Harry Holmes: Tracks That Shaped My Sound

Hailing from Stoke-on-Trent, Harry Holmes is carving out his own niche in modern pop with a sound that blends influences from pop, indie, and hip hop. A songwriting balladeer at heart, Harry's music is a heartfelt ode to youth, romance, and friendship, resonating with listeners through its personal and lyrically raw style. His talent hasn't gone unnoticed; after impressing Simon Cowell and Louis Walsh on the X Factor, and winning the praise of Pete Waterman, Holmes has performed across the UK, including a sold-out show at the iconic Cavern Club.

With a fresh sound set to launch this year, Harry Holmes is ready to push boundaries and captivate new audiences. Speaking on the single Harry shares "with this single it was a fresh start for me. It felt different making this record. For me it’s hard to pinpoint where inspiration for the track came from. I guess it's a whole bunch of things really from different perspectives. "

Post Malone - Circles

In terms of a reference for the track, it felt like I was on the same page as my producer Tayte Nickols. I met up with him the day prior to recording at Abbey Road Studios in January. It felt like it was less than five minutes before I sat down and we were discussing influences/what kind of direction I wanted to take the track. He listened to my demo and said, “Do you like Post Malone?”. He pulled up “Circles” and was like, “Do you want a bass line like that from the start?...Yeah, we’ll do that”. I’m a big Posty fan and “Circles” is one of my favorite songs, so to be sat there and for Tayte to identify one of the influences and know what I wanted to achieve production wise was cool. Since then, when I listen to my original demo it just sounds wrong for it not to kick in with the vocals and bass whereas before it didn’t. 

Post Malone, Swae Lee – Sunflower 

Post Malone comes up again when it comes to the drums on the track. I absolutely love how the drums turned out in the final release. I tried to replicated a similar sounding kit on my demo but could never quite get there. I love that Hip Hop kick and snare sound. It’s sounds so simple when you think about it but it’s so effective. To quote Will Ferrell’s Chazz Michael Michaels “It gets the people going”. 

Robbie Williams – Monsoon

In terms of lyrics and storytelling Robbie Williams is a big inspiration for Save Me Now. Being a fellow Stokie, I’ve grown up listening to Robbie my whole life. I love the way he [Robbie] writes his music and says it how it is. He’s unapologetically him, which has created the sound and style that we expect from him. I like the brave, defiant way he says what he wants about topics that are a bit on the nonconservative side. I’ve always admired that about him.

I’ve always wanted to sing about themes of romance and things that occur during a good time or on a night out with your mates. So, with ‘Save Me Now’ I did just that. I didn’t care about what people thought about the lyrics I was writing and how they would view me, I just wanted to write an Indie Pop tune. Lyrics such as “Get dirty over FaceTime, tell me that you’re all mine” and “When you’re in that lingerie, you know that I'm gonna stay, I'll give you everything that you want”, all come from that f*** it, cheeky chappy, Robbie’s done it mentality. 

Ed Sheeran – Shivers 

For my final selection it’s got to be Ed Sheeran’s ‘Shivers’. The man just knows how to get the job done. The song is a proper belter of a track. I wanted ‘Save Me Now’ to have a similar vibe and energy. Just an overall feel-good song that anyone would put on and have a boost in dopamine.