What’s your story as an artist?
My story as an artist I guess starts in a guitar lesson. While I’ve always done singing and performing I never imagined I’d ever record and produce my own music. But one day my guitar teacher goes “let’s stop learning other people’s songs, time to write your own”. So I went home and started and by the next week I was in the studio (where my lessons were) recording my first song. I recorded a few songs in the studio before the pandemic and then all of a sudden instead of going to the studio I was being taught how to produce, mix and master over zoom and it’s really just gone from there!
What do you want your music to communicate?
I feel like my music is very therapeutic for me to write so I hope other people can also find some clarity from it. I also think that “Work for It” and “Better Things” are songs that I hope project power onto the listeners, with “Work for It” it’s like this bad b*tch anthem saying you’re not gonna give away your heart until someone proves they’re worth it and with “Better Things” it’s about finding power in a break up and realising you can only do better than before. They’re really both manifestations of power that I wrote to hopefully find some myself.
What are some sources of inspiration for your storytelling?
I think a lot of 2010s pop would be a big inspiration to me because it’s the music that raised me effectively. Taylor Swift’s lyrical storytelling is of course unmatched. I think also some of the sassiness from Dua Lipa’s early songs captured 16 year old me as well.
Who is an artist that you look up to more than others today?
There’s so many actually but choosing one would have to be Charli XCX mainly because I love how experimental and diverse her sound is while still definitively being pop. At some point I would love trying out some experimental pop/hyper pop because I think there’s so much freedom in not conforming to typical pop which is probably the main reason I admire her, because she does her own unique thing without aiming to put herself in the same box as every other charting artist.
What’s the record or artist that made you realize you wanted to be an artist?
Jessie J! Price tag was the first song I ever bought and I used to play and sing along to it in the kitchen when I was 10 all the time, I even learnt B.O.B. ‘s rap I was so obsessed!! I just thought she was so cool and wanted to be like her so bad my mum even bought me this neon green nail varnish she was wearing on this poster I had on my bedroom wall. Can’t say I dig the look now haha but she’s still such an icon to me.
Tell us about your latest release and how it came about
So my latest release came about literally minutes after this relationship but not really relationship I was in ended. I basically sent a message saying I was done and then opened my notes app and thought to myself right we’re gonna be positive about this because it’s not my loss at the end of the day. My mindset was kind of like trying to write the lyrical opposite of “good 4 u” by Olivia Rodrigo because I was like f*ck being sad or angry, I’m gonna be ok because if this guy wasn’t the one then that’s got to mean a better one is out there. These lyrics are the rawest and truest ones I’ve ever written, most of the time I embellish things when I write but this time they just came flowing out. I’m so proud of how pacified this song is because while I find break up songs often bitter, sad or angry this one shifts the focus onto the self, so it’s definitely an uplifting one to get anyone out of a break up rut!
What inspires your sound?
I always find this question really hard because I find my sound kind of creates itself alongside my lyrics but I think subconsciously there’s deff some inspiration from the 80s and ABBA but also there’s some Katy Perry and Taylor Swift in there and then also there’s just a bit of me from when I’m choosing my instruments and just pick out these random ones I’ve never heard much like before and I just kind of see what I can do with them until I can create the right sound.
What’s your favorite tune of yours?
My favourite has to be Lovesick just because I’m obsessed with the chorus and everyone else who’s listened to it always is too so when I perform the energy I get back from the audience as they sing it back to me is just next level!!
What are some things you really want to accomplish as an artist?
I really want to get some more gigs, hopefully one day headline my own and also I would love to do a festival, let’s be ambitious and say Glastonbury is the dream.
Favorite lyric you ever wrote?
Ahhh this is so hard. It might have to be from “Better things.” Writing the first verse gave me so much clarity because the lyrics helped me sort my head out a bit and made me realise I was in less deep than I thought I was so these are my fave lyrics:
“I think you thought I was hooked on your love
But really I was worried if I was enough
I think you thought I didn’t wanna let go
But really all I wanted was a little control
I think I thought I needed your heart
But now I see that we’re better apart
I think I thought that you were the one
But now I see another will come along”
Was there ever a moment when you felt like giving up?
Not quite but mixing and mastering “Better things” really put me through it, it was just one issue after another but now I’ve come out the other side I’ve at least learnt a load of skills I can use next time 🙂
What is the best advice you’ve ever gotten?
“The gods help those who help themselves”. It helps me stay motivated on the days where I feel like it’s not worth the effort.
Where do you think the next game changer will be in the music industry and entertainment scene?
From what I’ve heard it’ll be NFTs which I’ve yet to learn about but the way they give artists more ownership over their art deffo sounds super exciting!!
Here’s the link to Better Things out NOW: https://ditto.fm/better-things-ellie-knight
