Holmes is where the heart is

The last time Hot Press caught up with Ireland’s most famous dance artist and film scorer David Holmes, he couldn’t have been less interested in his day jobs. He was waxing lyrical about the joys of fatherhood, having just become a dad. In the intervening year and a half, little has changed.

“It’s the best thing I’ve ever done,” he gushes, speaking from his Belfast home. “I’m such a cliché. But she’s great: she sleeps longer than we do and she’s incredibly placid. It almost puts you off having another child.”
Domestic bliss aside, David Holmes is gearing up for his BudRising set, where he’ll be handed the headphones by his long-time pals Primal Scream.
“I’m looking forward to the night, it will be a laugh,” he enthuses. “Bobby and Mani are great friends of mine from a long, long time ago. I did some production for them for Xtrmntr and I’ve DJed with them before. They’ve got great taste. I don’t really judge DJs on their mixing or technical ability – for me, a good DJ plays great music, whether it’s rock’n’roll, punk rock, acid house or 60s-psych. But I also want to hear a variety of different styles when I’m out, and I know we’ll get that with Bobby and Mani.”
The night will no doubt be a welcome break, as otherwise Holmes is locked away writing the long awaited follow-up to David Holmes Presents The Free Association, his last (semi-)solo venture. With nearly all the music completed, he’s now turning his attention to the vocal department.
“I’m experimenting with vocal ideas at the moment, but that part of the process should be quick because it’s not totally a vocal album – it’s about 50/50,” he reveals. “I’m looking to work with someone local to sing on it, and my voice might even grace it.”
Any clues as to who this local singer is? Cormac Neeson from The Answer? Tim Wheeler? Duke Special?
“Sorry, I can’t really say,” he apologises. “I’m at a very early stage with this, so I don’t know whether it would work or not. What I can tell you is that it’s definitely going to be just one person. In the past, I’ve been guilty of making an album that’s a collection of tunes; Bow Down To The Exit Sign in particular was like a mix tape for your friends. It had lots of different vocalists and ended up being rent-a-popstar, if I’m being honest. With hindsight I think the best way forward is to have one singer, and for the album to have one identity. So this will be a cohesive piece of work.”
While no release date has been set, the new album is likely to hit the shops mid-next year, especially as between now and then he’s also got the Ocean’s 13 soundtrack to complete. With the two he’s already done receiving almost as much attention as the Ocean’s films themselves, it’s surprising that, bar the odd low-key flick (Stander), Holmes remains elusive in Tinseltown.
“I get offered things all the time,” he admits. “I don’t want to piss anyone off, but in Hollywood producers don’t have that much imagination, so they tend to jump on a bandwagon and say: ‘I want this sound for my movie.’ But I’ve decided to preserve the whole Ocean’s sound for Steven Soderbergh because I don’t want the style to be watered down. If I was to milk that sound, I’d get very rich very quick, but I’d be very unhappy as well.”
Now there’s a man with principles.