Mostly Jazz in conversation with Olympia Vitalis

You just released your second EP, Lady Luck! How did it feel to play the tracks live for the first time at Mostly Jazz?

Yes!!! It was really great, it was such a lovely crowd and everyone was really receptive to the stories.

What inspired this EP?

I get inspiration from people mainly, and how they react to things thrown at them. I wrote the title track last and realised that this thread runs between all of the songs. I reflected a lot on how much is our life down to luck or agency, and I think that comes through on the EP.

What would be a dream festival stage for you, and why? 

The dream is the Pyramid stage of course, at Glastonbury. But I would love to do the Lonely Hearts Club stage, too. I’d also love to play Montreux Jazz*, such an iconic festival.

*writer’s note: Montreux Jazz Festival is a two-week long festival, held on the shores of Lake Geneva in Switzerland. It was founded in 1967, and is immortalised in live recordings from Jazz legends such as Miles Davies, Nina Simone and Ella Fitzgerald. It is also famously referenced in the hit Deep Purple song, Smoke on the Water. 

Growing up, what influenced you to choose Soul over other genres?

I naturally gravitated towards Soul because of my background in gospel. All of these big voices carved out my sound and made me the vocalist I am today. All the Soul artists we adore today, Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, they all started in gospel.

You can listen to Olympia Vitalis’ new EP, Lady Luck, below: