Written by Annie Barber.
Erica Manzoli doesn’t shy away from telling the truth in her songs. Her latest single ‘Dear Other Woman’ covers an unusual topic but still follows that signature honest songwriting style of hers. By exploring cheating through the lens of asexuality, Manzoli pulls back the curtain on a topic that isn’t openly discussed in mainstream music. Hopping on a call with Karma! on the day of the single’s release, Manzoli talks about the inspirations behind the song, its retro music video, touring with Remy Bond, and more.
Manzoli cites one of her favourite bands ‘Tele Novella’, who make 60s style music, as one of the musical inspirations behind ‘Dear Other Woman’. She pinpoints their song ‘Funeral’, a haunting and timeless track about a breakup. The song and its music video have a clear retro feel, so its not surprising that Manzoli took inspiration from it and the band in general. She says “with this song we took a little bit of inspiration from their world building.” While the song’s sound and visuals take inspiration from other work, she confesses that the lyrics are much more personal: “lyrically it’s very inspired by my personal experience… it’s a little bit of a scary subject, but I always feel like there’s no point of writing unless you have something to say and I definitely had something to say with the song.” Honesty is at the forefront of everything Manzoli does and that’s clear both in her music and throughout the interview. However, she says that while the song is a truthful recount of her own specific experiences, she’s excited to see how fans interpret it and make it their own.
The theme of asexuality is one that Manzoli feels like isn’t talked about enough. She observantly points out that “so much of visual media, such as films, but also music, [like] with Sabrina Carpenter and Chapel Roan, who I absolutely love their music, but it’s just highly sexual and people enjoy sex, sex sells. That’s always been the truth of the matter.” Although she’s a fan of both artist’s music, she admits that not everyone always feels the way they do about sex, herself included. She says “as someone who’s on the asexual spectrum and not asexual, but as someone who sometimes doesn’t resonate with those songs and that media, I felt like it was important to write something that represents other people.”
This isn’t Manzoli’s first time writing about the subject. Her song ‘Princess Prudence’ that came out earlier this year also covers asexuality, but in a more “forgiving way”. ‘Dear Other Woman’, on the other hand, she says is “a darker kind of perspective.” She reveals that it’s inspired by an intrusive thought that she’s experienced before: “when you’re having a relationship and the way you view love and give love isn’t the same, you sometimes wonder, ‘oh would it be easier if someone else could just kind of fulfil those parts of a relationship that you don’t always want to?’” She admits that although the topic is a sensitive one, she wanted to explore it anyway. She says “I would never want to be cheated on but… it was kind of maybe even a thought experiment for myself on if there was this other woman, and they did kind of help me in a way. How would I feel?” She says that if she were cheated on she would, of course, be heartbroken, but it could take the pressures off certain aspects of being in a relationship. Despite the song’s distinct topic, she admits that she’s not sure people would have necessarily known what it was about, had she not revealed the truth behind the lyrics. There’s that signature honesty again!
So where does this honesty that is innate to Manzoli’s brand actually come from? She says that, as a child, she was afraid of speaking up and had trouble making eye contact with others because “I felt like if someone looked me in the eye or someone said something, that they knew it would have so much control over me.” Therefore, songwriting has become a way for her to take back the power: “me just talking about these things really lifts some of that weight off and it doesn’t feel like it can be weaponised against me anymore ‘cause I just say it.” Although it’s a skill that Manzoli has had to develop over time, it’s clear that she’s now very adept at it.
The music video for ‘Dear Other Woman’ sees Manzoli on a theatre set, lying on a moon and surrounded by stars and clouds. It has a Classic Hollywood feel to it as the video begins in black and white and Manzoli is dressed like a 1920s showgirl. She says that the idea for the music video is one that she’s had for a while and that she felt this song was the right one to do it for. Revealing the inspiration behind the visuals, she says “in the 1920s they used to do country fairs and [there was] often a photo booth setup. So there’s lots of vintage portraits from couples and people enjoying fairs on these cardboard moons, and I just thought it’d be really cool to do.” Manzoli admits that it was an ambitious project, given that she makes her music videos on an independent budget, directing and editing everything herself. She says “I found some lovely people and they made this huge 3D fibreglass moon that’s in my garage at the moment, and I think it’s really cool. I really am happy with it and I think I’m glad I got to live out that dream.” Making videos on an independent budget comes with constraints and Manzoli admits that sometimes she has to stop herself from going ahead with certain ideas. However, she says she has an idea for a mermaid related music video but hasn’t yet got the right song for it – watch this space!
Speaking of music videos, she did a Wes Anderson style video for her song ‘Suzy Loves Sam’. She reveals that the specific inspiration behind that video was Anderson’s film ‘Moonrise Kingdom’, and in particular the main character: “I just fell in love with [the film] when I was like 12 years old. I would dress up as the school girl, Suzy, to go to school; I would wear little high socks and dresses and to be honest, I think I still take a little bit of style and inspiration from her to this day. I just really resonated with the character.” She says that she felt the visuals from that film matched the song’s sound which she describes as “sonically very western, kind of like spaghetti pop. It feels really fresh and interesting and it felt very uniquely me in a way.”
Earlier this year, Manzoli toured with singer and actress Remy Bond on ‘The Star Shaped Baby Tour’. She gushes about the experience and says that Bond is very dedicated to her craft: “the amount of effort that was put into all her shows was really inspiring to watch. I mean, this girl had like the biggest crew ever,” she continues, saying “I watched them at the show every single night and I never got bored ‘cause it was [such] a theatrical performance.” She says that Bond’s fans were very nice and receptive to her music, and that the pairing was “a good match”.
As we speak, we’re only 6 weeks away from the New Year. Manzoli reveals her plans for 2026: a new EP and a headline show, which is in the works. She adds that “maybe a tour would be amazing, but we’re doing baby steps, so those two things are happening and I’m really looking forward to them.”
She answers the first of Karma!’s staple questions, ‘if you or your art were a colour, what would it be?’, with a very unique answer: red gingham. She arrived at that particular pattern after saying “it’s difficult for me because I feel like every single song I do is pretty themed so I feel like the songs are themed to colours in my head. I would say ‘Bunny’ was a light blue, ‘Manic Pixie Dreamgirl’ drink was a green. I like to think of it that way.” Although her songs have individual colours associated with them, she says pastels or red gingham represent her best. As for the second question, ‘can you give us a song recommendation that we can add to the Karma! Playlist?’, she recommends ‘Cowboy Gangster Politcian’ by Goldie Boutilier.
Manzoli’s radical honesty and ability to tap into her vulnerability is something which is clear both in the way she conducts herself and her songwriting. This attribute has already garnered her a loyal fanbase and is sure to serve her well in her career. ‘Dear Other Woman’ is out now and available to stream. Make sure to add Erica on social media to keep up to date with what she does next.
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