FEATURE:
Modern-Day Queens
PHOTO CREDIT: Alex Fedorov
is about the magnificent Olivia Dean. The London-born artist released her debut album, Messy, in 2023. Award-nominated and critically acclaimed, this is someone who is going to have a very long career in music. I have spotlighted Olivia Dean before. I wanted to return to her music because she is one of modern music’s finest talents. Heralded as a breakthrough artists and someone to watch, there is this anticipation around her second studio album. There is no set date for that at the moment, though it is not too far away. Dean has some U.S. tour dates ahead but she has some dates in the U.K. before then. I am going to get to some interviews from last year with Olivia Dean. I cannot find any interviews from this year, but I think we can get a good sense of Dean’s future plans and where she is in her career right now. I am starting with an interview with DAZED. Olivia Dean spoke about her next album, Beyoncé and her post-show rituals. The Neo-Soul was speaking ahead of her first headline performance at Love Supreme:
“Olivia Dean has always felt a “strong gut intuition” telling her that she belongs in the music industry. When her first EP, OK Love You Bye, released in 2019, was streamed millions of times, resulting in her signing a recording contract with EMI, her beliefs were confirmed. Her 2023 debut album Messy has only further cemented her success, with Sophie Williams of NME rating the album 4 out of 5 stars, complementing Dean’s “confidence to occasionally dissect subjects that others swerve” while keeping a “mainstream” appeal. The album ends with “Carmen”, a personal favourite of mine and its crowning achievement. While incredibly personal, the song feels like a love letter to all who came before us, letting us admire those stronger than we’ll ever be.
You have mentioned that you are inspired by The Supremes, Lauryn Hill (your middle namesake), and Amy Winehouse. How do you maintain these inspirations while staying true to your own unique sound?
Olivia Dean: I think, especially with people like Diana Ross, it’s less of me taking direct reference from the music or the style and more her energy. It’s a funny one with Amy - that’s a tough one to be compared to. I don’t think anyone will ever be like Amy. She was saying exactly what she thought, and you’ve got to be brave to do that, but obviously, I like it because I keep doing it. It’s very freeing.
We’ve caught you after your successful UK and Europe tour, and you’re about a month away from headlining your first festival, Love Supreme. How would your ten-year-old self react if you told her this?
Olivia Dean: I think she would be like, ‘No way, you actually did it’. Because, from when I was like eight or ten, I really wanted to be a singer. I think she would be like, ‘Fair play, you actually committed to that one.’
So that’s always been your goal in your mind?
Olivia Dean: As long as I can remember. I can’t even describe it. I have such a strong gut intuition that tells me that this is what I need to do with my life. It’s like I can’t waver from it or compromise.
Your last album was released about a year ago, and you were just featured on the soundtrack to the BBC series This Town. Can we expect any new music from you soon?
Olivia Dean: It’s the million-dollar question. The answer is yes, you can. I’m working on another album, which will be a little further down the line.
What’s your ghost outfit?
Olivia Dean: That’s a funny question. I’d probably wear a big, flowy, swishy skirt and a white vest. You can’t go wrong with a white vest. And adidas Superstars. Just keeping it classic, you know?
A stylish ghost! What’s your star sign, and are you a typical one?
Olivia Dean: I’m not too into star sign stuff, but I’m a Pisces and have been told I’m a big-time Pisces. Pisces are emotional and creative, so yeah, I guess I am.
What conspiracy theory are you actually quite into?
Olivia Dean: I like that one about Avril Lavigne being replaced by somebody else. That’s quite funny. Imagine that circulating about you – it’s mental.
Do you have any recurring dreams?
Olivia Dean: I mean, sometimes I have the dream where all my teeth fall out, but I’ve looked into that, and it’s just intense stress and anxiety.
What’s on your FYP right now?
Olivia Dean: I really like food and interior design stuff. I’ve got a love-hate relationship with TikTok right now. My new year resolved to never go on it again, and it lasted until last month.
