interview

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interview ✦

Ellie Dixon is charting her own course through the pop music landscape—one eclectic beat at a time. From crafting songs in her bedroom studio to lighting up festival stages, the multidisciplinary artist and producer has built a fiercely loyal fanbase: 1.2 million on TikTok, 300K on Instagram, and over 18 million streams to her name. Her music—a fearless fusion of indie, alt-pop, and whatever else sparks her imagination—defies easy categorization, and that's exactly the point.

Her 2025 dark horse single, "Knight Shift", mixed by Grammy-winner Manon Grandjean (FLO, Stormzy), is pure proof of that boundary-breaking spirit. It's a genre-blurring banger set in a medieval-inspired “Knight Club,” where groove meets gleeful chaos—a love letter to her quirky circle of friends that’s as danceable as it is imaginative. And leading up to this liberating era, Ellie’s journey has been a DIY dream turned reality. She broke through with the viral hit “Swing!”, which went on to become an official Apple Logic Pro demo in 2024. Since then, she’s dropped standout EPs like Crikey! It’s My Psyche (2022) and In Case of Emergency (2023), balancing intricate harmonies with offbeat charm. Tracks like “Green Grass” and “Big Lizard Energy” even earned her critical nods—including a TikTok Songwriter of the Year nomination at the iHeartRadio Awards.

Though, with fresh tracks like “Knight Shift” and “Loose Change”, we’re officially getting to witness her most confident step yet—channeling the playful bravado of Doechii and Doja Cat into a glittering, fairycore fever dream.

Your latest single, “Knight Shift,” is a fun track with a big personality! Was there a specific inspiration behind this particular song?

Ellie Dixon: I’d been listening non-stop to the new Doechii album (Alligator Bites Never Heal) and I was craving writing something fun and completely unserious but with groove and rhythm at its core. I’d been doing a lot of serious writing for the project and wanted to just write something with the intention of no one ever hearing it. I’ve been really immersed in the fantasy and medieval world of this project and wanted to give a different, more silly take. I was imagining all the queer nights out I go on with my friends and how magical and silly they feel. I wanted to capture this feeling of dancing with the witches and the elves and the trolls and feeling unstoppable. Once I made the demo, I played it to one of my best friends who immediately loved it and told me I had to finish it. It became adopted by my friends instantly, and I just had to put it out.

The track’s got this infectious mix of humor and groove. Was there one that came before the other—or was it always meant to dip into both?

Ellie Dixon: Thank you! I think it all came hand in hand. I feel my most playful when I’m listening to anything with an upbeat groove, so as soon as I found this killer hip hop drum loop I just found these jokes and puns spilling out of me. It’s all about headspace really, I gave myself permission to be silly and not overthink and so that joy seeped into every aspect of the track.

In what ways would you say this song reflects your own artistry?

Ellie Dixon: I think it really shows me when I’m having the most fun. This is my artistry at its most playful. It’s super visual too, I love a visual metaphor because you get to wrap up all these everyday situations and feelings within a heightened fantasy world. I think that’s a real cornerstone of all my music - finding the back door into the mind through metaphor.

The "Knight Shift" visual is quite a ride, with witches, elves, trolls, and girls. How important was the visual aspect of this song? And is there a moment that you credit to your appreciation for fairycore aesthetics?

Ellie Dixon: Oh, the visual was essential. As soon as the song was even partly made, it was clear that we needed to throw a fantasy house party. The song already captures an energy, but I love visuals for being able to really heighten it and put the listener into the space. I’ve always loved fantasy worlds, but over the last few years me and my flatmates have been watching Lord of the Rings, Delicious in Dungeon and playing lots of fantasy board games like Dominion and Catan. Being surrounded by fantasy in my personal life meant it started seeping into the visuals I was seeing and playing with while writing.

You’ve mentioned being obsessed with artists like Doechii and Doja Cat lately. What is it about their energy that’s lighting a fire under your own work right now?

Ellie Dixon: I love humour and groove—those two are such shining examples of this. I’m very inspired by artists who take risks and are constantly innovating, and especially after being dropped by my label, they gave me a lot of bravery to follow what I wanted rather than what I thought other people wanted. I was particularly inspired by Doja Cat’s mix of organic instrumentation and punchy drums and bass—this has been the main approach with the sound of the whole project.

You’ve built a massive following from your bedroom studio, and now you’re out headlining festivals. What’s it like seeing that DIY spirit blow up into packed crowds?

Ellie Dixon: I honestly still pinch myself. I feel very lucky to have a fan base that has embraced me and my creative world so much. Live shows are like nothing else, it’s the absolute peak of all the work and world-building and community-building. This project is the most aligned I’ve felt with how everything started - making music I love as freely and curiously as possible. But honestly, I’m just so proud of myself for the journey it has taken to play these shows. I was such an anxious performer when I started out, especially coming out of COVID into the real world, and now it’s one of my favourite things to do.

From "Swing!" going viral to "Knight Shift" dropping, your fans are all in. What’s one thing you hope they feel when they dive into this new chapter of your music?

Ellie Dixon: I hope this project really gives them a feeling of self-acceptance. All these songs really document a journey of self-discovery, and I hope that they can be tools to help other people unlock understanding, love for themselves, and pure catharsis. Permission to feel all the feelings!

Your new single is “Loose Change”, could you tell us a bit about this song, what it’s about, what it means to you, and any inspirations behind it?

Ellie Dixon: This might be my favourite song on the EP! It splurged out of my body one day when I was really going through it in therapy and coming to terms with my neurodivergence and the messiness of my brain. The song goes through 3 time signature changes—I wanted the song to feel like it’s changing under the listener’s feet. I wanted to make a musical representation of how my ADHD feels, and I really feel like I achieved that. It’s a magical, buzzing tune that feels like it’s constantly falling over itself. It feels like an encapsulation of the struggles and beautiful parts of having a wired brain.

Congratulations on announcing your new EP “Tales of a Knight”, what a huge moment. What can we expect from this body of work?

Ellie Dixon: I’m so excited! This has been 18 months of work through an incredibly turbulent time in my life. Expect to feel everything. Joy, fury, sadness, passion, acceptance, self-love. It’s an open and honest love letter to my brain, and it means the world to me. The sound world is rich, playful, fun and heavy. I can’t wait for the final 2 tracks to come out with the EP—they are real heart-wrenchers. The final track on the project, I highly recommend if you need the most life-affirming sob of your life.