There’s a particular kind of magic that comes with firsts. First tours, first festivals, and, for Olivia Dean, her first Australian interview. Warm and effervescent, she greets with the ease of an old friend. "You’re the first one!" she says, her voice carrying the weight of a golden stamp on the moment.

Her presence easily fills the space like honey dripping from a spoon — unhurried, golden, and undeniably sweet. Her voice has the same effect: both on and off stage, it's a thread of warmth, each lyric and word seemingly chosen with care. She’s the artist you'll discover and never forget, her songs lingering like a nostalgic memory. Now, with a coveted spot on Laneway Festival’s 2025 lineup, she’s ready to etch her name into Australian music history. “I’ve always wanted to come back to Australia,” she says, recalling a childhood visit during the Beijing Olympics era. This time, though, she’s returning on her own terms — and on the stage.

From the soulful intimacy of Touching Toes to the statement-making Glastonbury look created by Chopova Lowena, her creative choices hit with intent. “I’m always into less is more,” she says — a mantra that shapes both her style and her songwriting. Her pre-show rituals follow the same logic: classical music, honey and lemon, and a quick fist bump with her bandmates. It’s a slow, steady ascent into the adrenaline of a live stage.

Her latest single, Touching Toes, is a testament to that ethos — raw, intimate, and unguarded. Written on a gifted guitar, it was a song she once considered keeping for herself. “It felt quite vulnerable,” she admits. But in sharing it, she closed one creative chapter and opened another — an offering of closeness between artist and listener. With a second album already underway and whispers of more shows on the horizon, it’s clear she’s just getting started.

Below, we sit down with Olivia Dean on a late night in London to discuss her return to Australia in February and what’s in store for her in 2025.

I really appreciate the time, and it's such an honour to be speaking with you.

Oh yay! Thank you, this is my first Australian interview.

Wow, I'm so honoured.

Yeah it's you, you're the first one.

We’re so excited to see you at Laneway in February, will this be your first time in Australia?

It actually isn't my first time in Australia. I came as a child. It would have been– I only can remember it because it was when the Beijing Olympics were on. So when was that? I can't remember, but I came back on a family holiday, and I went to Brisbane, and I loved it. And I've always wanted to come back to Australia, but this is the first time like for music that I'll ever be coming so kind of, yes, exciting.

I heard you're a fan of the water and beach. Is there any beaches you're hoping to visit while you're here in Australia?

I feel like I need to do some research and, like, figure out where your best beaches are. Maybe you can give me some recs. I feel like all I know is Bondi Beach. Is that the one to go to? I want local gems.

Camp Cove, Kutti Beach, and Bronte Beach. They're beautiful.

Is there good surf in Australia?

Maroubra Beach then for surfing. But when it's time to shift and get into the right headspace for performing, do you have any pre-rituals that you do to get in the mindset?

Um, do I have any pre rituals? I normally like, have half an hour before I'm gonna play– also I have this silly plaster on my finger, so not very chic *laughs*

Normally half an hour before I listen to classical music, I like to get really calm, like, leading up to that moment.

I'm listening to just like hype music, like Beyonce, Destiny's Child, but then closer to the time it's classical, lots of breathing, steaming my throat, honey and lemon. Nothing crazy, really. And then I'll give my bandmates all a spud *fist bumps*. Like, that's a ritual we have to do before every show, otherwise it feels weird. And just then, just go for it really.

And going on to stages, do you find performing on a festival a little bit different to performing at your own show?

Definitely. I mean, I've always said I actually sometimes, in a way, prefer festivals. I think I like the idea of a festival that somebody could be walking by and not know who you are and like, and that's your chance to, like, win them over, you know, and them discover you. I love my own shows so much, obviously, but there's like, I think, a thrill for me with a festival where it's like, you don't quite know how it's gonna go or, like, if anybody's gonna turn up, like, always before, a best friend, like, nobody's gonna come. It brings a different energy.

You also have an incredible fashion and a beauty team with you: Celia Burton for makeup and Simone Beyene as your stylist. When you're preparing for a night like the recent British Fashion Awards, what does the preparation look like?

Well normally the styling, that's done like weeks before, me and Simone are very prepared for stuff like that. Like, it's never to the last minute. It's never like, "Oh, what will I wear tonight?" But normally we're just like, all together. I have an all female team, so it's really warm energy getting ready . I'm always DJ-ing, playing music for everyone. Maybe we're having a glass of champagne, and it's like a conversation, you know, I really respect what they both do (Celia Burton and Simone Beyene), respectively, and my hairstylist, Sophie,  I'm like, 'what do you guys think would be good with this?' We work together. I just think it's all about collaborating. And I like to play with fashion and makeup. It's supposed to be fun, you know.

Speaking of fashion, I'm thinking of Glastonbury, your style, your stage outfit with Chapova Lowena. It was such a moment. If you could collaborate with another brand for a look, do you have a brand in mind or a moment?

Yeah,  good question. I mean, that look was just so perfect, and one of my favourite things I've ever been able to wear. I really like the idea of working with British designers. I think that's really fun. I really like Wales Bonner and Martine Rose. But is there anything coming up? I don't know, maybe, like a big show in the States or something, a show in LA or something would be fab to do something quite extravagant you know, but we'll see.

You also have impeccable taste outside styling, with music. I see your Spotify playlist, Sweet Things that you post on your Instagram. How do you go about creating and choosing these artists for that playlist?

Honestly, I'm always listening to music. Like, aside from making it, I'm just like obsessed with it, and I kind of use Spotify like I would imagine some people use Tiktok – I'm not really a Tiktok person, but I'll just sit on Spotify all night and just like, look for stuff, like virtual crate digging. I'm a big fan of YouTube. Like, there's loads of cool stuff on YouTube that you can find, just random old soul records. I like a lot of old stuff. I'm quite bad for that. it's just, it's just a hobby of mine. Really, I just love music.

I would love to talk about your latest song, Touching Toes. It's such a delicate love song about letting someone into your space and recognising the moment when you know it's love. Why did you choose Touching Toes to mark the end of this chapter?

Honestly, I got a good guitar given to me by my manager after Messy was finished and out, and I've been writing a lot on the guitar, and I wrote Time and Touching Toes  on it, but especially Touching Toes, I really held onto it for a moment, because it felt quite vulnerable. And I was a bit like," I don't know, maybe I don't need to share this one". Maybe this is just a sweet song for me, but I think it just felt like a good, a good closer to this couple years of music. And I like how close up it is. I really like how intimate it feels. It just felt like a sweet way to end this bit of music and be close with people that like listening.

Even watching the music video with just you and the guitar, seeing you so vulnerable, it was so beautiful, simple.

Yeah, I'm always into less is more and simplicity. I was just listening to a lot of acoustic music, and I just thought, why not? I could do that.

And besides Laneway Festival, what have you got coming up that you're quite excited about?

What can I say? *Laughs* I'm making new music. I'm working on my second album, which is going to be great, hopefully. More shows, I can't say where, but more shows next year and other places in the world. And I think I'm just looking forward to the next year of my life. This year's been crazy, and I think next year will be crazier still.

You've had a huge year, I'm so excited to see what else you're going to do next year. It was so nice to meet you.

Maybe see you in Australia?

Absolutely, I will be seeing you at Laneway for sure.

The Laneway line up is so crazy, like when it got announced, I was like, oh my god. I love Clairo so much, so I'm really excited that she's there.

Have you met her?

No, I never met her, just a fan from afar. But I'm confident enough maybe, I'm quite shy.