it’s been a few weeks since I last checked in. A lot of you have since joined this newsletter, so another round of welcome to you!

As most of you have probably found me through the short form content about Madonna (and some other songs I’ve been teasing) I wanted to give you a quick update on when these songs might be released and let you know what I’ve been up to apart from that .✦ ݁˖

First of all, music takes time, and releasing music sometimes takes even longer. I want to have at least one song with you before the end of the year, and I’ll have a release date for it soon (promise). In the meantime, I am working on other things around the release: the artwork, the live show (including practicing with my band), merch, behind the song content and some other secret projects ⋆˚࿔

Since to me, making music does not exist in an isolated space, but is informed by and connected to many other kinds of creative input and output, I thought I’d tell you a bit about what I’ve been up to outside of music:

Reading: I’ve had a bad luck streak with books recently - nothing that I picked up really captured me. Usually I get random finds from charity shops and I’ve found some amazing books through that, but not in the last months. The last book I started was so badly written that I didn’t even make it past the first few pages. So I picked up something that I was pretty sure I would enjoy from an actual book shop: the latest Ian McEwan novel What we can know. And as expected, I’m really enjoying this one. The story aside, which is so far intriguing, it is just simply well written - I actually forgot how nice it feels to just READ without stumbling over awkward imagery and nonsensical descriptions every other sentence. A needed reminder that reading is meant to be fun rather than forcing yourself through a book you don’t enjoy.

Watching: I went to the cinema last week and rewatched a film that I’d seen at the BFI last year called Lady. It had been stuck in my mind since I’d first watched it and I’m glad I got to see it again, the story is so unique and wholesome and it makes me feel like I belong somewhere in the world (PSA: if you want to watch it, DON’T watch the trailer, it’ll only spoil it). I’ve also started to rewatch One Tree Hill lol, last time I watched that show as a teenager. It holds up surprisingly well though! I actually really appreciate the depiction of soft and sweet teenage boys, it seems fairly unusual for the early 00s. Also the soundtrack of the show is so nostalgic ⋆˚࿔

Making: I’d been planning to do some woodworking when I went to Germany to see my family, but it was so hot that I only did a little bit of carving. I spent some time in the forest foraging for pieces of wood I could use. These are some of the treasures I found:

Back in London I’ve been working on merch ideas and realised I really like making jewellery so I made a necklace for myself (and also some merch items tihi). I got lots of vintage beads for this and have stabbed myself in the hand about 1 million times 𖦹⋆⟡⊹ ࣪ ˖

I’m also working on some other things that I will be sharing in due time!

Thanks for being here angels 𖦹⋆⟡⊹ ࣪ ˖

Daxi xx

I was thinking about what to send out to you all as the first more personal insight into my life as an artist, and I thought that it might be worth introducing myself as what I really am: a pretty bad musician. So I collected 5 ways in which I am a bad musician (please take this with a grain of salt, I am obviously not 100% serious here):

Number 1: I don’t practice. I hate it. It’s boring. I just about practice singular parts enough so I can play them for a recording or gig, but you won’t find me playing scales for months.

Which leads me to number 2: I’m not very good at any instrument (you guessed it, because I don’t practice).

Number 3: I barely know any music theory. And the theory I know I try to ignore when I make music because I can’t be bothered to be too analytical and correct any “mistakes” that I make.

Number 4: I don’t care if things sound bad/wrong/unprofessional. If I like how something sounds I don’t dwell on the perceived quality of it for too long, it’s good if I like it and that’s enough for me.

Number 5: I’m not a perfectionist. I will not record endless takes. I will not make sure every note is perfect. I want to work on something and enjoy it and then be done with it before I stop enjoying it.

.✦ ݁˖

Phew okay, now I got that out of the way, and we can actually talk about music. Obviously I am not entirely serious about all of this. While these points are certainly true and there are people who would think that I am a bad musician because of them, I wouldn’t actually subscribe to that idea myself. These points to me are what shapes my music. It is sometimes chaotic, not perfect, not thought through, but on the other hand it is honest, written from my gut and my heart and not over-edited. While some things (like practicing more) would probably not be the worst idea, I also think some of these points are what makes me if not a good one, then at least an interesting musician. I might not know theory too well, but I listen to a broad variety of music and I pick up ideas from all of it and incorporate them without knowing the exact rules they are based on. I might not be a virtuoso, but I can play well enough to execute my ideas (and when I can’t, I will force myself to practice that particular part until I can play it), and I’d like to believe that what I lack in craft I make up for with creativity.

And on things not sounding perfect or “good”… I think that is in the end just personal taste. I don’t mind if my music is spontaneous and a bit raw and rugged. It sounds like how I felt when I wrote it, and often it reflects on the themes I sing about in a way that is deeply emotional and instinctive.

.✦ ݁˖

Saying all of this, I know that you haven’t actually heard that much of my music yet, and I am deeply grateful that you still showed up and subscribed to my fan list and are here to support me this early in my journey. You will be the first to hear my music when I’m finally ready to release it into the world.

For now, I’d love to hear your thoughts on what a good musician is (if you have anything you’d like to share) and maybe take a moment to listen to your favourite songs and artists a little closer next time and find out if you can hear whether they are “good” in that sense - without judgement, only with curiosity.

I’ll talk to you soon angels ⋆˚࿔

Daxi xx