In Conversation With Erica Manzoli: Behind the scenes of her new single, 'Suzy Loves Sam'.
Erica Manzoli, London-based alt-pop artist, recently released her third single of 2025, ‘Suzy Loves Sam’ – an upbeat love song inspired by the innocent and devoted relationship of the two protagonists in Wes Anderson’s sixth feature film, ‘Moonrise Kingdom’. With a folky, country-inspired sound, jaunty rhythms and delicate vocals accompanied by ethereal harmonies, Erica Manzoli has her own unique pop sound which is nothing short of refreshing. We speak to her about her newest single, released on September 6th, and find out about this track’s influences, recording processes and behind the scenes stories from the making of the ‘Suzy Loves Sam’ music video.
Emma: You described the single as a ‘love letter’ to the Wes Anderson film, ‘Moonrise Kingdom’ – what is it about the film that resonates with you and why write a whole song influenced by it?
Erica: I watched it when I was about twelve which is the same age as the kids in the film, so, at the time it really resonated with me just being the same age. The main character, Suzy, was a misunderstood, moody teenager and I feel like everyone's had that stage – and I definitely felt the same at some point.
I was obsessed with the film when I first saw it. I literally went to school wearing the knee-high socks and brogues and it really influenced my style for a long time, now, nearly over ten years. I have always been obsessed with Wes Anderson’s visuals, but, specifically, I feel like that film in particular has just got a beautiful story.
We kind of wrote this quirky beat and the writer I was in the room with was like ‘this is so Wes Anderson’, and we played the instrumental that my producer had come up with alongside the trailer of the film and we were like ‘okay we need to write a ‘Moonrise Kingdom’ song’.
Emma: The single is inspired by cinema, as you’ve said, but are all the lyrics purely fictional or is there a personal experience that the song is based around?
Erica: The closed storyline of the song is kind of saying, I just wished my mundane relationship was like us being in a movie – I wish you loved me the way Suzy and Sam loved each other. I’m in a happy relationship now, but it’s drawing from, instead of getting texts like ‘wyd’, where’s my love letter? Can we be quirky and fun and run away together rather than all the boring stuff that happens now.
The chorus is where it cuts to the reality part – the verses are built up in this pretty scene and the chorus is, you’ve just aired me, essentially, and what the hell!? It’s kind of a love song but, also, at the same time, a heartbreak song. I am focussing to push it in more of the fun way, because it is a fun song. It’s drawn from hating modern dating and wishing that things could be a bit more quirky and silly, and people could fall in love like you do in the movies.
At the time of writing this [song], I wasn’t dating my boyfriend and now I am, and he does a million things that people wish people did. But, before that, I had never had someone be such a giver, and what was really the bare minimum, I was treating as pure romance. It’s sad that someone could turn up to a date on time and you could think, ‘oh, that was really thoughtful’. It’s kind of about my old self who was seeing a grain of effort and wishing it could be like a movie instead.
Emma: The single has a 60s sound which matches Wes Anderson’s 60s inspired visuals – was that something you were aiming for?
Erica: The actual chorus beat is very similar to The Ronnettes, ‘Be My Baby’. To be honest, we actually used ‘Be My Baby’ and then recreated the drum beat later so it is a 60s rhythm. We’ve also gone for a spaghetti western sound for the verses so it’s quite whimsical with a fusion of western influences and the 60s. The film is set in 1964/65 so we wanted to pay tribute to that, plus I just love 60s outfits and visuals.
Emma: If you could choose someone to play you in a Wes Anderson style movie about your life, who are you choosing and why?
Erica: If I could, she’s dead, but Audrey Hepburn would be really fun. She’s also got short hair at some point in her career which I find really chic.
Emma: Do you have a music video to accompany your new single?
Erica: Yes, I’m editing it as we speak actually, I’ve been editing it all of today. I’m on my eleventh hour of editing this video. It surprisingly takes ages. We had like seventy different clips cutting between the similar shots but it’s always so hard picking the best bit for that one minute and I can never make my mind up so it’s taking me a very long time.
It’s more of an adventure video, it’s all [filmed] outdoors and we’re just on that adventure part of the film where they run away. I just knew I couldn’t recreate any of the indoor scenes as it would require set design and all of that stuff. There’s a couple of clips which are very intentionally similar, like the beach scene, but apart from that it’s a little sprinkle of inspiration.
Emma: Where did you record the music video?
Erica: We went to King’s Wood and we stumbled upon a beautiful fort which we didn’t make at all and it ended up being the main part of the video and we literally just found it on the way. We also went to Botany Bay. I was looking for a bay with rocks because they have this really iconic beach scene which has an enclosed part of the rocks, so I thought a rocky beach would be cool, and I found one. We also found another little village where I got in a boat.
My boyfriend and I made a deal where, on the Saturday, we would spend the day doing whatever he wanted to do, so we went to Duxford, which is a war museum, and spent all day there. Then, that night at 11pm, I planned out the locations for the shoot and wrote a shot list and printed it out. The next day we did my day which was the music video.
A lot of it is always just doing it on the day, there’s never a plan with me.
Emma: It must be really hard – fun but hard – being an independent artist and having to conceptualise and organise all of this yourself.
Erica: Um, yeah, I think it is also just trusting the people you work with because, Max, who films my videos, he’s just really good. And also, Elsie, who takes my photos. The cover photo for so many of my singles now have been in my living room including ‘Burn The Internet’, ‘Bunny’ and ‘Manic Pixie Dream Girl’. I had an old background which I used in my ‘Good Guys Gone’ video which I’ve just been reusing for my backgrounds but people haven’t noticed.
[For ‘Suzy Loves Sam’], I’m standing on a bunch of books as, for a square picture, it’s better to be the same height. I’m standing on some books and my boyfriend’s next to me and we’re only in my living room but it’s really cute for that tiny frame.
But, yeah, I think it’s just working with people who are equally as passionate about it and who I like to work with.
Emma: Last time we spoke, you said that over the next year you really wanted to play more live shows, and obviously you got to do that – you were supporting Zinadelphia and Remy Bond. What were these shows like and are there any more shows coming up for you?
Erica: They were amazing. I mean, Remy Bond was literally my resolution for 2025. It was my goal opening for Remy Bond and it was amazing to be able to do that! She’s really cool, and visually I kind of knew her fans would enjoy the stuff I make because she’s a bit 60s too. We’re not too similar but there’s definitely a crossover so it felt like a really good match. It was so fun and I actually hadn’t done a tour before with backing and stuff.
I’ve got a couple shows coming up with Kings Elliot. I’m doing Rotterdam and Cologne so that should be really fun! I would absolutely love to do a headline, one day, but we’ll see how that goes.
Emma: Are you releasing anything else you can perform at a potential headline show?
Erica: I’m doing an EP this year so there’s two more songs after ‘Suzy Loves Sam’. The whole EP is going to be singles, so there will be one more single after ‘Suzy Loves Sam’ and then the other one will come out as the EP comes out. I’m just gonna let them all shine, really, why not.
Personally, [as an artist], I’m like ‘who cares?’, ‘who would even buy tickets’ so I think I would start with one show and see if I can fill a room. I don't know, I’ve not done this. I think I could do a London show and see how that goes.