Holysseus Fly – A Red Sea
UK artist Holysseus Fly returns with new single ‘Arms Unfolding’, the first offering from her upcoming second EP A Red Sea, due later this year.
The track arrives via Severn Songs, following an impressive headline slot at Bristol Harbour Festival and ahead of an extensive UK tour this autumn.
Co-written with fellow Bristol-based composer and musician t l k – a resident artist with Berlin’s boundary-pushing DWAM collective – whose work draws on memory, dialogue, and dreams – ‘Arms Unfolding’ took shape at Holysseus Fly’s home in the summer of 2022. Rooted in a shared, introspective approach, their creative synergy gave rise to a tender meditation on reconciliation. Opening with delicate keys and a sparse chord progression, it evolves with driving, atmospheric momentum into what has become her signature: soaring, emotionally resonant choruses, carried by a voice weighted with depth and intent. The track captures Holysseus Fly’s ability to fuse vulnerability and strength into something both intimate and expansive.
‘Arms Unfolding’ sets the tone for A Red Sea, an expansive alt-pop collection that’s both emotionally charged and unflinchingly honest. Embracing themes of empowerment, self-determination, and release, the record showcases Holysseus Fly’s most expressive songwriting to date. Delivered with both immensity and vulnerability, it reveals an artist unafraid to explore life’s rawest edges while still reaching for the light. A story of transformation at its core, A Red Sea marks Holly’s boldest chapter yet – parting the waters of the past and stepping into the clarity of a hopeful new future.
The single follows a landmark 12 months for Holysseus Fly, beginning with her 2024 solo Glastonbury debut, including a much talked about performance of her mansplaining anthem ‘Teach Me’, a defining moment in her journey. She returned to the festival this summer as part of Ishmael Ensemble, the critically acclaimed collective she remains central to. Since then, she’s brought her live show to major stages across the UK, including a standout main stage slot at Bristol’s Forwards Festival alongside CMAT, Jessie Ware, and LCD Soundsystem, as well as a headline performance at Bristol Harbour Festival. This year also saw her selected as one of just three artists from hundreds across the city to be a resident at The Bristol Beacon, Bristol’s iconic music venue and creative hub.
Holysseus Fly says:
“‘Arms Unfolding’ is about reconciling with an old friend, co-written with the incredible artist t l k on the hottest day of summer 2022. My new EP ‘A Red Sea’ represents the parting and closing of the saltiest time in my life, a personal exodus, a search for freedom, and a transition. An emotional crossing into the next phase”.
Directed by award-winning filmmaker Claudia Lee, the video for ‘Arms Unfolding’ creates a striking visual world that mirrors the song’s themes of return and reconciliation. Interpreting the track as a homecoming between past and future selves, the video explores Holly’s journey through and beyond illness.
Claudia Lee adds:
“Holly’s explained that ‘Arms Unfolding’ is about a homecoming to an old friend, which for the video I felt inspired to interpret as the past and future versions of Holly – during and after cancer – and exploring the reconciliation between them.
The visual theme of red was led by the title of the EP, The Red Sea. I loved the idea that in the first Act of the film Holly is bathed entirely in red light which is inescapable and all encompassing; this a metaphor for her time during treatment. She looks into her shifting reflection and recons with herself, choosing to acknowledge but ultimately move on from that chapter. In Act 2 it’s Holly who now wears the red, rather than the red wearing her. In the light of day, she has taken back her identity and integrated the old self, forever carrying that experience with her but no longer defined by it”.
Since the release of her 2023 debut EP Birthpool, Holysseus Fly has drawn praise across the board. Her blend of intimate lyricism and soaring arrangements earned her a 6 Music playlist for ‘Teach Me’, and support from tastemakers including Annie Mac, Lauren Laverne, Chris Hawkins, Jamz Supernova, Craig Charles, and Huey Morgan. Her 2024 single ‘Out Of This World’, released on International Women’s Day, marked another step forward – an empowering, self-produced anthem of hope and determination that further showcased her ability to balance raw vulnerability with sweeping ambition.
Hailed as ‘One to Watch’ by The Guardian, Holysseus Fly continues to cement her place as one of the UK’s most exciting new voices. As vocalist, co-writer and pianist with Ishmael Ensemble, she is a vital presence in the UK music scene, and as a solo artist, she pushes further into resonant, genre-blurring territory. In 2024 she joined Nick Mulvey on a sold-out UK tour before embarking on her own headline run, with rapturously received shows in London, Manchester, and Bristol.
With the release of ‘Arms Unfolding’ and A Red Sea on the horizon – alongside her biggest UK tour to date – 2025 is set to be a defining chapter for Holysseus Fly, as she continues to establish herself as one of the most distinctive and compelling artists in the UK today.
UK Tour Dates
23rd Oct – The Hope & Ruin – Brighton
24th Oct – Where Else – Margate
25th Oct – The Lower Third – London
29th Oct – Heartbreakers – Southampton
30th Oct – Strange Brew – Bristol
17th Nov – Hyde Park Book Club – Leeds
18th Nov – Yes (basement) – Manchester
19th Nov – Zerox – Newcastle
20th Nov – The Hug & Pint – Glasgow
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