Keli HolidayTo say that Keli Holiday’s last 12 months have been a big one is as much an understatement as one could make.
In the past year alone, Adam Hyde – the man behind the music and one half of electronic duo Peking Duk – has picked up an ARIA Award, claimed the second (and 42nd and 96th) spot in triple j’s Hottest 100, and infiltrated the social media feeds of anyone with an internet connection. And that’s all with just the first single of this new era, Dancing2. There’s still a whole album yet to mention.
The long-awaited release of Capital Fiction, Hyde’s sophomore album under the Keli Holiday project, is finally here, giving fans a 10-song-long glimpse into the relatively new persona of an independent artist otherwise considered a veteran of the Australian music industry.
“It's kind of like synth-punk-rock; a fun time with emotion peppered throughout. It's kind of horny. It's also quite vulnerable,” Hyde describes Capital Fiction, before revealing that he has also written a whole thriller movie idea about the album.
“The main thing with the songs was trying to stay true to the sonic identity of it all, which is funny because there is no real identity.”
Catching Hyde in a spare moment before he hits the stage as Holiday at Launceston’s Party In The Paddock, he’s found a sliver of time to chat between a splash of Vedic Meditation (“it's just good for the head, just stilling the mind as best as possible”) and his usual pre-show ritual (“a shot of tequila, a couple of push-ups and singing an Irish folk song. It helps get the engine humming”).
Don't miss a beat with our FREE daily newsletter
Chatting just a week after Dancing2 took out second place in the Hottest 100, it’s clear that the Australian listening public can’t get enough of Keli Holiday.
But if the recent fanfare around Hyde and the Holiday project has made it seem like it’s been the easiest next step for a musician who came of age as part of one of the country’s biggest electronic acts, you’d be wrong.
“[I’ve been] really thinking about, ‘Do I love this’? Do I want to stand behind this for the rest of my days on earth? Am I being as true as I can be, as naked as I can be?” Hyde asks. “Which is still a journey. I'm not saying I'm there yet by any means, but I think now I really want to cut to the core of it and throw away the skin.”
The musician wants to cut to the core of it all in more ways than one. While he speaks to the importance of laying a solid internal foundation that supports his genuine desire to build the best home – or, perhaps, Holiday house – for his art, Hyde is also literally cutting layers of the music back.
“I don't want to beat around the bush and haphazardly try and fumble around to make something out of nothing,” he says.
“It's really got to hold its own, and that means a lot of work. I'm willing to die for this, you know? I'm not making beats any more. I'm not sitting there tinkering around with snare drums. I don't care about that shit any more. I just want to sit down and write the bones of a song that'll make the hairs on your arm stand up, you know? That, to me, that's everything.”
Whether it’s been through Peking Duk or as Keli Holiday, Hyde is less concerned with creating what the market perceives as a hit as he is with crafting a song he believes in, a song that “feels good without any sense of caring for the outcome.”
From the first synth note, Dancing2 was one of those songs. It just so happens that it’s also a massive hit.
“It felt from the heart and to the heart,” Hyde says of Dancing2. “It knew what it was from the moment that it was born. I think those are the best songs. Like, you're not trying to usher it in a direction. You don't have to navigate it.
“Not that it writes itself; it's work at the end of the day. But it was very clear, like, ‘Oh, this is the mission for this one’. And I'm glad I got to deliver it.”
Asked about the moment he realised the track was second place in the Hottest 100, Hyde says that as soon as the song started playing, he fell into the arms of his girlfriend, Abbie Chatfield, and “just started weeping uncontrollably.”
“It was quite a funny thing,” he reflects. “Maybe it was like pure suppression, you know? And then the subconscious hit the front and just kind of went boom. And it was beautiful. It was really nice. And I'm very grateful I got to fall into Abbie because God only knows what I’d do if she wasn’t there. I'd probably fall on the floor.”
You’d be hard-arsed to find an Australian power-couple as talked about in recent pop culture history as Adam Hyde and Abbie Chatfield. But for all the uproar of noise pertaining to the curly-haired duo on the internet, the real truth of their relationship can be found in the sound of Keli Holiday’s songs. Specifically, the songs on Capital Fiction featuring Chatfield.
“She's such an insanely creative person,” Hyde says. “It's funny – her voice is on a couple of tracks, her orgasm is on one of the tracks.”
“And she’s an artist in her own right,” he continues. “She shot every piece of artwork [for the album].
“The majority of my life is creating ideas. That's my only north star, being able to try and make sense out of something. It seems to be the thing that keeps me going in life. And I think she's very similar in that regard, whether she'll admit it or not. So anytime I have an opportunity to [collaborate with her], it's always been very natural.”
New fans of the Keli Holiday project might be surprised to learn that the musician already has an album and EP under his belt. But, as even Hyde makes clear, Capital Fiction is different.
What’s changed between the previous Holiday music and this new body of work? “Intention,” Hyde says emphatically.
“My pursuit from the moment I wake up ‘til the moment I fall asleep is ‘Let's write a song’. Let's write the best song we can. And it didn't used to be that. I was always working very hard, but I think the actual purpose of said work, I wasn't as focused on. Now it's all about intention.”
If you wanted any more proof of that laser-focused intention, Hyde casually drops the fact that album number three is already in the works.
“I've almost finished up all the demos for the next record,” he says. “I'm really keen to get in the studio and hammer them down because I've really been writing from the heart.
“I guess I'm just really diving into it all. Like, what is it that turns me on? What is it that I like? As opposed to exterior perspectives that held a stronger influence years ago. Now I don't really give a fuck about what people think. It's more about, ‘How do I feel about it,’ and I think that's the best superpower that we all have as individuals. Move forward with purpose as best you can.”
It may have been a massive last 12 months for Keli Holiday, but that’s all behind Hyde now. He’s got his sights set on the future, and no doubt it’s going to be a bright one.
For the present moment, though, it’s worth grabbing the popcorn and turning the volume up on Capital Fiction. This movie is only just getting started.
Keli Holiday’s Capital Fiction is out now. Tickets to his upcoming album tour are on sale now.
Keli Holiday
Capital Fiction Tour 2026
Friday 6 March - Metro Theatre, Sydney
Friday 13 March - 170 Russell, Melbourne
Friday 20 March - The Triffid, Brisbane
Friday 27 March - Freo.Social, Perth
Saturday 28 March - Uni Bar, Adelaide
This piece of content has been assisted by the Australian Government through Music Australia and Creative Australia, its arts funding and advisory body
