Having emerged as one of Australia’s most decorated folk groups of recent memory, Hollow Coves this week return with a brand new dose of rich, textured music, in Harder To Fake It. It’s their first release of new music since their 2021 track Purple brought the duo of Ryan Henderson and Matt Carins to further attention.
Written and recorded with Matt Corby and Alex Henrikkson at the former’s Rainbow Valley Studio in New South Wales, Hollow Coves have brought a rejuvenated energy to their output with Harder To Fake It. The final result is a gorgeous project of connection and music – musicians and producers who have been given the liberty to create in a space where they felt supported and encouraged to thrive.
Says Hollow Coves of the experience of working with Corby and Henrikkson, the collaborative nature of everyone involved made the process free-flowing:
“Last year, we played at an event that Matt Corby had put on to raise money for victims of the floods in the Northern Suburbs of New South Wales in Australia. After the show, we got chatting with Matt Corby and we connected really well. We were both keen to see what we could make together, so we ended up going to his studio, which happened to be not too far from where we lived, and did a few writing sessions. We ended up writing five songs together.
We were all in a room together trying to come up with an initial idea. I had a guitar part and rough melody that I had been wanting to work on for a while so I thought I would test it by starting to play it and see if anyone would comment on it. Straight away, Matt Corby expressed that he liked what he heard so we took the idea and ran with it. From there, a lot of the song came quite quickly. We recorded the main guitar part quickly and then Matt Corby jumped on the drum kit and started recording some really cool drum parts to make a quick demo. A lot of the parts from the demo ended up being used in the final recording.” – HOLLOW COVES
Artwork by Catherine Bernier
Harder To Fake It was conceptualised as an encouragement to everyone to march to the beat of their own drum; chase individuality over falling in with the crowd and becoming the same as everyone else.
“We started talking about how often people seem to get caught up in a certain clique or scene and end up just following what everyone else is doing. In a world where people are so often formed by the actions and opinions of others, we wanted to write a song to encourage people to stop following the crowd and carve out their own path. We have seen so many people let themselves be formed by other people. I get it. People want to fit in. However, I feel like sometimes we are too afraid of being different.
Again and again, I have found myself meeting people with incredible dreams for what they want to do with their lives, and yet they never act on them because they are too afraid of failure or judgment. We wanted to encourage people to step out in faith.” – HOLLOW COVES
Between Henderson and Carins, there exists such a natural and well-honed creative dynamic; multiple successes aside, Hollow Coves’ continued passion and drive for producing music that strikes at the emotional core has made them a beloved unit in Australia and abroad.
The video, directed by Justin Taylor Smith and Drew Austin and filmed in the picturesque coastal town of Tofino in Canada’s Vancouver Island, is a perfect visual representation of the track. Featuring school children bored with the mundane nature of school life, and their immediate joy as they flee school and head into the town for a series of adventures. The video reinforces the core themes of the track, reminding the audience to strive for those dreams and avoid falling into the pressures of modern life.
Accruing over 1 billion global streams, Hollow Coves maintains a massive online presence that also includes over 200 million YouTube views and 2.4 million Shazams.
The surge in popularity of their 2021 single Coastline on a platform like Instagram earned Hollow Coves more acclaim (it was in the Top 20 most used songs on U.S. Instagram Reels that year), as well as becoming a Gold-certified record in Australia and Canada. Additionally, Hollow Coves have enjoyed extensive Australian and international radio and media support via the likes of triple j, Triple J Unearthed, Billboard and more.
As live performers, they have performed extensively in domestic and international markets, including notable festivals such as Osheaga, Pukkelpop, Reeperbahn, Live At Leeds, Woodford Folk Festival and more; and have supported artists such as The Lumineers, The Paper Kites and Passenger to wide praise.
TOUR DATES
Friday, September 22 – Tuning Fork, Auckland NZ w/ Garrett Kato
Friday, September 29 – Freo Social, Fremantle WA w/ Garrett Kato, Anna Schneider
Saturday, October 7 – Metro Theatre, Sydney NSW w/ Garrett Kato, Sam McGovern
Friday, October 13 – Altar Bar, Hobart TAS w/ Garrett Kato
Saturday, October 14 – Northcote Theatre, Melbourne VIC w/ Garrett Kato, Maddy
Friday, October 20 – Princess Theatre, Brisbane QLD w/ Garrett Kato, Mou
Saturday, October 21 – Miami Marketta, Gold Coast QLD w/ Garrett Kato, Mou
Photo Credit: Bradley Murnane
Thanks to Beehive PR
