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Estimated Time of Arrival — Issue #7 Rebranding, Swiss Army knives & toxic relationships.
Sorry for the delayed email, I missed ya’lls on Wednesday. Should have sent my ETA, ha!
As you may have noticed E.T.A.H is having a cheeky rebrand: same concept, same vibes, same voice and keeping the same abbreviation (even the H!) but from now on this newsletter is gonna be called
Estimated Time of Arrival 👽
When I interviewed our next guest about a month ago, life was smooth sailing.
Or so I thought.
Everything was as it had been for ages. Writing, hustling, feeling feelings of insecurity in the big city, partying. I lived in Flatbush (Brooklyn), struggled to keep a routine, but had certain certainties.
An illusion of safety and comfort I may have taken for granted.
Today, as I type this, on this painful 11th of July 2023, my world is upside down, my heart in pieces and my mind & creativity in motion. The eye of the storm feels gravityless and terrifying. Yet prolific, AF.
In these days of introspection I’ve realised there’s certain comfort in the endless possibilities of the unknown. How can we turn mud into gold? How can we turn suffering into inspiration?
I’ve heard we’re supposed to dig deep and lean into the pain. Avoid avoiding. Turn the painful energy into something, anything. A good run, a good read, a piece of art, a newsletter entry.
Our next guest and I bonded over the hardships of overcoming a toxic romantic relationship and growing as women and artists in the aftermath. She’s seen me up, down, in pieces, in love and in the mids of a spiritual awakening.
She’s hard-working, talented, charming and absolutely gorgeous. It’s no wonder she’s worked with big names such as Rudimental, Ryan Sheperd or Jack Wins to name a few…
I’m delighted to introduce the “best popstar you’ve ever heard of”, Caitlyn Scarlett, artist, singer and friend as my next guest at Estimated Time of Arrival.
The interview went something like this.
What’s the worst piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
When people encouraged me to blend in creatively with the mainstream. It’s a trap.
There's a lot of pressure to swim with the current until “you have a platform then you can do what you want”. But you'll never have a platform. Or you'll have the platform and you'll wreck it by then changing direction and alienating the entire audience that you built.
Every time somebody makes a difference, it's when they're doing something new.
If you had 48 hours left in the world, where would you spend them and why?
In Maidenhead where I'm from.
I used to be an “angel of death” and look after old people with dementia. I learnt that most people when they’re close to dying, don't want what they haven't had.
They want more of what they've already had and what's familiar.
They want to sit in their favourite chair, drink from their favourite mug, see the people they love, and go for a walk in the park that they've been playing in since they were a kid.
What bugs you about the world around you but feel we're not allowed to talk about?
The lack of privacy right now.
I miss the fact that you used to be able to live in private in some places.
I saw a video the other day of a girl who had left her phone in the sand to film herself running into the sea. Then, these two women walk past, having a conversation. They were commenting on the girl who was filming having a nice bum and how they wished they had one like that.
So the girl uploaded it to TikTok in a how-cute-is-this-moment way, but what if they had been saying something horrible?
You can be having a meltdown on the phone with someone (guilty!) and somebody who's living in the tower block next to you could decide to film you and put it on TikTok then you’re immortalized and judged and called a Karen….
An ingredient that makes everything better…
Having a full night’s sleep.
(Word.)
What’s your ultimate life hack?
Carrying a Swiss Army knife.
What’s your experience and thoughts on psychedelics?
Massive mental health benefits.
I'm not somebody who likes to trip at all. I had a bad acid experience when I was 20 and I’ve not tripped since. So for me, it's not about getting high but I've experienced a release from anxiety, an increase in personal confidence, more ability to function and control my mood and just in a better mood in general…
(Note: if you’re inexperienced with psychedelics it’s better to test them out from a “happy place” at first than to try to “enhance your mood” on a badish day. Even if mushrooms are incredible healers, it could be overwhelming at first for some people. Breathing and being able to let go of “control” are key once you’re in it).
And more specifically “microdosing”?
Having a little bit of it every day can make a huge difference. I hope it becomes mainstream (me too).
The same thing happened with weed. Ten years ago it was viewed next to cocaine and now you've got mums and old ladies buying CBD oil from Waitrose.
It’s great.
Tell me something curious about you that you haven’t thought about for ages or you don’t usually tell people.
When I was 10 I nearly drowned by trying to save my brother from drowning. He accidentally used me as a buoy…
I remember the helpless feeling and just accepting it and thinking well if my brother makes it then that's good. Then a lifeguard saved me and I carried on with my holiday.
It just didn’t sink in until years later I had a near-death experience.
What’s the worst (or stupidest) thing you’ve ever done? (We get it, you didn’t know any better, now spill the beans!)
Handing my life over to someone who treated it so carelessly by staying in a toxic relationship from age 19 until I was 23.
Of course, I wouldn't change anything because I have a fuckton of life experience now. I learned my lessons young, which means I can make different mistakes going forward, but it was a very damaging period of my life.
(I know the feeling well, check this article here).
Describe the world today in 5 words or less.
Warm, bright, interesting, sleepy, optimistic.
What’s the last film or series that moved you? And why? (It doesn’t have to be your favourite, just that made you feel something and what)
The Little Mermaid 🧜♀️ (click on the title to watch the trailer)
Honestly, it moved me because of the nostalgia of it but also it inspired a sense of naivety and innocence. I went by myself to a cinema in Berlin with only a few hours of sleep and loved every minute of it.
I have a tendency to watch these really artsy, cerebral, dark films, and yes, they change my perspective, and yes, they make me a better person, but they also bring me down, and they take me a while to recover from.
That was a film that took nothing and gave loads. I left feeling light as air.
What are you working on right now? What do you have coming up? Where can people check out your work?
I'm an independent artist, which means I don't have a label or a publisher, so having a direct connection with my fans via streaming is so valuable.
The best thing people can do for me is to follow me on whatever they stream music on, whether that's Apple, Spotify, or Tidal. A follow is the most valuable thing (and it’s free!).
Right now I'm writing a lot. I'm doing lots of dance music and writing for other people.
I also have a band, but I can't really talk much about it yet because it's not being released and I'm thinking about keeping it anonymous at first. So I'll be putting music out, but no one will know it's me….
What artist/s do you love & wish them even more success in their field?
Babak Ganjei— I find him incredibly striking and moving.
My favourite piece by him says, I'm in the bush outside and I really love you.
Also, he made a film recently about what it's like to be an artist in today's world and it was hilarious, so spot on. Check it out here.
The interview catch-up continued for ages, with more details, more texture, and more secrets. A lot of it, off the record.…
But I’ve been thinking, maybe I could start publishing these pieces in Podcast format too.
Would you like the option to listen to these interviews and the saucy details that are getting now censored on an E.T.A.H podcast? Let me know in the comments :)
Happy Summer 🌞
Paula
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