Drawing from folk and electronic music, rising British artist Elena Garcia, best known as Tonguetied sees her work as a balance-point between Julia Jacklin and Grimes with nods from Young Fathers, Kate Bush, Caroline Polachek, Daughter and Yuné Pinku.
In a relatively short period of time, Garcia’s work has caught the attention of major British outlets like The Independent, Clash Magazine and BBC Radio 6. Building upon a growing profile, Garcia’s Tonguetied debut EP BLOOM is slated for an October 27, 2023 release.
BLOOM reportedly sees Garcia pairing the songwriting of a diarist, carefully treading a line between a direct and indirect gaze with what’s quickly becoming her trademark production style — arpeggiated synth pulses paired with her ethereal delivery.
The EP’s latest single “Selfish Girl” is built around glistening synth pulses, thumping beats and a driving groove serving as a lush and silky bed for Garcia’s ethereal vocal, expressing yearning to fit in, frustration, the sensation of not quite fitting in, and unease within the turn of a phrase — and within a lived-in specificity that should feel familiar to almost all of us.
“Born from a place of frustration, ‘Selfish Girl’ was one of the fastest songs I’ve ever written. The lyrics and melody came to life within around 15 minutes,” Garcia explains.
“As I grow and find my footing in this strange and very often unfair world, I become increasingly aware of those around me who don’t seem to align on the importance of self reflection. We all make mistakes, and all have moments of taking our lives for granted, but a perpetual inability to entertain the privilege you walk through life with, starts to become inexcusable.
Navigating friendships and communication in your 20s can be difficult – Selfish Girl provides me with an outlet to scream ‘I don’t care what you have to say’ into the musical abyss, and save my more put-together and perhaps constructive conversational approach, for real life.”
Shot by Zak Watson of Timestorm Productions, the accompanying video for “Selfish Girl” captures the rising British artist at dawn in silhouette and with sweeping cinematic aplomb and in brooding shots in stark, dream-like wood scenes.
