Issue 113 / April-May 2021
April-May 2021 issue of Bido Lito! magazine. Featuring: PIXEY, AYSTAR, SARA WOLFF, DIALECT, AMBER JAY, JANE WEAVER, TATE COLLECTIVE, DEAD PIGEON GALLERY, DAVID ZINK YI, SAM BATLEY, FURRY HUG, FELIX MUFTI-WRIGHT, STEALING SHEEP and much more.
April-May 2021 issue of Bido Lito! magazine. Featuring: PIXEY, AYSTAR, SARA WOLFF, DIALECT, AMBER JAY, JANE WEAVER, TATE COLLECTIVE, DEAD PIGEON GALLERY, DAVID ZINK YI, SAM BATLEY, FURRY HUG, FELIX MUFTI-WRIGHT, STEALING SHEEP and much more.
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PIXEY<br />
PIXEY’s thoughts are currently circling back to the once sample-happy newbie who fell<br />
feet first into a BBC-backed whirlwind of support and success. “What have I got myself<br />
into?” she laughs, recalling her first impression of launching a career in music four years<br />
ago. There’s a clear a cautionary tone, one which breaks with the usual fervour that<br />
arrives with the first signs of progress and recognition. In this case, the ascent happened so<br />
quickly a feeling of vertigo soon followed.<br />
Drowning in fear and ill-prepared for the reaction of her ever-growing fanbase, to say the<br />
beginnings were overwhelming would be an understatement. A lot quickly unfurled from what<br />
she once regarded as a “haphazard production” in her bedroom studio.<br />
After a short break from music, the 2017 version of Pixey we first met is indistinguishable<br />
through today’s Zoom connection. The figure on the other end of the call is bright and<br />
intriguing. There’s no lingering shadow of nerves or self-doubt. As she puts it herself:<br />
“I’m not just a newbie anymore… not just starting out for the first time.” The sense of<br />
determination is palpable. It’s an energy that has weaved its way through her musical<br />
career and pushed her out of the cocoon where she once sat so comfortably.<br />
You have to look back five years to locate the central source of this drive. In 2016,<br />
Pixey came face to face with her mortality. A sharp shock to the system in the form of<br />
a health scare reset her perspective, seeing her finally make the steps she needed to<br />
begin her journey and pursue a career in music. While dreams of becoming the next<br />
Ed Sheeran had faded, the equipment she had gathered on this failed quest remained.<br />
Blowing off the dust and downloading her trusted Ableton she set up a bedroom<br />
studio – before it was mandatory.<br />
Battling with illness and social anxiety, her innovative thinking saw her use<br />
her talent and determination to not only heal herself, but to lay the foundation for<br />
future her (the one we meet<br />
today) to be able to survive<br />
and thrive, regardless of<br />
the circumstances. And<br />
although she did not foresee<br />
a global pandemic, her home<br />
recording abilities definitely<br />
made the adjustment to the<br />
new normal easier.<br />
Before the significant<br />
social shifts 12 months ago,<br />
Pixey had already shown<br />
people what she was about.<br />
With her early release, Young,<br />
quickly gaining attention,<br />
people had high hopes for<br />
the new star. With her marketable pop sensibilities, combined with an<br />
experimental approach by way of a lack of classical training, Pixey offered<br />
a new voice to young women. Not offering up regurgitated tales of tortured<br />
relationships and imperfect love. She captured what it is to be young and<br />
free in the face of difficulty. BBC Introducing soon cottoned on.<br />
But often success can lead to a feeling of inadequacy, leaving one<br />
to doubt their ability and fear that any consequent project will not<br />
live up to the standard that has been set. We see this internalised<br />
battle constantly within creative fields and, for Pixey, it was one that<br />
paralysed her.<br />
After a recent break, she is back with a renewed motivation and a<br />
backlog of people she feels need to be proved wrong. The fire under<br />
her is regularly fuelled by the memory of being told ‘you’ll never<br />
be as good as me’ by men she once associated with. To them, this<br />
revitalised Pixey simply says “piss off” and carries on. Their words<br />
have pushed her to better herself and become more than they<br />
ever could be.<br />
Apart from the flute, which was an unprecedented disaster,<br />
Pixey has taken to every instrument she has picked up. Her<br />
recent lockdown project saw her become the neighbour from<br />
hell, refusing to rest and instead deciding it was “a good time<br />
to be learning stuff”. Stuff, to the horror of her neighbours,<br />
meaning drums. “I practised three hours a day,” she laughs.<br />
But practise makes perfect and her once favoured choice of<br />
programming drums is no more. Her lockdown release, Just<br />
Move, premiered these talents.<br />
The trend continues with The Mersey Line, as good<br />
a love letter to Liverpool as we’ve ever heard, or more<br />
specifically to Liverpool’s docks. Pixey’s slice of serenity is<br />
by the water, a place that allows her to “reset and take the<br />
next step”.<br />
“If my head’s feeling cloudy or I’m feeling upset or I<br />
feel confused,” she continues, “I’ll go down there for a<br />
14<br />
“It felt like I<br />
was running an<br />
uphill battle”