Q&A: Figuring It Out With dee holt
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY GIGI KANG ☆
MONTREAL-BASED DEE HOLT—is gearing up for a December release of her indie-pop EP makes me wonder.
It’s an especially poignant release as it follows a period of holt doubting if music was even the right fit for her.
“I told myself that if I go back to music, I want it to be like my first time where I had absolutely no expectations and I was just doing it for me,” holt explains over a call.
The first single off the EP, “figure it out,” is certainly an expression of the confusion that comes with periods of doubting one’s path. For example, holt sings, “I wake up as the sun starts setting / Undone, and I’m just trying to figure it out / How to turn it around / ‘Cause baby, I’m a mess now and I keep on stressing / Someone help me try to figure it out.”
What stands out most about the song is that it discusses the frustration of feeling lost without giving an answer on what exactly to do about it, which is an important acknowledgement for any listeners who may be experiencing the same.
Following “figure it out,” holt released the second single off the EP, a reflective track titled “relapse.” The song reveals more of the piano-centered sound that listeners can expect from makes me wonder.
Overall, holt is in a phase of her artistry where she’s reclaiming her creativity. The chapter of her journey that is makes me wonder reveals an artist who took her time to reevaluate, and ultimately returned with a clearer vision.
Be sure to pre-save makes me wonder and read our conversation with holt below.
LUNA: “Figure it out” has a slow start and gets more instrumentally layered as it goes on. What is that progression communicating?
HOLT: There are a lot of piano tracks on the EP, but a whole bunch of piano tracks gets redundant. I also wanted to sound really raw. I wanted it to feel like the buildup of stress of needing to figure it out, and the urge of it. With the drums in the back, it’s super intense and layered. I think that adds to the sentiment of, “Help me figure it out, please.” I loved recording those. We were hitting tables and stuff.
LUNA: How long has makes me wonder been in the works?
HOLT: It’s been a while. I wrote “figure it out” in January, maybe March of 2025. I had gone to live in Norway with my boyfriend and I had some sessions in Oslo. I brought it back home and reproduced it with my producer, Benji. It was a long time and there was a lot of going back over it. At first, we weren’t getting the production right.
LUNA: The EP follows your 2024 EP loving in the dark. What changed for you musically in the past two years that led to this EP?
HOLT: For a while, I was getting overwhelmed with music. I didn’t know where to turn. I was wondering if it was really cut out for me, which is actually what “figure it out” is about. I thought that maybe I’d stop music. I took a good year of not having many sessions and taking it slow. The thing is, I had done a lot of sessions where I would let other people take the lead. I was happy with that, but I realized that not much of my music was reflecting my vision. It’s not anything against those artists and that music—I put it out because I loved it. But, I wanted the EP to sound more thought-out. I wanted to be more a part of the production process. I’m fine with the fact that it took two years to get music back out, because now I’m ready for it to be out. I’ve found more confidence.
LUNA: You mentioned Benji who is your frequent collaborator. The relationship between an artist and their longtime producer is always a unique one. What have you been able to uncover about your artistry as a direct result of your collaboration with him?
HOLT: Benji was the first person I ever worked with. It stayed like that for a good while after. It was only when I started signing with my manager and publishing and a new world opened up that I started working with other people. That helped me expand not only my writing but my confidence in a studio. But if it hadn’t been for Benji, I never would have gotten to that point. He brought me into my first ever session. I couldn’t even spit out a melody. He was like, “Just go for it, whatever comes up.” He really helped me build that confidence, then I was able to go into other rooms with other people. It’s been really great.
LUNA: What are the traits for you that make a good collaborator?
HOLT: It’s someone who’s open to trying a funky idea. I’ve been in rooms with people who don’t even try it. To me, it’s like, “You didn’t even give it a chance.” So I think being open-minded.
LUNA: I know you’re passionate about visual art and you made the video for “figure it out.” How would you say your musician side and your visual artist side connect to each other?
HOLT: Ever since I started putting out music, I’ve been the one to do all my cover art and all that. I feel like I have a vision for it and only I can execute it. I’ve talked about this with my team; in this next EP, I want to be more hands on. I had done some music videos in the past that were great, but it’s not exactly what I had envisioned. Now, I’m becoming more comfortable and confident with my art. It just makes it more authentic.
