Inspired #176 - Cortney Dixon
Produced during a bedroom lockdown - Cortney Dixon talks us through the inspirations behind the latest teaser from her EP with new track ‘Telly’, a stunning and sassy lo-fi lullaby.
Who are your top three musical inspirations?
Kate Bush because she is Kate Bush and how can you just not love everything about her? Her voice, her songwriting, her imagery!
I was so inspired by Bowie because he pushed boundaries and did whatever he felt, despite what anyone else might think. It’s like he created his own world and welcomed everyone into it and it was such a vibrant place to be.
Lastly, it has got to be Fleetwood Mac. I still remember the day my mam showed me dreams and I instantly fell in love with Stevie Nicks’s voice. To me, Fleetwood Mac is like three different bands. Three different songwriters with very different styles and different things to say but it all hangs together so well. I just found their music was always so real and truthful and the story telling in each song always struck a chord with me.
Is there a certain film that inspires you?
I very ashamedly have to admit that I don't watch a lot of films. I do however find the act of watching films very therapeutic when I'm in the right mood as they completely take me out of my own head. I find that in itself can help to reset my brain and in turn make me feel inspired after, so that means if I ever do watch a film, I want something light hearted and nostalgic. My go to would be pretty woman and dirty dancing.
What city do you find the most inspiring?
I find Newcastle a very inspiring place to be, but I had to get out and see lots of different cities, to realise how much I loved my home city. I love the people in it, and being surrounded by the thriving local music scene is very inspiring.
Who is the most inspiring person to you?
This sounds a little cringe, but my Mam is my biggest inspiration. She’s a grafter and never complains about anything. The most productive, determined and visually creative person I know without even consciously trying to be, it’s just who she is.
What were your inspirations when writing your new track?
I had the opening synth part for a while on my computer and never knew what to do with it, but I always knew it felt a little melancholic, then lockdown hit and it became obvious to me that the song should be a lament to all we were about to miss out on. I came up with the first couple of lines ‘Telly, sick watching the telly. Free me, turn it off and free me. After spending hours just watering the flowers it’s a dead end’, that was all talking about how we were all glued to our telly’s watching the world come to a halt and everything we worked towards and hoped would come to fruition in 2020, slowly get taken away. It was a sad time, but I felt like we could all take comfort in the fact we all felt the same way and the feelings would eventually subside hence the ‘Won’t feel like this forever’ outro. I wanted to end on a positive note!
How would you like to inspire people?
I would love to inspire young girls, in particular, through my music. It is so easy and accessible now to create your own music and put it out into the world, but pursuing music can be a scary and daunting thing to do. I would like to inspire other young, unsigned female singers to just go for it. It's not about being famous or mega successful, but about sharing something you care about and worked hard at, whether 50 people hear it, or 50,000 people hear it.