London really is a hub for incredible soul and R&B artists. The more you discover them, the more you appreciate just how much talent the city has to offer, and as a Londoner, it’s hard not to feel proud. Olympia Vitalis is one of those artists. With her rich vocals and beautiful songwriting, she is one of a new generation of artists helping to build London’s thriving soul scene.

Raised in West London, Olympia draws on influences ranging from gospel, jazz and hip-hop to artists such as Amy Winehouse, Aretha Franklin and Kendrick Lamar. Her music will also feel familiar to anyone who enjoys the soulful sounds of Jill Scott and Angie Stone. Following her performances on A COLORS SHOW and alongside artists including Teddy Swims, Baby Rose and Victor Ray, Olympia released her debut EP, People Watching, in 2025. The record has since reached over one million streams and earned support from BBC Radio One.

Now, with the release of her new EP Lady Luck, we sat down with Olympia to talk about the stories behind the record, working closely with producer Charlie Perry, and why this collection of songs is more personal than anything she has released before. Every song on Lady Luck has its own story, whether it began with a piece of artwork hanging on a studio wall, a difficult personal experience, or simply a melody that arrived in a matter of minutes. Throughout our conversation, she spoke openly about trusting her instincts and allowing each song to become whatever it needed to be.

View of the Arts: Money Tree immediately grabbed my attention. The bassline is incredible, the melody is so rich, and your voice sits so naturally within it. How did that song come together, and what was the starting point for creating its sound?

Olympia Vitalis: Thank you!! Charlie Perry (executive producer) has this painting in his studio of a skeleton with coins dripping inside of it. It’s quite a niche bit of art but he was just chopping up some drum loops and I was looking at the painting and before I knew it I was freestyling about materialism and capitalism [laughs].

VOA: Don’t Cry featuring Maverick Sabre has such a timeless, old-soul, bluesy feel. How did that collaboration come about? What did he bring to it that made him feel like the right voice? And when another artist joins a song you’ve already written, does performing it together change the emotional meaning for you at all?

OV: Charlie has worked with Mav for years and so the collab was very natural. I’ve been listening to Mav since Lonely are the Brave; I was 12 when that came out. I’m just such a big fan of every single thing he does, so it’s unbelievable to have a song with him and have written with him. I’ll be honest, I just sat back and took it all in when he was writing, truly in awe of him. I only had my verse when I wrote it and the hook, and so he brought his own perspective – as I wanted him to – to the story and made that verse his own.

VOA: Daze is another beautiful track. It reminded me of Erykah Badu / not because it sounds the same, but because it has that effortless soulfulness, while still feeling completely your own. What inspired that song, both musically and lyrically?

OV: It’s a cool one! It was by far the easiest to write; it just fully poured out of me in about 10 minutes. At the time, I was caught up in a crap on-and-off relationship, so that story was very on the nose of how I was feeling when writing it.

VOA: Baby Blues is such a powerful and important song. Knowing it was inspired by someone close to you experiencing postnatal depression makes it even more moving, and your vocal performance carries so much emotion it’s hard not to be affected by it. What was going through your mind while writing the song, and how involved were you in shaping its musical arrangement alongside the lyrics?

OV: That experience really shook me up. Watching someone just fade away during what should be the most hectic and exciting time was very hard to see. I didn’t really know what else to do but write, and Charlie very graciously gave me the space to articulate how I was feeling and put it to music.

VOA: You also said you held back a little because you were telling someone else’s story. Did that change the way you approached your songwriting?

OV: With songwriting, I can’t sugarcoat, so that story is exactly how it happened. I can sometimes hold back when performing and having to explain the situation because I’m telling someone else’s very personal story and I’m aware of that.

VOA: Lady Luck is another terrific song! I honestly can’t praise this EP enough. Was there a particular moment that made you realise it was time to turn the lens on yourself instead of observing the lives of others?

OV: I’ll be honest, it’s my favourite on the project. I love that sound. Yes, it was the last one I wrote, and I wanted a title track so that song became the home for me to turn the observation on myself after discussing others and my relationship with others for the first 4 tracks.

VOA: The title Lady Luck is about timing as much as chance. How has your understanding of luck changed over the course of your career?

OV: I’m a very impatient person, but I’ve learnt timing is everything and it’s about luck as much as it is about agency.

VOA: Listening to your music reminded me of what first drew me to artists like Angie Stone and Jill Scott. Were those artists part of your musical upbringing?

OV: Wow, thanks! Both of them massively; I came to RnB and Soul quite late, I’ll be honest, but since I have, they’ve subconsciously informed so much in my writing and sonics.

VOA: Charlie Perry has produced the entire EP. What has that creative partnership allowed you to access that perhaps you couldn’t have reached working with different producers from track to track?

OV: Charlie allowed me to create completely freely. I was very self-conscious before, being in rooms feeling like I had to impress all the time. It was also just myself and Charlie for the whole project, whereas before there were a lot of different collaborators. This feels like me, and Charlie gave me the space to find what I wanted to make

VOA: If People Watching introduced us to the way you see the world, what do you hope Lady Luck reveals about the woman behind those observations?

OV: I’m always learning, always trying to improve, that’s all.

VOA: Recognition can be validating, but it can also become distracting. How do you protect the curiosity that made you want to write songs in the first place?

OV: By working with people whom I trust wholeheartedly to give me the freedom to write without judgement and without distraction, people like Charlie.

Written and interviewed by Maggie Gogler

Featured image courtesy of Olympia Vitalis

_{View of the Arts is an online publication dedicated to film, music, and the arts, with a strong focus on the Asian entertainment industry. As we continue to grow, we aim to deepen our coverage of Asian music while remaining committed to exploring and celebrating creativity across the global arts landscape.}