ettie prepares her audience for her highly anticipated debut by releasing the brutally honest and angst-filled ‘Manic Pixie Dream Girl’, which presents the perspective of the known movie and TV stereotype.
An up and coming singer and songwriter, ettie is an English Literature mayor, an emotional young adult, known wine enthusiast, and a connoisseur of millennial angst that is perfectly transmitted in her music via her lyrics and arrangement of choice. Creating and following her own brand of storytelling, her talent for playing with words and choosing the most fitting expressions combined with her knack of taking concepts deeply embedded in our society and giving them a new perspective allow for honest, thought-provoking music that can evoke any emotion, from rage to melancholy to joy.
With her honest and blunt unique type of alt-pop, the artist aims to enter the listeners’ core with her words without having to get under their skin. After two years of continuously releasing and coming to terms with her sound and self, ettie is now an openly queer and vicious songwriter and performer ready to make an impact with her art.
Manic Pixie Dream Girl is the first single of her forthcoming debut EP, and in it ettie takes a new approach as she confronts and shows to the public her darker side.
For those unaware, the string of words “manic pixie dream girl” is one that has been around in the entertainment word for decades. Representing an impossible idea of a woman — one who is whimsical, quirky, and serious once needed; and eccentric with hard-to-please taste who has a surprisingly low standard when it comes to men, who she’ll aid in their life-changing transformation and will ultimately live help and focus on for the entire duration of the show or movie. In every case, this archetype is created and used by a man, who desires to explore a “soul-bonding connection” with a mysterious and alluring woman who has true emotional depth or personal development.
In other words: it’s a tragedy for all women in fiction. Born out of an impossible to achieve desire and now used as a blueprint of how some women should be in real life, the manic pixie dream girl is commonly disliked by female-aligned people. However, such dislike for the concept did not stop ettie, who decided to hold it in her hands and finally give it the voice it’s deserved all these years.
With moody synths and a brash, electric guitar that clashes with the initial melody, ettie represents the anger felt by a woman who has been used by men as she finally confronts the exploitation and romanticization of her (the archetype’s) own deteriorating mental health and struggles. At the same time, the perspective of said character also blends with ettie’s own experience as she discusses the effect seeing this representation had on her mental health.
ettie states that her favorite thing about writing is “being able to play with common concepts and phrases”. Beyond that, she continues talking about the song: “Manic Pixie Dream Girl is based off of this character that film and TV has created: the beautitul and destructive woman, who is beautiful because of (and not in spite of) her destructiveness. Think of the Ramona Flowers, Effy Stonem-type characters we know all too well. This concept has always followed me, as someone who has struggled openly with their mental health. I have found that this romanticisation has been damaging to many people I know, and personally I have been viewed in this light in the past. I wanted to take this perception and reclaim it.”
Unafraid to open up and discuss mental health and modern society’s failings to her communities, ettie aims to be a voice for those that are unheard and, along the way, make people feel accepted. Her songs are slowly but surely attempting to make her and other women be seen for who they are and beyond their bodies and appearances, and Manic Pixie Dream Girl gives a much needed reality check that will hopefully reach both people who need the comfort and those who must have a reality check soon.
If you enjoyed ettie’s music and would like to stay updated, be sure to check out her and follow her Facebook, Instagram, and Tiktok accounts. To listen to her music, you can head over to her Spotify profile and Soundcloud.
You can also support the artist by streaming and sharing her music, which can be found in the following Playlists: Less Than 1,000 Followers, Fresh Singles, Indie Only, Alterindie State Of Mind and Female Rising Stars.
P.S. If you enjoy discovering new artists and fresh new music you should subscribe to Less Than 1,000 Followers and follow the Playlist with all the artists we’ve talked about!
This coverage was created via Musosoup #Sustainablecurator