Name: Dido Wilson
Nationality: British
Occupation: Singer, songwriter
Current release: Dido Wilson's ”Not Just Through the Night” is out now via Plain Paper.
Recommendations: I can talk for hours about the incredible songwriting on ‘Both Sides Now’ by Joni Mitchell. It’s a big song but incase you haven’t listened, LISTEN. Her songwriting will live on and I can’t listen without getting emotional.
A book I’m re-reading at the moment is Concrete Rose. It’s a part of the ‘The Hate U Give’ trilogy and I love it. It’s set 17 years before ‘The Hate U Give’ and is about the father’s life when he was growing up. There is one more book I need to read so I will get on that after this one!

If you enjoyed this Dido Wilson interview and would like to know more about her music, visit her on Instagram, Soundcloud, and tiktok.



When I listen to music, I see shapes, objects and colours. What happens in your body when you're listening? Do you listen with your eyes open or closed?

It’s so funny because I’m not a dancer at all but when I listen to music I listen with my whole body, I let myself feel the movement of where the music wants to go.

A lot of the time when I’m creating music I use a lot of hand gestures to articulate how I want to feel at certain moments in the songs.

I will always listen to with my eyes closed, I feel like I can listen objectively that way. I definitely see colours when listening. I can never really explain what it all means but I think it’s matching colours with moods and then moods with music.

Entering/creating new worlds through music has always exerted a strong pull on me. What do you think you are drawn to most when it comes to listening to and creating music?

I think when I’m creating music I’m mostly drawn to the core feeling behind what I’m writing about. I speak my lyrics out a lot of the time as if it’s a conversation to get to the core emotion.

For me it’s always deeper than happy/sad so finding the right feeling has a big effect on my creative process. When listening it’s the same, always how does this make me feel.

According to scientific studies, we make our deepest and most incisive musical experiences between the ages of 13-16. What did music mean to you at that age and what’s changed since then?

That is so interesting! When I was 13-16 I listened to a lot of Jazz and R&B. I loved melody, vocal techniques like riffs and big band arrangements. I would sing in a choir around those ages so I was constantly listening to the harmony of songs and the vocalists. I loved it! The music I created was much more harmony based and had a lot of riffs in as I really enjoyed exploring what I could do with my voice.

At those ages I don’t feel like I had much going on to write about, the topics I write about now I’m older are more common from the age 16 upwards.

I did write one of my first songs at 14 which was about trying my best to succeed with music and that all I can ever do is my best, it’s sooo positivie haha!

Tell me about one or two of your early pieces that you're still proud of (or satisfied with) – and why you're content with them.

I think my early early pieces aren’t that great but it’s sweet to look back on where I was when I first started writing in comparison to now. I have songs that are 4/5 years old that are finally coming out or I play at shows which I am really proud of.

‘Everything Reminds Me of You’ was the first song I wrote where all the lyrics came to me straight away and they were exactly what I was feeling so I love it for the fact that it was for me and it was honest.



I wrote it back in 2020 and it was the song that started this journey for me so I am so proud of it.

What is your current your studio or workspace like? What instruments, tools, equipment, and space do you need to make music?

I always need a guitar and piano in the room, it helps me figure out melody and I love finding chords so that’s an essential.

Very random one but I’ve found out recently that I really need to be by a window when writing. I love sitting by the window with it open and writing. I usually let all my ideas and feelings go out the window and something will come back. It’s very relaxing for me and helps me not put so much pressure on myself, I trust the process more.

Other than that I’m pretty easy with studios, as long as there is good ambience haha.

From the earliest sketches to the finished piece, tell me about the creative process for your current release, please.

My most recent release started as a poem. I was at the end of processing a breakup and it was the last thing I wrote about it. I had found the chords and then the verse lyrics came straight to me and I haven’t changed them since.

