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GET TO KNOW:

OLYMPIA VITALIS

MONDAY 8TH SEPTEMBER 2025

WORDS BY AMALIA CASTLE

Moving through the world with intense curiosity and delicate observation is how London soul artist Olympia Vitalis has approached not only her life, but also her debut EP, People Watching. As its name suggests, People Watching finds this unique talent gauging the dynamics of those around her, from narcissists and complex family ties to substance abuse and love. It’s throughout the project and her commanding songwriting that she reveals a sensitivity and empathy for the world that we’re often only fortunate enough to witness in the greats.

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As I prepared to sit down with Olympia on a call, I couldn’t wait to step into her world, one that manifests through forthright storytelling and wildly impressive vocals. The moment she answers, I’m immediately at ease as she flits about her room, chatting casually before settling in for our conversation. There’s a humble strength to Olympia, a magnetic poise  I can’t help but think stems from her upbringing as an only child. She tells me it shaped her. As an only child myself, I know that kind of solitude well; that time alone shapes you, often leaving you looking outward to the world and situations around you for entertainment. It’s because of this she tells me she’s always been a ‘people watcher’. 

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Now, as she settles into the first month post-release, Olympia is already planning her next steps. With a debut album in the works and her career picking up speed, watching her in motion at this early stage feels like a gift, and one we’re excited to share in this interview. In our conversation, she lets us in on the making of the EP, the relief of finally putting it into the world, and how people watching, both literally and through songwriting, has shaped her perspective as an artist.

You dropped your debut EP People Watching last month. Congratulations! How are you feeling about finally putting out your first extended project?

To be honest, I’m so fucking relieved to have it out. I wrote the first song in January 24 and it was all but finished in January 24, so it has been such a long process. I’m also such an impatient person, so I get obsessive about my demos and I listen to them thousands of times and then by the time they’re out, it’s like ‘Fuck I’ve got to play them’! Also in the time of content, socials are such a key part and you have to do so many content days, lip-syncing the same timestamps over and over again. So I’m just trying to let everyone else enjoy the music. It’s been really nice to see it connect, especially when you make the project with two other people. Your eco system of four or five other people is the extent to who listens to it for the year and a half whilst it’s being made and then all of a sudden you have tens of thousands of people listening. So it’s been really nice. I already feel I’ve leveled up and I’m excited for the next project.

Is there a particular song on the project that has surprised you with how it’s been received?

I think ‘Narcissus’ really surprised me.

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That’s actually my favourite song on the project.

[laughs] Do you know what’s fucking funny, my team weren’t sure about this one and it was actually going to go on my next project because Narcissus was produced by Charlie Perry, who is doing the whole of my next project. He’s worked with Maverick Saber and Jorja Smith, so ‘Narcissus’ has been really, really cool to see. A lot of people have messaged me saying it's their favorite which is really good, because it’s the sound of the next project.

So if we take it back a little bit, when did you first begin making music? 

I was in a gospel choir from the age of 11, and I was also in a jazz band where I was a vocalist for them. So I knew a lot of jazz standards, and also a lot of gospel music which is so handy for improvisation and arrangement, and so I learned a lot of that just by ear. I did really strict, boring grades for classical piano and I stopped that when I was 15, as I totally fell out of love with it. Then when I went to uni I just completely stopped singing as it just wasn't “cool”. I mean, I just wasn't going to be that person going to band practice at UCL [laughs], I needed to make friends! Then I met my manager about two months before the end of uni; my best mate introduced us. I'd kind of been making music on the side, and he was like, ‘let's do this’ and it's now been five years now. I owe it to him, because I was on the path to a steady career in law and I wanted to make money, which is funny now because I make music.

Wow it’s been quite the journey. So, who were some of the artists that really spoke to you early on?

So my inspiration is Amy Winehouse, I remember when I first heard Frank. I’m from Saint Lucia and she often used to be there, it was kind of like a rehab island for her and so we used to see her there a lot, which was really cool. Then because of my gospel background, Aretha Franklin and the Amazing Grace album, as well as Nina Simone and Donny Hathaway too were massive influences on me. Then I also fucking love rap. I love J.I.D. I feel like nowadays lyrics have taken a backseat for a lot of artists and it’s now all about the hook and the hit. We’ve lost the essence of songwriting. Lyrics are so important and because I read so much and love poetry, I think that’s why I love rap so much, like Kendrick, Freddie Gibbs and Nas. I love Nas.

It’s really interesting to hear you pull from such a broad range of influences because something that is very striking about your music is how you blend your vocals with a range of sonics. What genres would you say your music falls into, if any?

