KiKi Holli & The Remedy
The Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter discusses the inspiration behind her cinematic new EP, the power of transformation, and why music is meant to find the people who need it most.
KiKi Holli + The Remedy has spent the past several years quietly building a distinctive sound where dream-pop atmospherics, dark wave textures, and cinematic storytelling converge. On her new five-song EP, Something About You, Holli delivers her most immersive work to date—a collection that explores desire, longing, heartbreak, hope, and ultimately renewal. Produced, mixed, and co-written with two-time Grammy-nominated producer Ethan Allen and mastered by Grammy-winning engineer Dave Collins, the project pairs sweeping melodies with intimate performances, inviting listeners into a world that feels as visual as it is emotional. Each song unfolds like a scene from a film, balancing vulnerability with mystery while drawing listeners deeper into its richly imagined landscape.
Holli continues to carve out a space that is entirely her own, drawing inspiration from artists like Stevie Nicks, David Bowie, Prince, and The Cure while embracing the theatrical storytelling that has defined her career since Forever Dusty. As Something About You arrives, we spoke with KiKi about the deeply personal experiences behind the songs, her creative partnership with Ethan Allen, the David Lynch influence woven throughout the record, and why she believes music has the power to transform both the artist and the listener.
“Something About You” explores themes of desire, longing, possibility, and transformation. What was happening in your life that inspired these songs?
These songs were written over the past two years while Ethan Allen and I were in the studio together. For me, songwriting always draws from a lifetime of experiences, but it also becomes about serving the song as it’s revealing itself. I’ve experienced loss, longing, hope, and the belief that no matter how difficult life becomes, transformation is always possible. That’s the emotional well I draw from.
I’ve always believed that songs already exist somewhere in the universe, and as songwriters we’re simply tuning in to them. Our job is to bring them into the world for the people who need them most. While songwriting is certainly therapeutic for me, it ultimately becomes much bigger than my own story. If a song helps someone feel less alone, gives them hope, or simply brightens their day, then it’s done exactly what it was meant to do. There’s something incredibly magical about taking emotion and turning it into something that can connect with another human being.
The title track opens the EP as a meditation on connection and desire. Why did you choose “Something About You” to introduce listeners to this project?
There was never really another choice. “Something About You” immediately established the visual and emotional world of the EP. It’s incredibly cinematic, and I wanted listeners to step into that atmosphere from the very first note.
We actually wrote it around the time David Lynch sadly passed away, and his work has always been a huge creative influence on me. There was something about the song that felt very Lynchian: dreamlike, mysterious, romantic, and slightly dangerous. In many ways it became a quiet tribute to his storytelling. It has this noir quality that slowly pulls you in, and I think it’s the perfect doorway into everything that follows on the record.
The five songs feel like chapters in a larger story. Was there a deliberate emotional journey you wanted listeners to experience from beginning to end?
Absolutely. I think one of the reasons we love music is because it gives us permission to feel. Music helps us process emotions that we don’t always have words for.
The emotional arc of this EP moves through longing, love, heartbreak, hope, healing, and ultimately freedom. I wanted it to feel like watching a film where every chapter reveals another piece of the story until you arrive somewhere brighter than where you began.
If you could describe the EP in three words, what would they be and why?
Cinematic. Every song begins with a visual world for me. I love creating music that feels like you’re stepping into a film.
Desire. So much of this EP lives in that space of wanting, whether it’s love, connection, healing, or becoming the person you’re meant to be.
Rebirth. That’s really the destination of the record. After the longing, the uncertainty, and the searching, you arrive at renewal. It’s something I’m continually searching for in my own life as well.
Your music blends dream-pop atmospherics with darker emotional undercurrents. What draws you to that contrast?
Because that’s life.
Life is rarely one emotion. There’s always light and shadow existing at the same time. I think we’re constantly choosing where to place our attention, and I’m fascinated by that psychological tension.
