a conversation with… ELLIE DIXON
We spoke to Ellie Dixon ahead of her EP launch show for Crikey! It’s My Psyche.
HOW DOES IT FEEL TO HAVE YOUR FIRST PROFESSIONAL EP OUT IN THE WORLD?
It feels amazing! It isn’t my first EP, but it feels like my first EP because I was putting them out every summer through sixth form and uni. However, this feels like the debut EP because I’m doing it properly. This is my first professional portfolio of work and it’s a much more fleshed out project with an overarching theme. It’s been something that’s been in my head for a year and having it physically manifested is very very great!
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR MUSIC?
Upbeat alt pop bops with groove and a sense of humour. Music that makes you feel good. The messages within the songs are about advice or diving into the brain but always with something stupid and fun because I think that all art should have some sort of self-awareness otherwise its quite self-indulgent.
YOU’VE RECENTLY GROWN A LOT ON SOCIAL MEDIA, ESPECIALLY TIKTOK, WHAT HAS THAT BEEN LIKE FOR YOU?
It’s definitely been turbulent! It’s been awesome but also really weird. it was all throughout lockdown, so it was this crazy mix of oh my god this is amazing and oh my god I can’t feel it because you’re looking at a screen and it’s like validation but a weird kind of validation. This show is one of the first points of proper interaction with these people. Imagine being an artist but having absolutely no idea what your fan base looks like. You have no idea who they are! You get statistics on Instagram, but you haven’t met these people. I wouldn’t change it for the world, but it is the most bizarre thing. I am so grateful for it as it opened a lot of doors and has given me a lot of opportunities. You really can’t underestimate the power of social media because suddenly two hundred thousand people are seeing what you’re doing.
ON TIKTOK YOU ARE WELL KNOWN FOR WRITING ORIGINAL VERSES FOR POPULAR SONGS. I WAS WONDERING IF YOU COULD COLLABORATE WITH ANY ARTIST IN THE WORLD ON A SONG WHO WOULD YOU CHOOSE?
I have a couple but right now I think it would be Remi Wolf. She just dropped an album that slaps so hard, and she’s just completely nuts but has the best groove in her music and the coolest production. She doesn’t take herself too seriously and spouts so much weirdness and amazingness. So definitely Remi Wolf.
WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO BECOME A MUSICIAN?
I think it was a bit like steppingstones. It just built and built and built but I’d say the turning point would be when I got singing lessons. I was doing music GCSE because I liked making bops on my computer and then I started singing lessons. I was crazy Shy; my singing teacher didn’t know what my voice sounded like but there was one lesson where she gave me the challenge of covering a song, so I went away, and I covered yellow by cold play. I really loved changing the chords of it and making it my own thing and I just loved it. As soon as I played it to my teacher she was like where the hell did that come from? She recorded it and sent it to my parents who were also like where did that come from? It was never a bam I’m going to do this now kind of moment it was a very slow motion one eighty into I’m not going to peruse a career in maths after uni anymore.
WHAT IS ONE SONG THAT YOU WISH YOU HAD WRITTEN YOURSELF?
I have loads but I’ll go for a classic: ‘Everybody Wants To Rule The World’ by Tears For Fears. It’s such a good song and something about it is very magical and immortal.
I SAW FROM ONE OF YOUR TIKTOK VIDEOS THAT YOU WRITE, RECORD AND PRODUCE ALL OF YOUR MUSIC YOURSELF IN YOUR BEDROOM SO I AM CURIOUS TO KNOW WHAT YOUR FAVOURITE PART OF THE SONG CREATION PROCESS IS?
I really like the way that I do it because everything happens in parallels. I write while I produce, and I think for me my favourite part is when you first create a song you have a little sparkle. I really love doing it like that because you have so many more options and you feel like the sound scape generates so quickly because you can do it all at once.
I FEEL LIKE MOST ARTISTS HAVE THEIR OWN INDIVIDUAL WAY OF HOW THEY ENVISION THEIR FANS LISTENING TO THEIR ALBUMS OR EP’S FOR THE FIRST TIME SUCH AS IN THE CAR STARING OUT THE WINDOW OR DANCING AROUND THEIR KITCHEN COOKING PASTA. SO, I AM WONDERING WHAT IS YOUR IDEAL WAY OF YOUR AUDIENCE EXPERIENCING THE EP FOR THE FIRST TIME?
For me it’s probably like mundane things. I think that good music makes everyday life magical, and I write most of my songs about my life and I spend most of my time in my bedroom making music and it becomes very much about creating a fantasy within yourself. I Totally image walking down the street or in the kitchen making pasta that’s perfect, jumping on your bed. Completely mundane boring scenarios with a bit of Ellie Dixon on.
WHAT DO YOU HOPE YOUR AUDIENCE WILL TAKE AWAY FROM THE EP?
I hope people take away an element of self-love. Each song is a character and a part of my brain, and each song explores these characters and feelings, but I feel even in the woe is me songs there’s even an element of embracing it and enjoying it. Sucker is very much “wah no one loves me”, but it goes so deep into it that it becomes funny and fun. I think that embracing everything you feel is important because that is what makes you human. But maybe embrace a little bit more good than bad.
WHAT WOULD YOU LOVE TO ACHIEVE OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS?
I’d love to get an album out. I think that’s the main thing and I also want to grow things. Everything is already growing amazingly. Taking the digital world and bringing it into the physical is very important to me and putting on more crazy shows like this one where I’m running out in a space suit and making more spaces for that kind of thing. Also growing my reach and my presence as an artist. As artists I feel that were always learning and improving our craft. My other thing is just doing good. I want to make sure that I’m being environmentally conscious, I want to make safe spaces for people who sometimes don’t feel safe. I want to help encourage more female and non-binary artists and producers and giving opportunities and platforms to people who most need them. The music industry has a lot of problems and being part of the positive change for that is where I see myself.