“I Iook back at old footage of myself with this new compassion and love”
BY BETHIA WYBORN
Dylan Holloway, also known as Dylan And The Moon, is not afraid to create music that breaks down barriers. You may recognise the Newquay-born artist from his viral TikTok duets with his pre-transition self, or his performances on X Factor, but with his single Bones coming out on Friday (16 August) and a new EP coming out in October, the artist is soon to become a household name.
DIVA caught up with Dylan to find out more about his journey.
What was your journey into music?
I actually started playing the drums at first, and looking back now, it was basically a way to expel all this excess energy that I had. Since I was three I knew that I was different inside but I just struggled to vocalise it when I was younger.
I was drawn in by artists such as David Bowie and Mick Jagger because they bent gender norms by wearing different clothes so I moved to guitar. I remember coming home from school every day and watching tutorials on how to play songs like Numb by Linkin Park, which annoyed my parents but helped me express how I was feeling!
When I was 17 I left my hometown for London to pursue the dream that I’d always read about. I was in a band called MK1 and we got on well so we did that for a while.
What was it like being on X Factor?
My manager at the time suggested it and I thought to myself “Oh well, we’ll never get through but we can give it a shot”, I was proved wrong very quickly. MK1 ended up at the finals on national television which was such a turning point in my life.
Until then I had just been a little androgynous kid from Newquay with a secret inside me and now I was a rapper in an urban band on telly. But everyone knew me as someone I wasn’t and I felt like a caricature of myself.
Eventually, after a few years, these feelings bubbled to the surface and I couldn’t continue to be this person everyone thought I was, so I drifted and started releasing my own music under the name Lots Holloway.
When did you come to terms with your identity?
When lockdown happened I went back to Cornwall to live there and it was the first time since I first started making music that I took a rest and confronted myself in the mirror. I took a look and thought “You’ve been keeping yourself so busy that you haven’t actually addressed how you feel|, I was lying to myself this whole time.
Eventually, I had to be honest about who I was, because if not now, then when? So I started to open up more with my friends and family. I told them that I was trans and that I wanted to change my name – their response was “What the heck, DUH”.
What was your transition like?
I had top surgery first because my biggest issue with myself was how I looked, I just felt like I was in a skin prison. Over time I had learnt how to style my clothes to hide myself, but I just couldn’t do it anymore.
After the surgery I was ecstatic, it was so freeing. But then it was a turning point. Now I’ve achieved an inch, I want to go the full mile and sound more like myself. It opened a big can of worms for me, because I had built my whole career on my voice and I was worried that testosterone would change the quality or stamina of my singing. What if I lost everything I built?
So I wrote a post to my fans explaining who I was and shut off my phone for a few hours. I wasn’t sure what the reaction would be like but when I opened my phone again, the post was just flooded with love and support.
What’s it like looking at your old videos and why did you decide to duet with them?
It’s actually such a wonderful experience to look at them now. I think a lot of transgender people find there’s a pressure, whether they put that on themselves or it is external pressure, to eliminate the person you once were when you become someone new.
At first, I did want to take down all of the Lots Holloway music, pictures and videos but I think that’s because, looking back at that time, I was seeing a person who wasn’t comfortable with themself.
Now I’m the person I am today, I look back at old footage of myself with this new compassion and love. I wouldn’t be here right now if it wasn’t for that brave, resilient and bold soul that was brave enough to come out.
So I thought I would share that concept through duetting with Lots, not just for the queer community but for people in general.”
What’s the inspiration behind the track Chosen Family?
Chosen Family was a special one for me because I’ve been quite fortunate that the people around me have been supportive of who I am. But for many people I know, they’ve lost friends, families and co-workers because they just don’t understand- it’s such a common experience within the queer community.
So this song was a homage to them and a love letter to the queer community because what’s beautiful about chosen families is that we find the people who really do understand us. We have each other and become stronger together.”
What can we see from you in the future?
We’ve got some really exciting stuff coming up. I’ve been releasing versions of my old songs with my new voice but now is the time that the Dylan And The Moon chapter begins. I’m releasing a track called ‘Bones’ on Friday which will be my first Dylan and the Moon release.
Bones is part of a five-track EP called Mosaic which will be coming out in October. The EP’s about looking back at all the moments in my life. I’ve fallen in love, experienced hardships, but together it’s made this amazing mosaic. To celebrate the release, we’re also playing a headline show at the Old Blue Dance in Shoreditch on the 26 October.
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