I actually left the song for a few months until my little sister inspired me to finish it. She had gone through a similar situation and I knew the song would speak to her the same way it spoke to me. I finished the song in half a day and started creating the demo a couple months later.

It has been a rollercoaster finishing this song, I was in studio for two/three months working on it. I wanted every sound and instrument to feel how I felt writing it. I knew I wanted each section to build to a release and for people to listen to it as a conversation. I can’t wait for people to hear it and hopefully resonate!!

What role and importance do rituals have for you, both as an artist and a listener?

Rituals when listening or creating music are important to me, they help me get into the right headspace to listen or create. I feel like day to day work and tasks can be very overwhelming so I really cling to my rituals when I’m in studio or in my free time.

In my free time it’s usually a quiet space with my salt lamp, candles and headphones on. In studio it’s sat by the window with crispy M&Ms and a Fanta lemon.

Are you acting out parts of your personality in your music which you couldn't or wouldn't in your daily life? If so, which are these?

Everything that I write about came from real moments in my life and real experiences/feelings so I really lived everything I’m putting out.

My main goal when creating music is being as honest and authentic as I can so having a song where I’m feeling confident to then one where I am vulnerable or sad is something I want to share with people.

I would describe myself as bubbly, loud and a big yapper but I can also be incredibly shy and quiet. In my day to day I am usually running around with lots of jewellery making lots of noise and singing a sad girl song so I do think I’m pretty much the same!

Late producer SOPHIE said: “You have the possibility [...] to generate any texture, and any sound. So why would any musician want to limit themselves?” What's your take on that?

I agree, why limit yourself to one certain thing? I used to think I could only stay in one genre otherwise my music would be confusing and for a while that made it really hard for me to find my sound. As soon as I started honouring the song and letting what ever influences I think work best for it, I felt like I found myself.

When I’m in studio I never shut any idea down, no matter how crazy, I will always give it a go. You never know what might stick or what could inspire something else.

I think restricting yourself when there is so much you could do is a bit silly to me.

Do you feel that your music or your work as an artist needs to have a societal purpose or a responsibility to anyone but yourself?

As musicians and songwriters we are given an opportunity to say whatever we want, I don’t see why not use it for societal purposes.

If something needs to be said, say it!

Once a piece is done and released, do you find it important that listeners understand it in a specific way? How do you deal with “misunderstandings?”

On the whole I want people to listen and resonate to the songs however makes sense to them and I always find it super interesting hearing what they’ve thought the songs were about.

I have one song that I want to specify when releasing that it should be listened to as if it’s a conversation. The lyrics were written literally me talking and it sounds like a conversation with someone. That’s how I wrote it and that’s how it resonates for me.

My debut EP I want people to listen to the story I am creating, I have purposefully make the track list go up and down in moods and emotions as that’s how it felt going through what the whole projects about (which was my first big break up).

We can surround us with sound every second of the day. The great pianist Glenn Gould even considered this the ultimate delight. How do you see that yourself and what importance does silence hold?

I completely agree! I have always surrounded my days with music even from a young age but the last 3 years especially. I was studying a music degree, teaching music lessons and working on my music career. I was constantly making, listening, learning or teaching music and I love it. It is universal and genuinely brightens my day.

Silence for me is a bit of a difficult one to figure out. I love my own company and sitting in silence alone but I cannot be in silence with other people. The amount of times I’ve started singing in lifts with strangers haha.

However it is very necessary when I’ve been in sessions a lot to have moment to be silent.

What is a music related question that you would like to ask yourself – and what's your answer to it?

I guess my main question would be are you creating music that you feel truly represents you and tells your stories?

For the minute I can say the music I am releasing has been cooking for years so although it may not be who I am now it is a great representation of myself when I wrote them. I listen to the whole project or singles and I sound so young. The things I’m singing about happened when I was young and I wrote about them the only way I knew how to then.

I think moving forward in my career that’s all I can do, write the way I know how to in that moment and that way I will always be true to myself.