Her cerebral classical-pop explores the intricacies of relationships but she doesn’t want you to think, just feel. Meet the celebrated singer-songwriter who’s every bit as complex as her compositions It’s nine in the morning in the gardens of Hyde Park’s Serpentine Pavilion and already Julia Holter and I are discussing breakups. She’s intrigued by the parallels between Greek tragedies – “people that were caught in fate, and what fate dealt them” – and the battle between egos, the unspoken acceptance of ownership in modern love. “The way we hold on to things,” she says, “the way we’re delusional a lot of times, the way we don’t listen to other people. I think a lot of people have that.” When I tell her that I’m waiting for someone to write a song that speaks to my tendency to treat others like the people I want them to be, she nods her head in agreement. “That’s totally what I’m writing about because that’s what you’re doing whenever you try to control someone. The classic problem in a relationship is a person trying to control the other person.” She picks at a twig on the ground. “People just want to conquer somebody.” Related: Playlists to live by: musicians choose soundtracks to their favourite pastimes Continue reading...