When I had first listened to a snippet of Mothica’s single, “Vices”, on my For You Page, I was stunned. It was a beautiful, ethereal piece of work that I couldn’t believe had graced my algorithm. What I could believe was that this single quickly rose to #2 on the iTunes charts.
Mothica is an audio and visual project of the Oaklahoma-raised artist, McKenzie Ellis.
“Like a moth, nocturnal yet drawn to the light, her lyrics balance clever wordplay doting on intimate and often dark life experiences.”
In 2015, the artist had released her self-produced EP Mythic. Her song, “No One”, a single off the EP which delves into the topic of self-empowerment, climbed to #6 on the U.S. Viral Spotify Charts. Five years later, her debut LP, Blue Hour, has gained newfound success with the help of a new form of social media.
TikTok has helped jumpstart the careers of countless talents from around the world. The app has quickly become the most powerful marketing tool for the music industry in regards to creating viral dances, collaborating with popular creators, creating memes around snippets of their songs, and more. What’s so astounding is how quickly regular users come together to support someone whose passions had not previously gained the notoriety they deserved.
When talking about her musical and personal story on Instagram, McKenzie said that press outlets wouldn’t give her the light of day.
“I’ve released three EP’s and maintained a small amount of success but people told me ‘at a certain age, you just realize that it;s not for you,’ and that ‘I peaked in 2017.’ Press outlets passed on writing about this album, calling it ‘edgy.’ And they were right, because choosing sobriety and self care is the most rebellious thing I’ve done.”
TikTok has provided artists whose stories were silenced agency to create freely. Many have fired their managers because they didn’t believe their vision, but their audience on the platform did. In a tweet, McKenzie said that TikTok was about to jumpstart her career, and oh boy did it do just that.
In 24 hours Blue Hour has debuted at #1 on the iTunes pop charts, and despite all the releases coming out tomorrow, I feel like this album will stay in the charts for a while. It’s a beautiful collection of work that tells such a raw story of life, the loss of the self, fear, and growth. We’re seeing the side McKenzie that other artists with similar stories wouldn’t dare share, especially not in their debut. That’s what makes this album so incredible.
No record label. No PR. No big budgets. No ads. Just me, telling my story, friend to friend. Thank you for listening.
Mothica
