Today we’re listening to Hollie Kenniff, a Canadian-American multi-instrumentalist and composer. We featured her music twice before. She layers piano, synth, guitar, and voice, alchemizing a “wash of sound” as she put it. For Forever is her latest LP, which came out in December, and it can be characterized as “high thread count ambient” to borrow a phrase from Sam Valenti IV. We’re also playing For LA Vol. 1, a benefit compilation she organized. It’s the first of at least three volumes whose proceeds go to LA fire relief efforts. The compilation features Flow State favorites such as Benoît Pioulard, Sachi Kobayashi, Patricia Wolf, Akira Kosemura, and Julia Gjertsen. A conversation with Hollie follows the streaming links.

For Forever - Hollie Kenniff (40m, some wordless vocals)
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube Music / Amazon Music / Bandcamp / Tidal

For LA Vol. 1 - Various Artists (120m, no vocals)
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube Music / Amazon Music / Bandcamp / Tidal

Before we get into your story, tell us about the benefit compilation you recently put out.

As soon as the fires hit, I saw and heard stories from friends, colleagues, and others who were immediately affected by the devastation. It became clear to me that funds needed to be raised quickly, so I initially envisioned a 10-12 song compilation that we could release within a week to start donating money as soon as possible. However, it wasn’t until a conversation with a friend that I committed to moving forward. What began as a small project quickly grew—expanding to over 90 tracks across three volumes. Honestly, it’s difficult to bring this project to a close. A part of me wants to keep it open, inviting ambient and modern classical artists to join, making it an inclusive effort where anyone who wants to help is welcome.

I’ve organized benefit compilations before, starting with one to support those affected by the 2011 Japanese tsunami and earthquake. Looking back on my life in music, these have been the most meaningful projects I’ve been a part of. Years from now, I know most people won’t remember these compilations—they’ll associate me with the albums I’ve released instead. But for me, these will be the projects that stay with me the most. Like many artists, I struggle with self-doubt and question my music. But I have no doubts about the impact of these compilations—they’ve helped people and made a difference. In times of crisis, music has a unique ability to bring people together, and I feel incredibly fortunate to know so many talented musicians and sound artists who, without hesitation, have donated their beautiful work to support important causes.

At first, I reached out to friends—some in LA who were directly affected by the fires, others, like me, watching from afar. Everyone came together in an incredible way, working under a tight deadline. My label, Nettwerk, also kindly stepped up to expand our reach even further, releasing their own version of the compilation on additional platforms and sharing it with their community. It's been amazing to watch everyone pull together and be proactive about helping an area that many of us in the artistic community are tied to in one way or another.

Shifting gears to your story, what were your earliest favorite pieces of music?

As with most, I really gravitated toward music as a direct expression in the formation of who I was in my early years. I listened to a lot of alternative, shoegaze, industrial, goth music, Depeche Mode, punk, and things that were pretty under the radar. Music along with books and philosophy all became integral in helping me on the path to who I became as an adult.

How did you originally get into ambient music?

In discovering electronic music, especially in the early ‘90s, lots of roads tended to lead to Boards of Canada and Aphex Twin as something that was forward-thinking, new and exciting. I discovered Selected Ambient Works II and through that I found Brian Eno—I branched off from there.

We're curious about your studio setup and how you achieve such lush textures. Maybe we can take the track "Surface" as a case study. We hear piano, synth pads, bass, strings, perhaps voice, and a combination of filters. What's going on on that track?

The elements are really pretty simple. That's our piano with the felt on, doing a simple riff for the main structure of the piece, and everything else is built around that. I usually use my voice as more of a texture, rather than a separate element, so it blends in with a lot of the synth things going on in there. I tend to just keep recording textures and then they subtly interact with each other to create this wash of sound which I always aspire to. Something that changes and flows organically.

You've put out several amazing records in the past ~5 years. What sources of inspiration do you intentionally tune into to fuel your musical practice?

Thanks so much for your kind words! Everything feeds into it. I love being in nature and using that calmness to frame the feeling that I want to convey in the music. There are surely other moments in life (especially with kids) that are chaotic and loud and move quickly, but this is my way to slow things down and focus on those smaller moments that are still meaningful but sometimes may go unnoticed in the flow of everything.

We've seen a rise in interest in ambient music in the past decade or so but especially since covid hit. Have you noticed the same?

Yeah, I think people were just seeking music that helped calm them down. There's been a real focus on aesthetics, in all things, much more so than there used to be, but I think that since the pandemic, people really noticed things about mental health, their own experience of the media they consume, how things make them feel...and I think this translates into what they want more of in the music they listen to. For it to be intentional in shaping their emotions.

Name an underrated musician from the past 50 years.

Toni Halliday of Curve. She was a huge inspiration for me as a songwriter—her lyrics were hauntingly beautiful, and her voice had a unique, captivating quality that set her apart.

Any good film recs?

I loved Past Lives and Perfect Days.

What are you working on next?

I am working on a Vol. 3 for the "For LA" benefit compilation. I have a couple of solo albums and collaborations in the pipeline. I have a new Mint Julep as well. The collaboration albums are with Kazuma Okabayashi and another one with my husband, Keith Kenniff, but also a lot of one-off things in the works as well, so it's been very busy!