Words by: Chloe Burrows-Bryan
Following the sensational creation of the EP ‘Here & Now’ in 2019, alternative folk artist Ollie Dixon returns to the music scene but with a surprising elevated twist. The new tracks, ‘Interlude, I / Time’ present another fascinating side to Ollie’s musicianship and advancing his artistry gloriously. Although much like ‘Here & Now’ with both songs containing acoustic guitars and finger picking, the new EP is almost like a distant relative and provides a fabulous new direction of electronics and diversity…
Time
Time embodies a clean and crunchy electronic atmosphere which is astonishing to hear. We are introduced into the song with a prominent guitar which is bewildering in delays, tremolo and reverb. The song instantly connotes a dystopian feeling but constructs an atmosphere of comfort and reflection into its narrative.
Although the song’s structure is simplistic, it is truly remarkable how the instrumentation, especially the guitar has been stunningly pushed in its traditional boundaries to create different and diverse sounds using the support of electronic devices. The distant vocals are unique and with the support of the phenomenal layered harmonies add texture and style to the song’s identity. The narrative explores the meaning of time and how to value the time we have. Ambience, folk and electronic elements have all been blended seamlessly to create such a wonderful first track of this amazing EP.
Interlude, I
This song juxtaposes its counterpart and exhibits a new elevation in Ollie’s artistry which is thrilling to see. This song is honestly so stunning to hear and reminds me of watching a sunset or sunrise. We are instantly introduced to the song with an electric guitar running through a pedal board with elements such as delay and reverb to add to its identity.
The guitar is sweetly aided by a looped violin element that has had a plethora of mixing and production to create such a unique concept. It is important to understand the song’s illustration in its entirety with layers upon layers of many different sounds to create such a perfect interlude.
Ollie goes above and beyond in this track providing sounds such as birds, people talking, a watch noise and a chicken and has embedded them with extraordinary effects. We have to commend Ollie for stepping out of the traditional instrumentation of music and exhibiting that everyday objects can have value of sound if created successfully. The song presents so many different and unique parts within itself that for six minutes of listening, you are truly invested in the narrative.
When creating the EP, Ollie expresses:
“I learnt a lot about “isolation” in this lockdown, time alone with your thoughts can be a struggle but there’s a strange pattern of comfort in this fabric of chaos but without it, I wouldn’t have written these new songs or learnt about mixing / production so I’m pretty grateful for it all.”
Ollie has created such an incredible narrative and experience for a listener in this fantastic EP and we are extremely excited for him to reveal any new directions of artistry he may add to his already amazing musicianship.
‘Interlude, I / Time’ is available on all streaming platforms from today.
Instagram: @olliedixon
Facebook: @OllieDixonMusic
Listen to the tracks here: smarturl.it/interlude-timesingle