You almost made it halfway – still an accomplishment. Next question: If you could only listen to one musician for the rest of your life, who would it be?
Olivia Dean: OK, it’s bait, but it’s got to be Beyonce. She’s got everything I need! If I need to feel empowered, she’s got me. If I need to dance, but I’m also really in my feelings, she’s got me. She can give me country, she can give me house, she can give me club. You know what I mean?
What do you put on your rider?
Olivia Dean: This is dumb, but I really like sliced meat – like cold, sliced meat. It’s just a fun snack for me. I used to have a bottle of champagne, but then I realised you can’t drink champagne every night because it stops being special. Also, a bouquet of flowers, which I thought might be unsustainable, but we always give it to somebody after the show”.
I want to move on to Olivia Dean’s first Australian interview from late last year. Speaking with Russh, Dean spoke about her second album and what lied ahead for this year. If this artist is new to you then you need to follow her. Someone who is going to release so many wonderful albums:
“There’s a particular kind of magic that comes with firsts. First tours, first festivals, and, for Olivia Dean, her first Australian interview. Warm and effervescent, she greets with the ease of an old friend. "You’re the first one!" she says, her voice carrying the weight of a golden stamp on the moment.
Her presence easily fills the space like honey dripping from a spoon; unhurried, golden, and undeniably sweet. Her voice has the same effect: both on and off stage, it's a thread of warmth, each lyric and word seemingly chosen with care. She’s the artist you'll discover and never forget, her songs lingering like a nostalgic memory. Now, with a coveted spot on Laneway Festival’s 2025 lineup, she’s ready to etch her name into Australian music history. “I’ve always wanted to come back to Australia,” she says, recalling a childhood visit during the Beijing Olympics era. This time, though, she’s returning on her own terms, and on the stage.
From the soulful intimacy of Touching Toes to the statement-making Glastonbury look created by Chopova Lowena, her creative choices hit with intent. “I’m always into less is more,” she says, a mantra that shapes both her style and her songwriting. Her pre-show rituals follow the same logic: classical music, honey and lemon, and a quick fist bump with her bandmates. It’s a slow, steady ascent into the adrenaline of a live stage.
Her latest single, Touching Toes, is a testament to that ethos — raw, intimate, and unguarded. Written on a gifted guitar, it was a song she once considered keeping for herself. “It felt quite vulnerable,” she admits. But in sharing it, she closed one creative chapter and opened another, an offering of closeness between artist and listener. With a second album already underway and whispers of more shows on the horizon, it’s clear she’s just getting started.
Below, we sit down with Olivia Dean on a late night in London to discuss her return to Australia in February and what’s in store for her in 2025.
I really appreciate the time, and it's such an honour to be speaking with you.
Oh yay! Thank you, this is my first Australian interview.
Wow, I'm so honoured.
Yeah it's you, you're the first one.
We’re so excited to see you at Laneway in February, will this be your first time in Australia?
It actually isn't my first time in Australia. I came as a child. It would have been– I only can remember it because it was when the Beijing Olympics were on. So when was that? I can't remember, but I came back on a family holiday, and I went to Brisbane, and I loved it. And I've always wanted to come back to Australia, but this is the first time like for music that I'll ever be coming so kind of, yes, exciting.
I heard you're a fan of the water and beach. Is there any beaches you're hoping to visit while you're here in Australia?
I feel like I need to do some research and, like, figure out where your best beaches are. Maybe you can give me some recs. I feel like all I know is Bondi Beach. Is that the one to go to? I want local gems.
Camp Cove, Kutti Beach, and Bronte Beach. They're beautiful.
Is there good surf in Australia?
Maroubra Beach then for surfing. But when it's time to shift and get into the right headspace for performing, do you have any pre-rituals that you do to get in the mindset?
