Previous to her Lincs FM ‘Up Close Gig’, dodie chats to The Linc’s Caitlin Holloway and Emma Stewart about mental health, social media and being a young influencer.
What made you decide to be so open about your mental health in your music and on Youtube?
I don’t know if I decided. I sort of had to talk about it, ’cause I think I’ve always been kind of open and I’ll just say whatever’s on my mind. Whether it’s good or bad, I’ll always create stuff about what’s happening. So, yeah, I think I had to write about it and had to talk about it. I couldn’t not.
What are your plans music wise for the future, and for your career?
We had a business plan of there’s a single this year after the EP, and then working on an album for next year. But the more I talk to people, the more I don’t really know what I want yet. I think it’s probably businessy time for an album to be like, okay, this is my sound. But I don’t really know what that is. I don’t really know if I’ll ever solidify on something. Maybe I should just get over it and do it, ’cause it’ll never be perfect. The plan is just to make more music.
What is it like to be famous/ an influencer at a young age and do you enjoy it?
It’s very different to what I expected. Well when I was a lot younger, when I didn’t have any hint of fame in my thought,I think I thought in black and white cause I was a kid, so I was like “if you’re famous, you are happy and you are rich”. I never really understood that it was more complex and life is really strange and sometimes when you get what you’ve been dreaming of, it is not always great.
Obviously there are so many benefits, like it’s really fun. You get to travel, and it’s cool to connect with people and I get to do what I want everyday, like making music. But it comes with pressure and confrontation. Sometimes you just want to throw your phone away and be at home.
Will you continue to do more on YouTube, alongside the music?
I kind of gave up being in the whole YouTube kind of structure, if you know what I mean. Posting on certain days and going to certain conventions. I think I don’t really say I’m a YouTuber anymore ’cause I think that kind of gives the implication that you fit into this box of stereotypes, but I just use it as a platform. Like if I make something that I like, I want to upload it. If I make a video, which I really enjoy doing, I see it as like another platform to post something on.
Talking more about Social Media….
Saying anything online now comes with risks. I recently put a load of Instagram stories of an opinion on a gig that I went to and was brushing my teeth and was like, “What have I done?!” I rushed to take everything down. I was like, “You know, I don’t have an opinion on anything, at all! I am so vanilla, I think nothing.”
What is the best thing, or things to come out of your making music? For you personally?
I think it’s like any moment in life, it’s really hard when you take shit for granted, [like] in the moment. Like if you’re surrounded by friends and you’re having a good time, sometimes it’s really hard to be like “this is great!”. On tour, I sometimes come off stage and get really caught up in my work and I’m like “that wasn’t great, I couldn’t hear myself very well”, blah blah blah. And then on the last day of my European tour, which was only a few days ago, I went up and watched my friend play from the top balcony and watched my audience listen to her and I just cried throughout the entire thing. ’cause Im so lucky, like these are the people who are listening, these are the people who come along and really care. They might not even not know the music yet and are still listening, still putting their arms up and, I don’t know, I’m just so lucky that they’re so kind.
Finally, what advice can you give to anyone who wants to forward their career at a young age? Or is trying to achieve their dreams?
The only advice I would give is, start now and keep writing, ’cause a lot of what I hear and what I used to think is like “oh, I’m not good enough and everyone else is better than me.” But if you start as soon as possible then you have a chance to make bad stuff and then scrap it over and over and, every single time you do that, you learn something else and then you get better. But also, don’t listen to anyone else and do what you want [laughs].
After our chat, dodie then went on to perform a very intimate show that visibly touched the hearts of all who attended, who listened so intently that it was often silent as dodie sang. After such a personal gig, dodie then encouraged her audience to join her in singing her last song, which made for an entirely unforgettable experience.