Kalila Badali - "Dotty Mae"

Photo credit: Taimoor Khan, Kalila Badali, Dall-E

Toronto's Kalila Badali is an alt-folk/art-pop singer-songwriter and psychotherapist. In a press release for her latest single, she describes her music as "... an ethereal balance between witchy folk and danceable (yet moody) pop." That description nails "Dotty Mae." "Dotty Mae" is the kind of alt-folk song that has a very witchy vibe to it along with strong pop elements. It creates this great dichotomy where you have a song that is quite dark and moody along with an upbeat element that makes you want to move along to it. This is a fascinating and oddly hypnotic song that is going to suck you in and refuse to leave for quite some time.

Kalila Badali says of her new single:

"I wrote 'Dotty Mae' after spending a whole summer working seven days a week as a new psychotherapist and an inclusion specialist at a summer camp in Toronto. To conclude this busy summer, I celebrated with my beloved co-workers at a cottage near Presqu'ile beach in Prince Edward County. It was there that I met Dotty Mae and had my tarot read for the first time, sitting cross-legged at the edge of a forest.

 

"The reading brought up questions and thoughts I'd been having about psychologist Pete Walker's fight, flight, freeze, and fawn defenses, in relation to processing my recent and past relational disappointments and traumas. Lyrics like 'How do I know, to run? How do I see the way out?' are centered around hypervigilance and genuinely not being sure how to tell if situations are actually safe or dangerous, whether to stay or leave a romantic partner or even a friend."

You can watch the video for "Dotty Mae" below. The single is currenty available via Bandcamp. For more on Kalila Badali, check out the artist's Facebook.