To know dodie is to really know her. Since 2011, the British singer-songwriter’s diary-wide-open authenticity has drawn millions of fans to her YouTube channel doddleoddle and its sister channel, doddlevloggle.
Those faithful fans — she once considered calling them “doddlers” — were with her in 2016, when, after establishing an online presence, she released her first EP. The result was the intimate “Intertwined,” a collection of songs tackling mental health, sexuality and friendship. Another EP, “You,” followed in 2017. Her third, “Human,” was released in 2019.
“Build a Problem,” though, is dodie’s full-length debut, written over a two-year span during a period of self-discovery after she came out in 2017 as bisexual with a song and video called “I’m bisexual – a coming out song!” (the video has amassed six million views on YouTube). After being pushed back three times, she’s eager for the album to come out on May 7, she tells me over Zoom from her studio flat in London. But first things first: all the stuff strewn across her floor that she thought she hid.