Just over a year ago, McKenzie Ellis - better known by her musical alter ego MOTHICA - released a cover of Bring Me The Horizon's 'Can You Feel My Heart'.
Showcasing her glitchy alt-pop style and sonic shapeshifting, you'd be forgiven for thinking it was her first foray into the rock world, but you'd be wrong.
Born in Oklahoma City, MOTHICA's 2020 debut album 'Blue Hour' showcased her penchant for writing slick pop anthems with electronic flourishes, but ever since attending her first Warped Tour back in 2009 she's lived life with a simple mantra never get stuck in one box.
"I'm in this weird little middle ground. I've always been listening to metal and rock, and I was covered in tattoos even when I was making EDM songs, but I'm too pop for the rock scene and too rock for the pop scene," she starts.
"When I would go to [rock] shows, there's just this energy, this anger, and this feeling of being on the outside, but there was a whole community of people that felt that way... That's what I think is so awesome about music though, it doesn't have to follow anything, and I rebel against anything that I feel like I'm supposed to be fitting into." Inspired by the raw aggression and passion that sears through her favourite rock songs, the candid heart that sits at the centre of the scene has been channelled into MOTHICA's sound for longer than it may seem.
From her early EPS written as a teenager struggling with alcohol addiction, to 'Blue Hour' documenting her story of getting sober, through to 2021 EP 'forever fifteen', named after a suicide attempt at that age, the last few years have been a process of overcoming that have seen McKenzie learning to present her authentic self within her songwriting, and despite everything she's endured, it's served as a source of empowerment.
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