13 Questions with Those Holy

Those Holy are the latest outliers to emerge from Liverpool’s fervent underground.

Consisting of Chrissy Connor (FEND, formerly of LONESAW and co-founder of Liverpool venue, QUARRY) and Lucy Grey (Majia, Dubs Club), the two quickly formed an alliance following FEND’s 2023 debut EP, Tiur, where Grey featured on the track, Koyann.

It was here where the seeds for Those Holy were planted, and last month the duo released their debut single, In Shadows.

From the off, it’s evident that In Shadows sees Connor and Grey shed new skins. Pulsating, goth-laden electro that warps the dance floor, In Shadows is the easiest thing on the ear either artist has produced. For those wanting their NHMN fix, Those Holy fill that particular void, and there’s plenty to come, with more new music in the offing from the duo.

Prior to release of In Shadows, we asked Connor and Grey to partake in our final 13 Questions feature for 2024.

Since the completion of this interview, it was announced that QUARRY will be closing its doors early in the New Year. A venue that’s just about the last of its kind in Liverpool’s city centre, it’s yet another devastating blow for local outsider culture. To help the team find a new location, a Gofund page has been set up which you can donate to here.

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1. Last year, Lucy featured on your EP as FEND, Chrissy. Was this the moment when you both knew you’d work more together in the future? 

Chrissy Connor: “Yes, 100 per cent. We worked on my track Koyann together last year which felt really seamless, even though we recorded it remotely. After that we started talking about the possibility of performing live in a new, more band-like context. It took about six months of sending each other demos and talking about the kind of direction we wanted to take, but once we got in a practice room the project just seemed to develop very quickly. I think we’re quite natural collaborators.” 

2.  What was the inspiration behind the name, Those Holy? 

CC: “Honestly, I’ve had the name Those Holy stuck in my head for a couple of years now, but I didn’t know what to do with it – once Lucy and I started writing music together the name just felt right. I don’t like giving concrete meaning to project names, it makes it less interesting or a bit cheesy. I do like that it could mean a few different things, but mostly it just feels right, and I think that’s most important.”  

3.  Can you tell us about the process behind your debut song, In Shadows?

CC: “We took an almost surgical approach to this one looking back. Sort of similar to our approach on Koyann, we wrote In Shadows by recording over each other’s demos until we’d created a version of the track that we were happy with. After that we learnt how to perform it live with various synths and samplers. Hardware synths are a crucial part of our live set and overall sound – we want to create live electronic music without the use of pre-recorded tracks or laptops.” 

Lucy Grey: “It’s actually pretty crazy how quickly this track came together. When Chrissy showed me the initial idea, I instantly knew it was going to be our first release. Finding the dissonant vocal note for the chorus was really interesting and I’ve learnt a lot from making the track, as singing is a pretty new thing for me.”

4. What was the key aspect you wanted to achieve with the track? 

CC: “For me I just wanted to create something that I myself would enjoy listening to, I think that is everyone’s aim really. More specifically, I really wanted to push myself to do something that was much more tonal, but that still had one foot in the gothy experimental world. That felt more difficult to me than producing full on noise terror, and I think we achieved that with In Shadows – it leans more on the gothic pop side, but the noise remains.” 

LG: “Totally agree with what Chrissy said about making a track I’d enjoy listening to myself. I’ve never really had that before. It also feels like the track is unique in that I can’t think of much else like it. It is unapologetically us, which was always the aim. The feedback I’ve had so far is that people didn’t expect it to sound the way it does, which feels like a good thing to hear.”

5. I know LONESAW were into pop music, and In Shadows feels a song that leans a bit more directly into that aesthetic. Lucy, has pop music been a key part of your life, too?

LG: “I’d say I’ve always been into dream pop / trip hop probably more than anything. I grew up listening to Portishead, Joni Mitchell and Cocteau Twins, and that definitely influences my approach to melody, vocal lines and singing. I’ve also always been into the idea of lightness and darkness in music, so dream pop vocals with darkwave is a great match.”

6. Being based in Liverpool, I think there’s locality in your approach but more so from afar. Your Celtic heritage feels like it plays a deep role in Those Holy. Would that be accurate? 

CC: “I think so, yeah. I’m proud to be Irish and I’m proud to be a synth-obsessed goth – there aren’t many of us who can say we’re both, and I think most of us know each other by now! We didn’t want to shy away from our respective Welsh/Irish heritages in our creative process – although we’re still figuring out what that means. I think that should always be ongoing.” 

LG: “Yeah, I would say so. I’m proud to be Welsh and feel lucky to live in a city not too far from home. Our Celtic roots was something both Chrissy and I realised after a few rehearsals, and how ingrained that inherently is in our music. Music for me has always felt nostalgic, capturing moments from the past, and of home.”

7. Also running QUARRY, which has played a big role in Liverpool’s outsider culture, do you think your involvement there inspired this project, or do you see the two as separate things?

CC:“That’s interesting. The two are totally separate entities but they certainly will have influenced each other. Probably most of all in the artists I’ve seen and friendships made since we started QUARRY. Just this past year we’ve played with Autumns, PC World, Fat Concubine and Tolouse Low Trax at the venue. Meeting people and seeing them perform will inevitably influence our music whether consciously or not. I’m very grateful for all these experiences, and the influence they have had is not lost on me.”

8. Is music something you both work on every day? 

LG: “Absolutely. Whether it’s listening, mixing, making or singing – it’s consistent in my life, always there.” 

CC: “For better or worse – every aspect of my life orbits it!” 

9. Speaking of Liverpool’s experimental music scene, while it’s vital for venues such as yours to remain, the same can be said for promoters of esoteric music such as Moonfrog. Do you think Liverpool is growing stronger?

CC: “It’s difficult for me to say with certainty. In some ways yes – there are lots of positive changes happening both nationally and city-wide which are going to directly strengthen Liverpool’s grassroots music scene. 

“We’re lucky to have DIY promoters in the city like Moonfrog who have consistently flown the freak flag for left-leaning and gothic music. There is so much music that the gig-goers of Liverpool would have missed out on without these promoters taking the financial risks so we can experience these shows.”

10. I’m guessing social media is a fundamental aspect on the QUARRY side of things. For your artistic endeavours, though, do you see social media as a necessary evil, or is it something you enjoy participating in?

CC: “I enjoy it to the extent that it’s how we share our music. But generally, I find it more of a necessary evil. I miss finding out about gigs and new music from physical media, and I think social media has robbed that from us.”

11. What have been your favourite records in 2024?

CC: “Chat Pile’s new album, Cool World’ has really done it for me this year – I listened to Beth Gibbons solo album a fair bit too earlier in the year.” 

LG: “As a long-lover of Iceage, Elias Ronnenfelt’s recent debut solo album has blown me away, as well as Chelsea Wolfe’s new album and Sam Morton’s recent release, too.”

12. Last book you read?

CC: “Claudius, the God – Robert Graves.” 

LG: “Kala – Colin Walsh.”

13. Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions. Any last words?

CC: “Thanks for having us – we have a lot more music and shows planned for next year so keep your eyes peeled!”

In Shadows is out now. Purchase from Bandcamp.