What contact did I have with her?

On 1/4/18, I went to the O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire to see Dodie!   You can read my review about it online on Voicemag: https://www.voicemag.uk/review/7700/dodie-in-concert

I follow her on YouTube and I’m really moved by her lyrics and love her music.  She created a Youtube channel, doddleoddle. In addition to her main channel, Dodie has a side channel doddlevloggle and a VEVO channel dodieVEVO.

What did I find out about her career path and work?

Dodie started vlogging in 2007 with a friend and then started singing on her YouTube channel in 2011.

She went to the Leventhorpe school and then lived in Bath with friend Jamie Jo, a fellow YouTuber. Her original song ‘Rain’ really spoke to me. She went on to release several other songs like ‘Intertwined’, ‘You’, ‘Party tattoos’ and ‘Human’.  In 2019 she began writing her first studio album. She has collaborated with various other artists like Jacob Collier to release ‘Here comes the sun’.

She has toured extensively in the UK with another YouTuber called Bry and also toured Australia and New Zealand down under.  She has also toured with Tessa Violet, John Cozart and Rusty Clanton. I have heard that she often personally meets her fans and chats with them on her tours. Unfortunately I did not get the opportunity to do so when I went to see her in London. She also supports charities like Unreal by performing concerts for them.

In 2017 she won the Shorty award for the best YouTube musician and the Breakthrough Award at the Summer in the City Awards. She went on to be nominated for several other awards over the next few years.

What did I learn about her work?

On 18 November 2016, Clark released her first EP titled ‘Intertwined’ which charted at No. 36 on the UK Albums Chart in the first week.

Dodie has published an autobiographical book entitled ‘Secrets for the Mad: Obsessions, Confessions and Life Lessons’ where she describes her mental health issues relating to depersonalisation disorder which is difficult to diagnose or treat.

I noticed some interesting ukulele techniques which I have since employed in my own playing, such as using the side of the instrument for percussion, and her distinctive style has influenced many of my own songs.

I have learned that for someone really talented and tenacious, having an education in music is not necessary.

How has the experience influenced my own arts practice and plans?

Being inspired by her ukulele, I taught myself to play the ukulele over a couple of months.   I have saved up for a while and bought myself a good quality ukulele which I use in my composition to try out new musical ideas quickly.  This has proved to be a real asset and I have subsequently gone onto playing the ukulele in my church choir too. 

During the last 2 years, I was the chair of the Wellbeing Committee at school. Since I have friends who have suffered from severe mental health problems, I wanted to be able to help them and those who have been affected. As part of my role, I worked with different members of staff to arrange assemblies, events, and raise awareness of the importance of looking after your mental and physical health and methods that one could use to do so. Also, I helped run a weekly wellbeing club, to allow people to come and chat and relax.