Greta O’Leary on Finding her Feet on Tour, The Release of her EP and her Dream Job Outside of Music
Greta O’Leary is an emerging New Zealand artist fresh to the scene that is already making her way through the country with an EP tour and a new EP already under her belt! Photo credit: Greta’s Facebook.
Just after the release of her debut EP in 2022, Treasure Horse, I sat down with Greta O’Leary to talk about how she is finding her feet within the New Zealand music industry, how she got her unique EP name and how quickly she has been able to adapt to tour life.
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Hello!
Greta: Hello!
How’s it going?
Greta: Good. How are you going?
Good thank you! Thank you so much for letting me interview you.
First of all, I want to say congratulations on releasing your EP, Treasure Horse, it must be super exciting that that is finally out in the world.
Greta: It’s a big relief for it to be finished.
How long was the process from start to finish to create Treasure Horse?
Greta: It feels like it has been a project over a full year. I recorded the first single on its own right at the start of 2022, the songs were already written when I began that process. Those were written… Maybe two years ago. All around the same time and yeah, the process of recording and developing it has been basically the whole of 2022.
So, it’s been a big year for you, then?
Greta: Yeah, it’s been really big. First year of this stuff.
Do you have any favourite memories from creating your new EP?
Greta: There were a lot of ups and downs. I get quite sensory overload, so it’s quite interesting when you’re listening intently for eight hours… But there are lots of good moments. There was one point when I was working on the second half of the EP, we were recording horns… Four women and one man in the studio and that’s very uncommon. It was amazing for me because I’m still starting to be around such prolific and professional female musicians and producers.
Where abouts did you record the EP?
Greta: It’s kind of in two parts because part way through, I got some funding, which changed things, so the first two songs Outnumbered and Body Now I recorded with Toby Lloyd who is with Tiny Triumph Recordings, so I recorded them with him in his studio and at different times as well. He produced, mixed and played some instruments on one of the recordings as well. The next three I recorded with Charlotte Yates. She was my producer and we got development funding from NZ on Air and so, we recorded in a bunch of different places, that’s just how it worked out. Partly at Massey Studios in Wellington, partly at The Surgery and partly at a home studio in Miramar. Yeah, two clear parts.
Did you have to apply for that funding? Were you put forward for it? How does that work?
Greta: You apply with a producer and the producer does most of the application because they kind of want to see that the producer has a strong track record of working with artists who are producing good work. It wasn’t too intense for me because Charlotte did a lot of that work and she was the kind of like, manager of everything. Any artist can team up with a producer and see if they meet the criteria and put through an application.
It’s good that there is some funding for New Zealand musicians, I can imagine it’s quite hard for people to get off the ground if there wasn’t.
Greta: A lot of people in the past have talked about the gap between sort of starting out and starting to get single funding. The main funding is so far from a leap and so this is something kind of halfway, yeah.
Who influences your alternative-folk sound?
Greta: Hmm, good question. I listen to a lot of sensitive music and really like lyrically driven music. That, I guess, plays a big part, the voice… The voice is the key weight. I guess because I get overloaded sometimes, I naturally go towards music that doesn’t overload me and it took me quite a long time to find full bands as opposed to more stripped down sets that I found calming or really yummy. My aim… Even though some of the songs I’ve made at the end are quite hectic, I made my aim as making music in a full band kind of way that still has that sensitivity.
[At the time of the interview, Greta was on a tour across NZ, hence why this question was about the tour] You’re currently on an EP tour across New Zealand, have you got any highlights to share so far?
Greta: I guess… Playing in Auckland was significant because it was our first show with the full band, so that felt like a really important moment. It was also the first time my parents have seen me perform, weirdly enough. Everyone is always shocked by that. That was a very key moment, having them come along and because I grew up in Auckland and got to connect with a lot of people and getting [to see them] at the show was pretty great.
What is tour life like for you? Have you found it easy to get into or has it been a little bit challenging?
Greta: Kind of both. I think it has been a little bit challenging. The week before the EP tour, I did a short tour at the top of the South Island where I played five times in four days and that kind of set me on the back foot a bit for the next couple of months of shows. I think because there has been a lot of sickness around, I think I’ve not been in a prime position to be pushing myself. Balancing rest and being able to rest with doing that work has been a challenge, but, overall, I find it quite easy to be going to lots of different places and adapting to different environments. I’ve travelled a lot in the past. I’ve noticed the similarities and so I do have some skills from having to think on my feet or deal with uncomfortable temperature environments. That’s been nice to discover that I can do things like that. At the moment, I can’t imagine delivering night after night with so few breaks.
When you talk to people about your music, what do you hope that you express?
Greta: I find it generally hard to talk about the music, it can be hard to sum up. I guess I want to be honest and show the honesty in the music. There aren’t a lot of tricks, it’s just very personal and open. I guess, I try to convey that in the best way that I can. It depends on the day.
If you weren’t doing music, what do you envision yourself doing?
Greta: I spent a lot of time, drifting around, travelling, working random jobs and spend a lot of time moving. I am no longer living that life, even though music kind of takes you into a circle where you are sort of doing that again. I guess, one of my fallback careers has been to be a sign language interpreter. I love sign language and have close connections in the deaf community. That is something I have become very, very close to pursuing. Then, the music… I can’t [forget about it]. Maybe one day I’ll be able to have both, but that’s probably the thing, yeah.
Greta is a folk-alternative artist who has recently released her debut EP, Treasure Horse. Photo credit: Greta’s Facebook.
That’s incredible. If you could go forward to the future, would you and if so, what would you hope you would see?
Greta: I would really like to… Now that I’ve decided to do this with my life and make records and play and tour, I would like to see that happening successfully, but, in a way that isn’t ruining me. I would like to make this a lifelong career, but not at the expense of family or my mental health. That maybe can be tricky as an independent artist. You’ve got so many hats all the time. Would I choose to see that? I think, I don’t know if I would. I think the mystery is important.
What was the inspiration behind the name Treasure Horse?
Greta: I was just going through important words from the collection, it just stuck out. It’s a little bit of a weird name and horses are an important theme and I just found and it and it was just the right balance of all the bits. I’ve just run with it and I love to say it.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Greta: I don’t think so. I am playing some festivals over summer, but not much because I really need a break and I would like to focus more on writing for a period, because I do my own releases, so it’s a lot of outward energy and I’m looking forward to getting back into that reflective space so that I can keep writing.
Definitely more music from you to come in the future?
Greta: Yup.
Thank you so much for taking the time to sit down and chat with me. It has been so nice to virtually meet you.
Greta: Thanks so much!
You can follow Greta at the below -