I think at the moment I’d call it soul music. I can find it a bit frustrating when I'm just called an R&B artist, because when you think of the figureheads coming out in R&B right now, like FLO and Destin Conrad, who are all fucking wicked, they're in their own lane and that's awesome, but that's not me. So when I get called an R&B artist, I wonder if it’s just because I'm little and mixed race, you know? Are you actually listening to the music? So I would call myself soul singer, but we'll see where it evolves. Maybe I’ll be making Gabber next year. 

[laughs] That would be a very big plot twist! I’d be very intrigued to see what you’d do with that sound. 

And so could you tell us a bit about the process of putting together People Watching. Did you go into production with the intention of the tracks forming a larger project?

So I finished the first track in January 24 and then it took about a year to get the rest of the songs in a good place. It was such a long process, and again, because I'm so impatient, I just got so bored by it.  I didn’t go into it deciding that I was going to write an EP because I was still so early on in my career. When I was writing ‘A Son's Lament’ I didn't know my fucking ass from my elbow [laughs].  I was just there in my first proper writing sessions, and I remember the first session I'd ever had with Glenn Roberts [Rachel Chinouriri/Olivia Dean] I was thinking let's hope something sticks and go with it.

And how was the process behind writing the songs on the EP?

Well I was like ‘I don't want to write love songs’, you know, ‘that's for pussies’ and ‘fuck love songs’. So then instead I went into the writing process with the idea that I'm going to write all this heavy and introspective shit. I wanted to talk about parents that are crack addicts and things like that. But now [laughs] I just want to write about love. Looking back at the project now I would say it was obvious where I was at the time.

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Throughout the EP it feels like you’re quietly watching and observing various situations around you, they’re out of your hands and you're pulling the cover off. Has this ability to ‘people watch’ so transparently always come

No, I've always been a people watcher. I’m an only child.

Oh really! So am I.

I hate it but it’s a unique experience. Then again, I think the grass is always greener, so maybe if I had siblings I wouldn't like it. I'm just such a social person so I think it would have just helped. I don’t know about you but I don't think I'm a very typical only child, so when someone says, “oh, I can see you're an only child…”

[laughs] It’s the biggest insult

Exactly! And when people say “oh I would have thought you had a sibling”, it’s amazing [laughs], keep it coming! My parents are both pretty intellectual and loved having intellectual chats. So when we went out and the adults would be speaking, I would always be looking around and observing. I've always been like that, I’m just very intrigued. At uni, my favourite thing was just meeting people. I don’t even smoke and I just used to be in the smokers most of the night chatting to strangers. I’ve always loved learning about people and so it’s very easy for me to write about those topics.

I see and so what was the process of building these stories, as they’re all quite different?

Yeah exactly. Well some are a lot more personal you know. Two of them are about how shit the music industry is and how jarring it can be for early artists. But then, ‘A Son’s Lament’ is about a situation I saw happen, I'm just recounting the story. ‘Narcissus’ is my observation on certain narcissists in my life and so it all just comes really naturally to me. I don't force any of it. I can't force any of it.

On the project we see you balance breezier pop melodies with heavier production, where you touch on themes like substance abuse and complex family dynamics. What’s the process of making the lighter sounding tracks compared to those which dig a little deeper?

I think you've got to have a mix. For example when I wrote ‘Younger’, to be honest I didn't really like it at first, as it was just so far from what I was used to and what I thought I was going to create. But then you have to find that balance because some listeners will naturally gravitate towards the ‘Younger's' and others will naturally gravitate more towards ‘Narcissus’. So I didn't have a problem with throwing them all together and having a bit of a push and pull throughout the project. When I do an album, I really want to create a journey and a process when people are listening to it. I don’t want people to listen to just one track and that's it. There’s a reason why people make tracklists! I learned to compromise as well making this project and listening to the professionals that have been in the game for decades, rather than little old me that turned up four years ago.

Do you enjoy the creative process of both equally?

I like them both. I think I've always felt more comfortable writing the slower tracks and the heavier tracks, but I’m aware that unless it's an ‘A Team’ by Ed Sheeran, it’s not always going to hit like the upbeat tracks. It’s why we led with ‘Painted Smiles’ when the project came out. You’ve gotta think about these things, as you put so much time and so much effort into the songs for them to then not get the time that I think they deserve. As much as the business side and the rollout of [the music] does my head in and I'd rather be a Sault, I don't have the ability to do that right now. So I can respect the team, what they do and their thought process behind release.

And so with this newest project, People Watching, what is something you’d like listeners to take away about the notion of introspection, observation and ultimately ‘people watching’?

I think what I carried throughout the project was that catastrophising is so easy to do and we live in such a small bubble. I've gone through quite a rocky six months and I can often think my world is ending, when in the grand scheme of things a bit of perspective is incredibly important to keep me grounded.  I think that was my main kind of takeaway from creating the project. There's bigger shit out there and these problems are just a drop in a huge, huge ocean.

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