Plini Roessler-Holgate (born 1992 or 1993),[1] known mononymously as Plini, is an Australian guitarist and songwriter. He began his career by releasing music under the name Halcyon, before switching to the use of his first name. Steve Vai described him as "the future of exceptional guitar playing",[2] and the website MusicRadar named Plini the best prog guitarist of 2017.[3]
Plini has released a trilogy of extended plays (Other Things and Sweet Nothings in 2013, The End of Everything in 2015).
His debut album, Handmade Cities, which Vai described as "one of the finest, forward-thinking, melodic, rhythmically and harmonically deep instrumental guitar records [he has] ever heard",[4] was released in 2016.[5]Sunhead, an EP, was released in 2018,[6] followed by his second full-length album, Impulse Voices, in 2020.[7]
One of Plini's influences has been Joe Satriani. Plini stated in an interview, "What I found different in Joe's playing is his ability to craft simple and catchy melodies and phrase them so perfectly that he doesn't have to rely on (but can still bust out) flashy passages and cool tricks to keep the instrumental song format interesting. I hope we get to jam some day!"[8] In another interview, Plini stated that Satriani has "been hugely inspirational to me so it's very cool when I'm told people can hear that in there.”[9]
Doja Cat's 2020 performance of "Say So" at the MTV Europe Music Awards ceremony was criticized when some viewers noted that the guitar solo in the performance was identical to the one in Plini's 2016 song "Handmade Cities".[10][11] The next month, Plini reported that Doja Cat left him an apologetic message through social media.[12][13][14]
The National Live Music Awards (NLMAs) are a broad recognition of Australia's diverse live industry, celebrating the success of the Australian live scene. The awards commenced in 2016.