Um, do I have any pre rituals? I normally like, have half an hour before I'm gonna play– also I have this silly plaster on my finger, so not very chic *laughs*
Normally half an hour before I listen to classical music, I like to get really calm, like, leading up to that moment.
I'm listening to just like hype music, like Beyonce, Destiny's Child, but then closer to the time it's classical, lots of breathing, steaming my throat, honey and lemon. Nothing crazy, really. And then I'll give my bandmates all a spud *fist bumps*. Like, that's a ritual we have to do before every show, otherwise it feels weird. And just then, just go for it really.
And going on to stages, do you find performing on a festival a little bit different to performing at your own show?
Definitely. I mean, I've always said I actually sometimes, in a way, prefer festivals. I think I like the idea of a festival that somebody could be walking by and not know who you are and like, and that's your chance to, like, win them over, you know, and them discover you. I love my own shows so much, obviously, but there's like, I think, a thrill for me with a festival where it's like, you don't quite know how it's gonna go or, like, if anybody's gonna turn up, like, always before, a best friend, like, nobody's gonna come. It brings a different energy.
You also have an incredible fashion and a beauty team with you: Celia Burton for makeup and Simone Beyene as your stylist. When you're preparing for a night like the recent British Fashion Awards, what does the preparation look like?
Well normally the styling, that's done like weeks before, me and Simone are very prepared for stuff like that. Like, it's never to the last minute. It's never like, "Oh, what will I wear tonight?" But normally we're just like, all together. I have an all female team, so it's really warm energy getting ready . I'm always DJ-ing, playing music for everyone. Maybe we're having a glass of champagne, and it's like a conversation, you know, I really respect what they both do (Celia Burton and Simone Beyene), respectively, and my hairstylist, Sophie, I'm like, 'what do you guys think would be good with this?' We work together. I just think it's all about collaborating. And I like to play with fashion and makeup. It's supposed to be fun, you know.
You also have impeccable taste outside styling, with music. I see your Spotify playlist, Sweet Things that you post on your Instagram. How do you go about creating and choosing these artists for that playlist?
Honestly, I'm always listening to music. Like, aside from making it, I'm just like obsessed with it, and I kind of use Spotify like I would imagine some people use Tiktok – I'm not really a Tiktok person, but I'll just sit on Spotify all night and just like, look for stuff, like virtual crate digging. I'm a big fan of YouTube. Like, there's loads of cool stuff on YouTube that you can find, just random old soul records. I like a lot of old stuff. I'm quite bad for that. it's just, it's just a hobby of mine. Really, I just love music.
I would love to talk about your latest song, Touching Toes. It's such a delicate love song about letting someone into your space and recognising the moment when you know it's love. Why did you choose Touching Toes to mark the end of this chapter?
Honestly, I got a good guitar given to me by my manager after Messy was finished and out, and I've been writing a lot on the guitar, and I wrote Time and Touching Toes on it, but especially Touching Toes, I really held onto it for a moment, because it felt quite vulnerable. And I was a bit like," I don't know, maybe I don't need to share this one". Maybe this is just a sweet song for me, but I think it just felt like a good, a good closer to this couple years of music. And I like how close up it is. I really like how intimate it feels. It just felt like a sweet way to end this bit of music and be close with people that like listening”.
I want to finish with an interesting interview from Singapore Vogue. Last year, they spoke with an artist who was putting womanhood front and centre of what she does. Also, Dean was approaching Neo-Soul “with confidence, joy and relentless creativity”. Someone who is always so open and honest in interviews, I love reading what she had to say:
“As a passionate feminist, Dean knows exactly what I’m alluding to. She brings up Alva Gotby’s They Call It Love: The Politics of Emotional Life, a book she has been reading recently. “It talks about how women often do so much work to create a good vibe and constantly show compassion to make people feel better. It is labour, it is tiring and it is unrecognised.”
She continues breathlessly, like she’s been waiting for our conversation to take this turn: “Women are amazing and we don’t get enough credit. The main motivation behind my music is to lift women up.”
