Eleanor Charlotte Siobhan Dixon is an English musician. She is a member of Loud LDN, and is noted for her use of unorthodox instrumentation, such as mugs, stationery, and kitchen equipment.
Ellie Dixon | |
---|---|
Birth name | Eleanor Charlotte Siobhan Dixon |
Born | Foxton, Cambridgeshire, England |
Genres | Alt-Pop, Indie Pop |
Occupation(s) | Songwriter, Producer |
Instrument(s) | Guitar, Bass Guitar, Keyboard, Ukulele, Singing |
Labels | Decca Records |
Member of | Loud LDN |
Website | www.elliedixonmusic.com |
Born in Foxton, Cambridgeshire, she released three EPs while studying for a maths degree, then gigged for around six months and released two further singles. The COVID-19 lockdown in the United Kingdom meant that the country's live event industry shut down, prompting her to upload content to her social media, where she attracted attention for her deconstruction of song harmonies and original verses. She released Crikey! It's My Psyche in 2021 and signed to Decca Records in 2022. After going viral for her "Jota on the Wing" football chant in 2023, she released In Case of Emergency later that year, and in 2024, she featured on Charlieeeee's "Bumped in the Head".
Life and career
editEarly life and Crikey! It's My Psyche
editEleanor Charlotte Siobhan Dixon[1] was born in Foxton, Cambridgeshire.[2] Growing up, her father played piano and her mother played the tin whistle.[3] She started producing music when she was thirteen[4] after her father downloaded music production software onto the family's desktop, and took music GCSE, where her singing teacher encouraged her to perform at youth open mic nights; she also performed at her school's concert.[5] Originally a pianist,[4] she taught herself guitar after tiring of porting her keyboard to and from gigs.[5] After leaving school, she read mathematics at the University of Warwick, as she felt her performance anxiety would occlude a music career; during each summer, she would release an EP,[5] and these were "Looking Forward", "Jungle", and "Growing Pains".[6] After graduating, she gigged for about six months until the COVID-19 lockdown in the United Kingdom.[5] In November 2019, she released "Pressure", an ode to overcoming pressure,[7] and in March 2020, she released "Ugly", a song about empowerment and self-love,[8] which was accompanied by a music video.[6]
After the COVID-19 lockdown caused the United Kingdom's live event industry to shut down in 2020, Dixon began to upload content to her social media.[5] She used a March 2021 interview to state that she spent this period making money by producing other people's tracks and by teaching.[9] Her content during this time included deconstruction of harmonies, such as for "Dancing Queen" by ABBA, and original verses for other people's songs, such as "Toxic" by Britney Spears;[10] at the time, many artists were publishing instrumentals. One verse, written over an instrumental produced by Blue Lab Beats, became the second verse for "Space Out",[11] which she released in July 2020, self-produced,[12] and accompanied with a music video in which she wore an astronaut suit;[6] in a December 2021 interview, she stated that she first looked for realistic space suits, found they were expensive, and then looked for "deliberately silly ones instead", selecting one that was inflatable.[11]
In November 2020, Dixon released "New Waves", a duet with Austin Prince.[13] In February 2021, she released "Sucker",[14] a song about a teenage crush[10] which was inspired by Harry Styles and accompanied by a music video in which she wore a heart suit,[15] and in May 2021, she then released "Green Grass", a description of an existential crisis,[16] for which a music video was released. Dixon then released Crikey! It's My Psyche, which featured "Green Grass",[6] "Space Out!",[11] "Sucker", and "CEO of Watching Television", a dig at workaholism which had been released with a video filmed in her flat.[10] Dixon's mother came up with the name while brainstorming ideas while both were dog walking.[10]
In Case of Emergency and "Jota on the Wing"
editIn March 2022, Dixon ran in slow-motion through King's Cross, London wearing a space suit and signed a giant Decca Records contract using a giant crayon. A sharp uptick of abuse on TikTok prompted her to abscond to an Airbnb in the Cotswolds for a week[10] and be unable to look at her TikTok for two;[5] whilst at the Airbnb, she wrote her first single on Decca, "Swing!",[10] a belligerent baseball-based response to her attackers co-produced by Charlie Deakin Davies.[17] A further single, "Big Lizard Energy", was released in February 2023 alongside a music video and a dinosaur-inspired video game,[18] and was her attempt at responding to her habit of cognitive distortion by imagining herself as a 320-foot (98 m) dinosaur.[19]
