PBG 3 Question Interview with Holylight "everything goes" Single
- Produced by a Girl™
- Jul 14
- 4 min read
Hi! It’s Produced by a Girl, and I’m thrilled to spotlight Holylight’s latest single, “everything goes.” From the very first notes, the track pulls you into a world where raw vulnerability meets the hypnotic haze of '90s grunge-gaze. Fronted by the incredibly talented Alex Rosenberger, Dublin-based songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and visionary behind the project: Holylight is quickly making waves as one of Ireland’s most exciting new acts. With each release, including the standout “ceiling of your world,” Holylight crafts a signature sound: heavy, immersive guitar riffs, shimmering synths, and rhythms that get under your skin, all wrapped around lyrics that dig deep into the heart. “everything goes” is another bold step forward, capturing the spirit of Dublin’s alternative scene and the emotional honesty that sets Holylight apart.
1. “everything goes” beautifully captures that wild paradox of time—how it can be both cruel and kind, always moving forward no matter what. Was there a specific moment or spark that first inspired you to open the door to this song’s journey?
Oddly enough, the song came to be after my favourite barista Mel one day told me that she’d quit. She made the best coffee in the world and we used to yap all the time, so I was of course sad, but I was also so happy that she’d get to evolve and seek out new experiences. This was a moment of clarity for me on a personal level because I used to be so anxious and attached to routines before. I think it’s from a wealth of good and bad experiences that I eventually developed my trust in change and transformation, a calm sort of clarity, like a veil had been lifted away.
There’s an Alan Watts quote that really hammers it in, “Change – and everything is change; nothing can be held on to – to the degree that you go with a stream, you see, you are still, you are flowing with it. But to the degree you resist the stream, then you notice that the current is rushing past you and fighting you. So swim with it, go with it, and you’re there. You’re at rest.”
2. Your sound is such a dynamic blend: gritty, grungy guitars, irresistible drums, shimmering synths, and lyrics that feel raw and honest. When you’re building a track, how do you find that sweet spot between emotional heaviness and those moments of pure, soaring release?
I think the human brain actively seeks out contrast. People go through strenuous exercise so they can feel good after, or they watch horror movies so they can feel comparatively safe in their own lives. I am quite conscious of this effect while writing music, but at the end of the day, it’s intuition and my interest in making music that I personally enjoy. In that sense, the ebb and flow just does it for me. Plus, I really like false-chord screaming because it’s incredibly cathartic to do. People go all the way into the woods to scream and I’m lucky enough to get to do it on stage!
3. Holylight’s roots in Dublin’s alt-rock and queer music scene really shine through, and you can feel that sense of community woven into every part of the project. How has connecting with your people and building your band influenced the way you write, perform, and trust where your music is headed?
I can’t even begin to tell you the effect that building my band and my community in Dublin has had on my music. It just feels like everything makes way more sense now. In its creative capacity, Holylight is a solo project, but moving to Ireland in 2022 and putting together my amazing live band in the years after has completely reshaped the way I approach writing music. My new single ‘everything goes’ is written the way it is because I knew it would be fun to play live, and because I knew our lovely audience would absolutely lose their minds at it.
Ever since starting to play gigs in Dublin, I am much more eager to talk about Holylight and to invite people to our concerts left and right because I just KNOW it’s going to be a good time. With the beautiful people in our audience, particularly the queer and trans community, it literally cannot be anything but a good time. There’s something called gender euphoria, the relief of finally feeling aligned with your authentic self: I want Holylight shows to be that in concert form - a place where my community can feel not only safe, but ecstatic to be themselves.
4. Bonus Question: What does Produced by a Girl mean to you in your music career?
I write, produce and perform almost all of the instruments in Holylight’s music myself and have slowly developed into being a well-booked session musician and music educator, even outside queer and female spaces. I also have a longterm goal of becoming a producer for queer and female artists. So as a ‘girls’ they’ and a proud butch, I want to encourage the music girlies to create without abandon, to learn their craft and then break the rules, and let their work speak for itself. Most importantly though, we are allowed to make music with our own enjoyment in mind because it is a genuine game changer to create with an expectation of support rather than critique.
The ones in precarious societal positions, in marginalised communities in particular, have always had to give it that extra push and find meaning and beauty in hardship - I mean, just think what Wendy Carlos did for electronic music! And I think it’s this inbuilt aspect of nonconformity that bestows musical nonconformity upon the writer, a special sauce if you will. So to me ‘Produced by a Girl’ means to lean into your passion, and to know that there is a community of amazing people standing behind you.
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