About
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Holly Conner is a drummer and producer based in Sydney. The rhythmic backbone behind many Australian acts, she is known for her versatility as a performer and session player; her creativity as an improviser and collaborator; and individuality as a solo artist.
A musical chameleon, she is just as at home playing electronic pop with producers, laying it down in in indie rock bands; as she is in the worlds of film music, free jazz, and experimental performance art.
Alongside her work as a free-lance artist, session player, and collaborator, she creates and performs her own percussion-meets-electronic music as ilex.
"Dynamic, powerful...an impressive display of virtuosic drumming....Highly theatrical, the sound and vision were highly impressive" - Eric Myers, Sydney Opera House for the Freedman Fellowship Awards.
Holly has toured with songwriters, producers, and composers throughout Europe and Australia; recorded for film and tv; performed as part of large-scale public art installations and cross-disciplinary works and has played at many festivals across the globe.
Current Bands - CLEWS & Glenn Hopper.
Most recently, she has toured across Europe and Australia playing with both Clews and Annie Hamilton; and has previously toured with artists such as Holly Throsby, Human Noise, Lupa J & Marcus Whale. Indie recordings include drums on songwriter Glenn Hopper's album Something About the Weather , and BoysnLove's Honeymoon Diver.
Over many years Holly has contributed her compositional & performance skills to countless cross-disciplinary arts projects - from theatre works and developments - to performance art and live sculpture projects with artists such as Lauren Brincat, Alyx Dennison and Leo Tzao.
Her drumming is also featured on indie films and tv shows such as the BBC/HBO series Top of The Lake: China Girl, and the award-winning surf film Beyond the Noise. She has also been the deputy drum chair for the hit musical SIX, when it showed in Sydney.
Contemporary Improvisation
Current Groups - member of collaborative collective Microfiche (co-produced, written for, and played on their albums) & Matthew Ottignon's newest project Volant (recently featured on ABC Jazz, Best of Jazz on Bandcamp, 4 stars reviews in the Sydney Morning Herald).
As an improviser she has collaborated and performed with many incredible artists such as Chris Abrahams (The Necks), Phil Slater, Paul Cutlan, Joseph Franklin, Flora Cabo, Jacques Emery, Clayton Thomas, Jonathan Wilson, Niki Johnson, Sia Ahmad (No Gold); and Hilary Geddes
Festival/Event appearances include VIVID Sydney, Sydney Festival, STRATA Festivals 1 2 and 3 at Phoenix Central Park, Sydney World Pride, Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, Rhepperbahn Hamburg, Copenhagen Jazz Festival, Edinburgh Jazz Festival, Aberdeen International Youth Festival, The Sydney Biennale, Liveworks, Underbelly Arts; and special projects at The N1Reaktorhallen in Stockholm, Km28 in Berlin, MONA in Tasmania, The Powerhouse Museum Sydney, and The Art Gallery of NSW.
Selected Awards/Support
2019 - Jaan Rutherford Memorial Award Finalist (excellence in Australian female jazz instrumentalists)
2022 - Freedman Jazz Fellowship Finalist (Australia-wide Jazz Award).
2023 - FBI Radio's Independent Artist of the Week (for ilex)
2023 - Mentee in the AIR (Australian Independent Record Labels Association) Women In Music Mentor Program
2023 - Inner West Council professional development grant recipient to complete Ableton Liveschool in 2023.
2023 - ongoing - Volunteer and Presenter at FBI Radio, Sydney
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Study
Holly comes from an eclectic background of rock drumming and classical percussion, completed a BA of Jazz Performance (Honours) at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, and well as completing summer courses at the School of Improvised Music Brooklyn, and two Australian Art Orchestra Creative Music Intensives.