On 25 February 2023, Dixon appeared on Patrick Kielty's BBC Radio 5 Live show,[20] broadcast just before a Scottish League Cup fixture between Celtic and Rangers. While there, she performed "Jota on the Wing", a football chant written to the tune of O-Zone's "Dragostea Din Tei", and about Jota,[21] the then-Celtic winger.[22] The song went viral on social media, prompting Celtic's social media account to use it to soundtrack a clip of Jota holding the trophy.[23] She later performed the song at Celtic F.C. in front of 60,000 fans during a subsequent Celtic-Rangers fixture on 8 April.[24]
In May 2023, she released "Dopamine", a song she had written shortly after reading an article about brains being desensitised to the chemical of the same name through excess consumption of social media, having debuted the track at a BBC Radio 2 session[25] with Jo Whiley on 19 April.[26] On 21 July, she released the single "Bounce", which she wrote around the same time as "Swing!" and also about the abuse she was suffering at the time, and the EP In Case of Emergency,[27] which had been delayed from 16 June,[25] and which included "Swing!", "Big Lizard Energy", "Dopamine", and "Bounce".[28] In March 2024, she featured on Deakin Davies' "Bumped in the Head", which they released under the name Charlieeeee.[29]
Artistry and personal life
editCritics have described Dixon's music as "alt-pop"[27] and "indie pop".[6] She is noted for her use of unorthodox instrumentation, such as mugs (which she would use as drum bases), pen pots (which she would use as tambourines),[10] and saucepans;[30] the introduction to "Swing!" was made by hitting a glass with a whisk,[5] and the bassline in "Bounce" was made by twanging a ruler. She told Dork in July 2023 that she was "very inspired by early YouTube musicians like Walk Off the Earth, Dodie and Paint" and that she suffered from anxiety and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.[27] She became a member of Loud LDN,[31] a collective of London-based women and non-binary artists set up in May 2022,[32] that year.[33]
Discography
editEPs
edit- Looking Forward (2016)
- Jungle (2017)
- Growing Pains (2018)
- Crikey! It's My Psyche (2022)
- In Case of Emergency (2023)
Singles
editAs lead artist
editTitle | Year | Album |
---|---|---|
"Pressure" | 2019 | Non-album single |
"Ugly" | 2020 | |
"Space Out!" | Crikey! It's My Psyche | |
"New Waves" (with Austin Prince) |
Non-album single | |
"Sucker" | 2021 | Crikey! It's My Psyche |
"Green Grass" | ||
"CEO of Watching Television" | ||
"Swing" | 2022 | In Case of Emergency |
"Big Lizard Energy" | 2023 | |
"Dopamine" | ||
"Bounce" |
As featured artist
editTitle | Year | Album |
---|---|---|
"Bumped in the Head" (with Charlieeeee) |
2024 | Dogbowl[34] |
References
edit- ^ "DIXON ELLIE CHARLOTTE SIOBHAN". ASCAP. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
- ^ Dann, Niamh (22 June 2023). "Singer who grew up in Cambridge village to perform at Glastonbury this weekend". CambridgeshireLive. Archived from the original on 29 July 2023. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
- ^ Soormally, Sabrina (2 August 2023). "Ellie Dixon On Vulnerability & Self-Expression For Her New Crocs Campaign | Fashion". Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews & Interviews. Archived from the original on 14 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
- ^ a b "The Boar". theboar.org. Archived from the original on 29 July 2023. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g "In Conversation with Ellie Dixon – The Student". studentnewspaper.org. Archived from the original on 29 July 2023. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
- ^ a b c d e "Crikey! It's Ellie Dixon!". Moths and Giraffes. Archived from the original on 14 October 2023. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
- ^ "Fresh Faves: Batch 343". Fresh On The Net. 12 November 2019. Archived from the original on 27 September 2023. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
- ^ "Fresh Faves: Batch 358". Fresh On The Net. 17 March 2020. Archived from the original on 27 September 2023. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
