PREMIERE: Offaly musician Olivia Burke shares alt-pop gem 'Anybody Else'

Hot Press are delighted to premiere the new single from 22-year-old Tullamore singer-songwriter, Olivia Burke.

‘Anybody Else’ is an alternative pop song, taking inspiration from a wide range of genres including traditional pop, R&B and rock, to create a fresh soundscape with bedroom-pop, DIY sensibilities at its core. An anthem for those dealing with mental struggles and the dissonance of experiencing conflicting emotions, the track is written as a love song to a former self.

Hailing from Offaly, Olivia Burke and has been active within the music industry since her early teens, performing in Whelan’s, the Workman’s Club and Dolan’s, among other venues. Back in 2014, Olivia was short-listed to the final 33 in the Hot Press ‘Big Break’ competition. Having spent four years at BIMM Dublin - where she studied commercial modern music and songwriting - to hone her craft, the vocalist is delighted to emerge with a new sound.

"I wrote this track last year during the first Covid-19 lockdown," Olivia tells Hot Press. "I was noticing the impact it was having on myself, and everyone around me, naturally enough, and wanted to encapsulate these feelings in a song. Lyrically the song focuses on a loss of happiness, and what it feels like to not even recognise yourself in these moments."

"It takes an almost love song approach, with the lyrics illustrating a sense of yearning for the person you were once before, and somewhat of a resolution with the chorus, in the comfort that you will eventually meet this version of you again," the rising act adds.

Taking inspiration from the likes of Amy Winehouse, Lorde, Frank Ocean and Kacey Musgraves, to name a few, Burke has a big love for all genres. 'Anybody Else' was written, self-produced and self-recorded over the COVID-19 lockdown before being mastered by Simon Gibson at Abbey Road Studios, who has worked on projects for The Beatles, Depeche Mode and Take That.

"Production wise, I recorded and produced it myself in my home set up. I’m pretty new to producing to this level, but the song’s meaning was so important to me that I wanted to release it, warts and all! I’ve been inspired by everyone from Billie Eilish to Outkast; I like to take snippets of different genres and blend them together to create something I love, something I find magical. Overall I really like the lo-fi feeling of the song though. Working with Abbey Road Studios was also an absolute pleasure."

Olivia plans to share more music during the summer, and is hard at work recording collaborations. Watch this space for her forthcoming EP, which is set to arrive later in the year, if we're lucky.

Listen to 'Anybody Else' exclusively via Hot Press below: