About
Holly Conner is a Sydney-based drummer and percussionist
working across the electronic music, pop, indie-rock, experimental, and free
jazz music scenes.
Coming from a diverse musical background, she first studied rock drumming and classical
percussion, before completing a BA in Jazz Drum kit from the Sydney
Conservatorium of Music.
She has also completed summer courses at the School of Improvised Music Brooklyn,
and two Australian Art Orchestra Creative Music Intensives.
As a free-lance drummer, Holly has toured nationally and internationally with
artists such as Holly Throsby, Microfiche,
Lupa J, Marcus Whale and Human Noise.
Festival appearances include performances at VIVID Sydney, Sydney Festival, Liveworks,
Underbelly Arts, Copenhagen Jazz Festival, Edinburgh Jazz Festival, Aberdeen
International Youth Festival, Sydney International Women’s Jazz Festival and
Manly Jazz Festival.
She has also played at venues such as N1Reaktorhallen in Stockholm, Km28 in
Berlin, The Sydney Opera House Forecourt, MONA in Tasmania and The Art Gallery
of NSW.
Her drumming is featured on several indie film and
television soundtracks including the BBC/HBO
TV series Top of The Lake: China Girl, and the award-winning surf film Beyond the Noise.
Alongside free-lance work, Conner produces and performs her own hybrid electronic-live
drum music under the monkier ilex. ilex live
sets combine industrial, experimental and texturally rich tracks with
heavy drums & percussion - influenced by dark film
soundtracks, techno, noise, strange creatures and the natural
environment.
In 2019 Holly was a finalist for the Jaan Rutherford Memorial Award,
recognizing excellence in Australian female jazz instrumentalists.