Miscellaneous - Electrocutie

  by Fiona Hutchings

published: 15 / 1 / 2012

intro

Our Website of the Month is Electrocutie, an electro blog that is written from a female point-of-view

This month's music blog takes electro, girlie, empowerment, art and energy and mixes it all up to produce www.electrocutieblog.com. Who or what is Electrocutie though? According to the site you can find it "at the clubs, at the concerts, and caught up in your heart, where the beats are loud, the synths pulsate, and the bass throbs through your veins." I chatted to blog creator Erica Russell about what lights her up..... FIONA: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? ERICA: Well, first things first: My name is Erica and, at my most basic level, I'm just a 22 year old college student studying communications and still trying to figure it all out! But more specifically, I'm an entrepreneur PR practitioner with my own agency (Neon Castle PR) and a freelance journalist with a penchant for all things girlie. I really love fashion, art and entertainment, and high-energy electro-pop music. Right now, I'm still just trying to figure out how I can mesh together all the things I love into something both lucrative and long-lasting. FIONA: What inspired you to set up Electrocutie? ERICA: The idea for Electrocutie came to me one day out of the blue a few summers ago while I was browsing some of my favorite music blogs. I'm a total music junkie and love the idea of stumbling onto amazing new artists through blogs and social media sites. Anyway, I noticed that a great deal many blogs - not all, of course, but many - tend to be written from a male perspective. And while there's absolutely nothing wrong with that, I decided it was time to add an unabashedly female point-of-view into the mix, while also focusing on promoting my fellow ladies. For a while, I think electro was a very male genre and, again, while there's nothing wrong with that, I thought it would be nice to explore the many amazing female artists creating music in the field. FIONA: Did you decide to include exclusive interviews from the beginning or did the blog grow? ERICA: From the very beginning I knew I wanted to include interviews on my site, but it definitely took a while to get to the point I'm at now. It's very important to me to explore each artist I feature as deeply as I can so I can understand them and present them and their music as detailed as possible to my readers. Interviews, I feel, help me to do just that. Plus they're a ton of fun to both conduct and read! I also like the idea of talking to not only bigger signed artists, but also to independent artists who are just starting to come out of the woodwork. Everyone has a story to tell and I like to hear them all! FIONA: Do you only feature music you like? ERICA: Well, I'd be lying if I said "no," because I could never bring myself to write about or promote something that I just don't like on a personal level. I think it's important for any blogger to stay true to their core beliefs because, let's face it, a blog is basically like your own personal magazine! I get to really inject my own opinions and points of view into my posts and articles. And to be honest, I just don't have any interest in writing about something I don't care much for, you know? I only share what I like! FIONA: How do you interact with your readers? ERICA: I love when readers leave comments on my blog posts - it really helps me understand what they like and want to see more of, and I enjoy hearing their thoughts on the music I feature. I also utilize Facebook (www.facebook.com/electrocutieblog) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/theelectrocutie), and have an official Electrocutie page for each where I encourage conversation and interaction through posts, questions, and giveaways. Reader feedback is so important to me and really helps fuel my desire to write, especially when I'm facing a writer's block or lag. FIONA: What is the best thing about blogging? ERICA: The best thing about blogging is knowing that you have your own little slice of cyberspace where you can just let your voice be heard. It's a great way to share your collective interests and thoughts and communicate with others who are like-minded. (I mean, I wish I could, but it'd probably get pretty annoying if I attempted to ramble on about electro-pop to my friends or boyfriend all day.) Plus it'd be pretty selfish to keep all this great music to myself! FIONA: And the worst? ERICA: The worst part about blogging is feeling like you have to do it even if you're uninspired. I always feel guilty if my posts are lagging or if I have to take a break for "real-world" commitments and responsibilities. I feel guilty towards my readers, the artists I support, and even my own blog! But I always try to remember that even one great, inspired, purposeful post a week is more appreciated than ten uninspired, rushed posts a day. I don't want to blog just to blog; I want to blog only when I'm really excited and inspired by something! FIONA: Why should Pennyblack readers come and check out Electrocutie? ERICA: PennyBlack readers should come check out Electrocutie because, let's face it, everyone needs to indulge in their girly side once in a while! ;) And besides, who doesn't love to discover great new music and check out super cute ladies? FIONA: Thank you.