- ^ Jayaweera, Senvidu (10 March 2021). "The Power of Social Media— Meet Ellie Dixon". Medium. Archived from the original on 22 October 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g Walsh, Natalie (10 May 2023). "Ellie Dixon". House of Solo Magazine. Archived from the original on 14 October 2023. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
- ^ a b c Smith, Sophie (24 December 2021). "Sophie catches up with Ellie Dixon after releasing her EP Crikey! It's My Psyche". Cactus City CIC. Archived from the original on 14 October 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
- ^ "Fresh Faves: Batch 375". Fresh On The Net. 27 July 2020. Archived from the original on 27 September 2023. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
- ^ "Fresh Faves: Batch 387". Fresh On The Net. 1 December 2020. Archived from the original on 27 September 2023. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
- ^ "Ellie Dixon". One Fiinix Live. Archived from the original on 14 October 2023. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
- ^ "INDIE-POP STAR ELLIE DIXON TALKS CAREER, BENEE, AND UPCOMING EP". newscenemagazine.com. Archived from the original on 14 October 2023. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
- ^ Mosk, Mitch (16 June 2021). "Review: Ellie Dixon's "Green Grass" Is a Playful, Irresistibly Sweet Take on Existential Crisis". Atwood Magazine. Archived from the original on 14 October 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
- ^ "BBC Music - BBC Music Introducing, Cambridgeshire, Spotlight Artist - Ellie Dixon & TOTW from Jed Upjohn". BBC. Archived from the original on 14 October 2023. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
- ^ "Ellie Dixon share new video for Big Lizard Energy • WithGuitars". Archived from the original on 20 March 2023. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
- ^ "Approved: Ellie Dixon | Complete Music Update". Archived from the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
- ^ "BBC Radio 5 Live - Patrick Kielty, Dave Rowntree from Blur, Johnny Vaughan and Ellie Dixon". BBC. Archived from the original on 14 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
- ^ Galindo, Alan (26 February 2023). "Celtic's Jota song like you've never heard it as Ellie Dixon does live cover". Glasgow Live. Archived from the original on 14 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
- ^ "Jota: Al Ittihad sign Portuguese winger from Celtic in £25m deal". Sky Sports. Archived from the original on 8 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
- ^ O'Donoghue, Conor. "An incredibly catchy Celtic Jota song from Ellie Dixon is guaranteed to hook you". The Irish Post. Archived from the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
- ^ "'Jota on the Wing' – Celtic thank Ellie Dixon for brilliant pre-match performance". thecelticstar.com. 11 April 2023. Archived from the original on 14 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
- ^ a b O'Connor, Siobhain (4 May 2023). "Ellie Dixon unveils new track 'Dopamine'". Dork. Archived from the original on 14 October 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
- ^ "BBC Radio 2 - Jo Whiley, Sofa Session: Ellie Dixon". BBC. Archived from the original on 14 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
- ^ a b c Taylor, Sam (21 July 2023). ""I feel like I've had ten years of experiences in two" - Ellie Dixon is a future alt-pop legend from her own bedroom". Dork. Archived from the original on 27 September 2023. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
- ^ Ellie Dixon - In Case of Emergency Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic, archived from the original on 14 October 2023, retrieved 10 October 2023
- ^ "The Neu Bulletin (The New Eves, cruush, Slow Fiction and more!)". DIY. 8 March 2024. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
- ^ Dork (9 December 2022). "Hype List 2023: Part 2". Dork. Archived from the original on 27 September 2023. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
- ^ Schumacher, Lukas (19 January 2024). "Marshmello x venbee - "No Man's Land"". Westdeutscher Rundfunk (in German). Retrieved 29 March 2024.
- ^ Wilson, Sophie (19 December 2022). ""We're taking over the scene": meet Loud LDN, dance music's most vibrant new collective". NME. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
- ^ "LOUD LDN on Instagram: "Here is our Loud LDN wrapped 2022 💖 We're very excited about what 2023 has in store and are excited to grow our community in the new year!"". www.instagram.com. Archived from the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
- ^ "charlieeeee - Discography". Spotify. Retrieved 18 June 2024.