How Ellie Dixon samples everyday objects to keep her set up low-cost

Pop artist Ellie Dixon uses everyday items found within the home to create her tracks, from chopsticks to microwave doors. Appearing on the latest episode of the My Forever Studio podcast – made in partnership with Audient – she reveals how doing so helps to keep her set up cheap and cheerful.

Dixon has amassed millions of streams, and one of her most popular songs, Green Grass, utilises the sounds of wooden spoons. As a self-producing artist, she makes a lot of songs right from her own bedroom, and experiments with clutter lying around on her desk.

She explains, “I’m someone that wants something instantly, so I’m not waiting to program a synth or order some percussive thing. I can make that [sound], and I want to make that in the next two minutes because I’ve got an idea, or I’m making it with my mouth.”

Asked what weird samples have snuck into her tracks, she replies, “My favourite is if you slam a microwave door – unbelievable snare sound, so good. You get such a slam, like you know how microwaves just always sound pretty violent? These natural sounds, they have so much natural variation, there’s this imperfection that I think we’re really drawn to as imperfect beings.

“When there’s this mass draw to something, it’s normally quite an imperfect human aspect of it that we love, and [going] back to the psychology of music, I think our brains are very clever… If you manipulate a natural sound I think your brain can still tell it came from something natural.”

Dixon adds, “Even if you’re not consciously making that connection you’re just going, ‘Oh there’s something about this that I like.’ And if you hear these everyday sounds that you hear in your world buried in music, I think it feels very familiar and homely.”

Host Chris Barker suggests it can be dangerous however, because when people know a sound is made in this way, they can never un-hear it: “Yeah, you’ve got to be careful about the information you share,” says Dixon

You can check out the full episode of My Forever Studio below:

Ellie Dixon heads out on tour this September. You can grab tickets to see her via her official website.