It comes as no surprise that Dean feels so strongly about womanhood, given the lineage of strong women who have raised her. Her maternal grandmother, who moved to the UK from Guyana as part of the Windrush generation, was a key figure in Dean’s childhood.
“We’ve always been close and share a very special bond,” Dean says affectionately. “We used to share a bedroom when I was younger. She’d pick me up from school while my parents were working. At night, we’d be side by side in our two single beds. We’d talk for ages and do her Bible words.”
It was her grandmother to whom Dean dedicated Messy, her critically acclaimed, Mercury Prize-nominated debut album. ‘Carmen’, the 12th track and my favourite from the album, starts with the sound of the matriarch’s voice. “You found a door and held it open… You transplanted a family tree/And a part of it grew into me,” Dean sings tenderly, paying tribute to her grandmother’s sacrifice in moving to a foreign land to start a new life for her family.
I tell Dean that my first listen of ‘Carmen’ brought me to tears, reminding me of my own grandmother whom I now lived far away from. She visibly glows at that, confessing that the song had been a highlight of her career to date. “At the age of 18, my grandmother made the massive decision to disrupt the course of her life. She did it not just for herself but for her children and her children’s children. I think people like that should be celebrated, you know?”
Dean can hardly think back to a time when music wasn’t the love of her life. “Even as a child, I remember being fascinated by this other language we had created, which transcends language and culture, but is so emotional and communicative. I wanted to figure out what it was about a song that made people cry or last 50 years.”
She grew up in a household immersed in music thanks to her father’s massive record collection and her parents’ shared love for a wide range of genres. “Music was always around and I could see the way that it made my parents feel. I remember being in my auntie’s kitchen and seeing her and my mum with a glass of wine, jamming to Jill Scott.”
Her mother, whom Dean talks about with great love and reverence, has been another strong influence in her life. When Dean first expressed a desire to make music her career, her mother—in signature immigrant-parent fashion—agreed to support her, but only if she was willing to dedicate herself fully to the pursuit.
PHOTO CREDIT: Petros
“My mum has always believed that if you truly want something, you have to put in the work to get there. She would take me to singing lessons and really set me up to be the intentional person I am today.” Dean had known that she wanted to attend the prestigious The BRIT School long before she got in and credits her upbringing for the fire she has in her today.
“You want to make your family proud and you want to show them that the time they invested in you was worth it. So yeah, it’s something deep in my belly. I just cannot stop. I’m relentless,” she laughs.
Having completed her first headline tour in Europe and the UK with no sign of slowing down, she gushes about the joy of performing. “I’m very much someone who writes music to get it out on the road. I love the atmosphere we have cultivated of singing together with the audience. It’s probably my favourite part of the job.”
Dean’s charisma onstage is enhanced, at least in part, by her fantastic sense of style and costuming. A Chanel ambassador, the singer is no stranger to dressing up and exuding power through her wardrobe. Was this always the case?
“Let me tell you, growing up, I had absolutely no swag—none!” she laughs. “I was wearing what everybody was wearing. But music changed that for me. Fashion is now so interlinked with my artistry. I love putting on a fabulous dress and a little heel when I go on stage. It’s been important for me to lean into more glamorous styling because I want people to feel glamorous when they come to the show. Does that make sense?”
Of course it does, I say. After all, as a woman, doesn’t seeing another woman truly feeling herself fill you up with confidence in turn? “That’s exactly it,” Dean exclaims brightly. “I just want the girls in the audience to feel good, you know?”.
I will wrap up now. Anyone who is new to her music needs to follow her now. I am going to watch with interest where Olivia Dean goes. 2023’s Messy was a fabulous debut from someone adding her own take and flavour to Neo-Soul. A wonderful live performer, I would expect her to be headlining major festivals around the world very soon. Even though she is starting out her career, Olivia Dean is going to be around…
FOR a very long time.
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