Montreal Alt-Pop Artist dee holt Dazzles with Summery New EP ‘Loving In The Dark’
August 16, 2024 BY Emma Orland
Today, the multi-talented Montreal native dee holt is proud to share her third EP, loving in the dark, out now via Nettwerk. On the five-song effort, dee is more confident and primetime-ready than ever with songs that range from eerie, Eilish-inspired productions to club-ready electropop bangers. loving in the dark is about new beginnings, taking chances, and embracing a leap of faith.
“With this EP, I’m entering a new phase in my artist career which is quite fitting…. a new beginning,” explains dee. In an interview with Luna Collective, she went on to say, “I’m finding my aesthetic, making things more cohesive, and giving it 100% with “dee 2.0.” It’s like my alter ego.”
On the focus track “fool’s gold,” dee experiments with the feeling of breaking free from a toxic relationship “and only realizing in hindsight how truly terrible it was. It’s about reanalyzing with some distance and picking up on all the signs and red flags that you should have right at the beginning.” In typical dee fashion, the syncopated song features her airy & commanding vocals with flirtatious production. dee’s fresh indie-pop troubadour sound resembles contemporaries such as Gracie Abrams, Charlotte Cardin, & Holly Humberstone.
After breakout performances at high-profile Canadian music festivals like Montreal Jazz Fest, FEQ, and the Peterborough Music Festival, dee continues bring her new sound to the stage with Toronto CNE on August 21st and Sommo Festival on September 13th! Find the dates below and for more information visit https://www.deeholtofficial.com/
LISTEN & SHARE ‘LOVING IN THE DARK’ HERE:
https://deeholt.ffm.to/lovinginthedark
Watch & Share “fool’s gold” Here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhyWklH6N-w
ABOUT DEE HOLT:
dee holt is no longer facing the wall. At just 20 years old, the Montreal-born singer and songwriter is opening up—to the indie-pop music industry, eager audiences, and, most of all, herself. What lies within is a marvel to behold.
Indeed, the first time dee performed in public wasn’t on a stage or record label boardroom. She was with her parents, who were meeting her boyfriend’s family. Encouraged to bring out her guitar, dee agreed to play, but it had to be facing the wall.
“When I turned around, everyone was like, ‘Oh my god, we weren’t expecting you to actually be good!’” dee laughs. Of course, dee’s natural ear for hooks has always been there—ever since childhood when she’d tape herself making up songs on her parents’ VHS camera. Now, dee is on the verge of releasing an intimate and hook-packed third EP, ‘loving in the dark,’ via Nettwerk Music Group.
At first, dee took things gradually, juggling school and two part-time jobs—she needed to ensure this was what she really wanted. Because COVID lockdown had prevented dee from having a proper high school commencement ceremony, her mother offered to fund a few studio sessions as a graduation gift. That’s around the time dee met Montreal producer Benjamin Nadeau, a family friend, and now the singer’s closest creative collaborator. “Had it not been for my parents, my friends, and my boyfriend, I would not have done it,” dee says of pursuing music. “I’m super grateful for everyone and everything.”
The industry, however, had other ideas. Upon releasing her first two singles, “Hardest Part” and “Olivia,” Spotify added them to their discovery-minded LOREM playlist. After signing with Nettwerk Music Group in 2022, dee released her debut EP, When I Close My Eyes, garnering millions of streams, numerous playlist covers, rave reviews, and even a Spotify billboard in downtown Toronto. The media also responded: Teen Vogue called dee “one to watch,” while SHEESH Media compared her vocals to the great Billie Eilish. Closing out 2023, dee gave a momentous debut performance at M for Montreal, which won praise from such Canadian press outlets as La Presse, Le Journal de Montreal, Cult MTL, RANGE, and more.
Today, dee is officially a full-time artist, embracing everything that comes with that title: spending time in songwriting and studio sessions, honing her live shows, and spearheading her creative direction; all dee’s album artwork and merch are self-drawn. “I’m really giving it my 100%,” dee says. “It’s kind of a different journey now, and I’m really enjoying it.”
dee’s steady evolution is immediately evident on her latest collection, which features five cohesive tracks—all written at different times—that span aesthetics, from eerie, Eilish-inspired productions to club-ready electropop and R&B. Created in close collaboration with Benjamin Nadeau and primarily written and recorded across Montreal, Nashville, and Los Angeles, loving in the dark grabs the listener with magnetic melodies and a relatable coming-of-age narrative.
DEE HOLT 2024 TOUR DATES:
August 21 – Toronto CNE – Toronto, ON
September 13 – 14th – Sommo Festival – Cavendish, Prince Edward Island
DEE HOLT IN THE PRESS…
“The vibes generated by Montreal-based artist dee holt are deliberately visual, an immersive set of musical pictograms buoying and balancing sonic emojis into your ear canals. It’s wondrous and obvious, especially for an artist studying animation that can equal paint with both chords and oils.”
– Ones to Watch
“The confidence dee holt exudes… is only amplified by her crisp vocals, as she makes it sound oh-so-easy to dismiss a partner… she’s not messing around.”
– Billboard
“…a bright new offering in alt-pop… soft, charming, and wistful… making Dee Holt one to watch.”
– TeenVogue
“…holt is preparing to cement herself as a key figure in the ongoing renaissance of relationship-focused teen singer-songwriters with her upcoming 2023 release…“
– RANGE
“It’s hard not to hear a resemblance in tonal similarities with the great Billie Eilish – which is the highest of compliments – yet dee has her own demeanor, soaked in banter and youthful bliss… dee holt is simply Canada’s next artist to keep close tabs on in 2022.”
– SHEESH Media
Track List:
1. leaving alone
2. tunnel vision
3. pick up your shoes
4. make a move
5. fool’s gold
