Keli Holiday, who you may know as Adam from Peking Duk, experienced a ‘cathartic’ magic recording his latest single, december.
Keli Holiday is the solo project from Peking Duk’s captivating Adam Hyde. Following months of back-to-back touring, the new act was conceived when Hyde went home for a so-called holiday. In reality, he ended up pumping out 12 demos in just four weeks.
december was the first track of the batch, penned under a Los Angeles sky that recalled the “smell of a summer morning in Sydney”. And like a true summer anthem, december is teeming with bright colours, hopefulness, and an inkling of timely regret. Let’s run through the shimmering track and learn the story behind the lyrics.
december kicks off with some swirling pad synths that eventually break out into joyous electric riffage and tight snare drumming.
“This was the idea that birthed Keli Holiday”, Hyde admits. Kim from The Presets is also worthy of some praise here, producing the track and bringing Holiday’s melodic sensibilities into a sonic dreamland of milk and honey.
Following the intro, Holiday’s gentle vocals peek through with a sense of sweet longing: “darling, where did you go in the morning as I lay here?” This recollection was inspired by the artist’s own experiences “being a sad dude wallowing on a relationship gone south”, frolicking through the woods in short shorts.
Hey, it’s a tough life for a creative in peril, especially when you mix in some New Order and timely booze. Glitter is more often than not, a mask for our own personal tragedies. Holiday’s included.
And yet still, the overall vibe is optimistic and uptempo, giving december’s lyrics an added complexity. They’re coming from a place of heartbreak, but our protagonist remains hopeful. “We’ve all been there, right?” Holiday confesses. He’s not wrong.
When asked what he wishes listeners get out of the track, Holiday hopes “people feel even a millionth of what I felt making this as it felt cathartic, magical, and most of all, fun to create”.
I’d say this hope has definitely been achieved. Lyrics like “nobody will come close” are dangerously affecting, even on the sunniest of days. A universal sentiment shared by many, seldom forgotten.
The strong emotions Holiday experienced shine through in december, unfiltered and earnest, making him one of the more convincing new artists in the electro-pop sphere.
Combine that with the pulsing synths and you’ve got an ideal post-lockdown track for your poolside convos. Keli Holiday’s journey is just beginning, but like december, it’s bursting with hope and promise.
