There's a tonne of new music released every Friday and wading through it to find your next favourite album is an almost impossible task. 'The Music' team get it and we're here to help, bringing you our Album Of The Week each Friday. Here's why Doolie's debut mixtape 'hope u like my mixtape' gets our pick.
Buzzing Gold Coast artist Doolie, aka Doolie Shadforth, has today released her debut mixtape, hope u like my mixtape, and we do indeed like her mixtape, so much so it’s claimed our Album Of The Week.
The empowering new release sees the rising Aussie talent team up with notable producers, including Kilter, Moonbase, GXNXVS, Cam Nacson, ALIUS, Paces and POOLCLVB.
And the end result is a collection of songs that showcase her sharp and playful lyrics well against a fresh blend of mid-tempo pop/R&B with a dramatic edge.
What they're saying...
We caught up with Doolie ahead of the mixtape's release to gain some more insight into each track.
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Only For A Night
"Only For A Night is one of my gentler, sweeter songs, so it felt fitting to have it as the opening track to warm the listener up before delving further into the mixtape. I also got to shoot a music video with Sticks & Stones and JÀEN Collective so that was pretty special. For the video, we wanted to make it differ from the typical ‘boy meets girl’ storyline and more about having fun with my best gal pals… but also in designer clothes, haha."
It’s You Not Me
"This song took quite some time finding its feet; I actually began writing and performing it in 2017 but back then it sounded completely different and definitely ‘unfinished’. Kilter took it to the next level; it has the energy to get you dancing and saying fuck you at the same time, which I love."
Attention feat. China Roses
"The concept of this song is one of my favourites that I’ve ever written, it’s so playful and cheeky, but also maybe too honest. I really wanted to write a song that everyone could relate to, when we’re all feeling a bit needy. It was so cool to have China Roses feature on this track, her verse really complimented the song."
Slow Crawl
"Working with Cam Nacson, we wanted to make the production feel empty in a way to give all of the different textures breathing space. This track has a lot of movement to emphasise the push and pull of the lyrics. I think because there are quite a few metaphors in my lyrics, making that push and pull obvious through the production was key."
2:20 feat. Charlie Threads
"Writing this song was one of the first times I had been put in a studio with a producer I had never met before. I was so lucky to get to work with GXNXVS, he’s so talented and it sparked my love of writing in collaboration like that. It’s also the first song I had a feature on. Having an artist and writer as amazing as Charlie Threads connect with the song exactly how I had intended it was so cool, so collaborating with him was definitely a highlight."
No Game
"I headed down to Sydney last year for a 120 Publishing writing camp where I was paired up with XMPLA! We only actually had one day to write this one. It was such a fun and free-flowing process, the writing just happened so naturally. It’s also become a really fun one for me to perform, it makes me feel a bit badass."
Conflicted
"So this song is one of my fave li'l treasures on the mixtape. I like how the word 'conflicted' is so striking. I was in love with what I was writing that day and I really love these lyrics - I hope that passion comes through when you listen to it."
Dark Waters
"For this song, I was mucking around with interesting melodies to elevate my lyrics. I kind of wanted to incorporate as many as I could and leave the chorus ‘traditional’ and repetitive. This is my bad bitch anthem."
Freefall
"Fun fact: the first time POOLCLVB and I met in person was a year after this song was actually recorded! Although it’s not my usual style of dark pop I love this song so much. Because of this track, I have been able to build such an amazing team around me so I’m so thankful to have had the opportunity."
Don’t Run
"I was so incredibly fortunate that PACES was one of the first people I got to meet in the music industry when I was starting out. He’s given me so many incredible opportunities and super valuable advice. So getting to topline on this track was a genuine honour."
Listen to hope u like my mixtape in full below!
Kilter
Moonbase
GXNXVS
POOLCLVB
Cam Nascon
ALIUS
Paces