Dreams have always been incredibly important to me. I listen to them, I study them, and I genuinely believe they can reveal truths about who we are if we’re willing to pay attention.
I recently completed an incredible course in dream interpretation by Kelly Sullivan Walden that completely changed the way I think about creativity. I suppose all of those ideas naturally find their way into my music. I’m drawn to beauty that carries a little mystery beneath the surface.
What does your typical creative process look like from idea to finished work?
There are many different ways into a song. Sometimes an idea arrives almost fully formed, while other times it’s just a single line, an image, or a melody that won’t leave me alone.
I like to follow those threads. Usually there’s one lyric or one hook that feels especially alive, and once I find that, the rest of the song begins to reveal itself.
Lately, Ethan Allen and I have been writing almost everything together from the ground up in the studio. We build the songs piece by piece, allowing them to evolve naturally rather than forcing them into a preconceived idea.
You worked closely with Ethan Allen on this project. What was the creative chemistry between the two of you like in the studio?
Working with Ethan has been one of the greatest gifts of my career. Every session feels like a masterclass.
He’s an extraordinary producer, songwriter, and engineer whose career spans more than 500 records. He began at Willie Nelson’s studio before becoming the lead engineer at Daniel Lanois’ legendary Kingsway Studio in New Orleans, and he’s been nominated for two Grammy Awards.
Beyond all of that, he’s simply an incredible creative partner. We’ve been writing together for the past five years, and there’s a tremendous amount of trust between us. We challenge each other creatively, we inspire each other, and we always put the song first. I’m genuinely grateful every time I get to walk into the studio with him.
Covering INXS’s “Don’t Change” is an interesting choice. What made that song feel right for this EP?
I’ve always loved INXS, and “Don’t Change” is one of those timeless songs that seemed to keep finding me. I was listening to it constantly before we ever talked about recording it.
Then one day I walked into the studio and Ethan casually asked, “Have you ever thought about covering ‘Don’t Change’?” It completely surprised me because I’d been quietly obsessed with it. I love moments like that because they feel like confirmation that you’re paying attention to the right creative instincts.
The song perfectly captures the themes running throughout the EP: love, loss, hope, resilience, and holding onto someone through uncertainty. It felt like it already belonged in the story we were telling.
Once we committed to recording it, the arrangement naturally evolved into something uniquely our own. We never set out to recreate the original. We simply wanted to discover what the song sounded like through our own lens. It became this intimate, cinematic ballad that fits perfectly within the emotional arc of the EP, and I’m incredibly proud of how it turned out.
You have a background in theater and performance. How does that experience influence the way you tell stories through song?
Storytelling has always been at the center of everything I do.
I earned my BFA in Music and Theatre, and I’ve been performing since I was eight years old. Theatre taught me that every performance has to create a world, one that audiences can step into emotionally.
I also created FOREVER DUSTY, the musical about Dusty Springfield, which ran in Los Angeles, Off Broadway at New World Stages, and later toured London. That experience reinforced my belief that songs, like plays or films, should have fully realized emotional universes.
When I’m writing, I’m not just thinking about melodies or lyrics. I’m thinking about atmosphere, characters, imagery, and emotional stakes. Every song should feel like a complete cinematic experience with its own beginning, middle, and end.
“Brand New Day” closes the EP on a hopeful note. What does a brand-new day represent for you personally and creatively right now?
For me, “Brand New Day” is about possibility.
I’ve invested years of my life into this project, and like every independent artist, I hope these songs find the audience they’re meant to find. I’d love to see people coming to shows, singing these songs back to me, wearing the merch, and becoming part of this growing community.
But beyond any measure of success, what matters most is connection. If these songs make someone feel seen, understood, hopeful, or simply remind them they’re not alone, then all of this has been worthwhile.
Every new day is another chance to create something meaningful, and I think that’s a beautiful place to end this record.
Official website of KiKi Holli + The Remedy.
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