female artist, I was lucky enough to work with brilliant creatives who allowed me to express myself and have creative control of where I wanted to go musically.
TN: Your 2019 unforgettable moment is?
HR: Creating YOU the EP and getting to listen to it with a group of creative peers and feeling incredibly proud of what was produced.
TN: If you can change one thing in the music industry, what would it be?
HR: That there is more support for the young artist. The industry tends not to nurture talent but rather only support talent once they have done all the work to develop themselves. It is so hard on young people. The industry needs to be kinder. Depression in our industry is a harsh reality and many of our young artists are struggling with the reality of not being supported by their families and then facing rejection on a daily basis.
TN: You bagged a SAMA Award, what was the experience like, and what other awards have you won?
HR: Winning the SAMA was so totally unexpected, I knew that my whole team had worked incredibly hard, pushing on the ground but I never imagined that I could win alongside the other artists in the category. It was such an incredible moment. I have not won any other awards. I was nominated for a NAMA, Best Pan-African Artist and then more recently Best Female Vocalist in the SA House Music Awards. I love that Simmy won though, I love her.



TN: What are your favourite things about yourself?
HR: My sense of humour. I love to laugh.
TN: What aspect of your life needs tremendous improvement?
HR: Communication in my personal life. I am a terrible communicator. I get so busy that I often forget to stay in touch with people, I need to be a better friend.
TN: One thing you know now that you wish you had known as a kid?
HR: That it is okay to not fit in. The cool kids are not always that cool.
TN: On a scale of one to ten, with 10 being the highest and one being the lowest, rate your fashion sense?
HR: Ooh aah! Can I play safe and say five? I might think I have great fashion sense but then what I think is cool may not be all that!



TN: What advice can you share with upcoming musicians?
HR: It’s okay to lose or be the one in the back, this is a marathon not a sprint. Stop thinking that there is a shortcut or that other people are just lucky, you have got to go the distance, learn your lessons, go through the growth, feel the pain and take your journey to be the person you are meant to be. The reality is that the industry does not nurture talent, you have got to work on your own development. It took me 10 years to become Holly Rey and I am still on a journey of discovery and growth as a musician and artist. Nothing worth having comes easy. Be kind to yourself, be patient with your journey.