Our Origins feature series provides artists with a space to run through everything that went into their latest project. Today, Kings Elliot breaks down her latest single and video, “‘Til I Die.”
Alt-pop up-and-comer Kings Elliot may only have an EP’s worth of songs out, but her studied approach to songwriting is already attracting attention. Today (May 20th), she shares her newest single, “‘Til I Die,” and its accompanying video.
Born in Switzerland and now based out of London, Elliot spent her formative years obsessing over the technical minutiae of her favorite songs, the details usually ignored by a young music consumer. After hearing a song, she’d race home and print out the lyrics, carefully pouring over the relationship between the words on the page and the structure of the music.
Such intimate knowledge can only lead to one thing — creating music of one’s own. Elliot’s resulting sound finds itself rooted in the tradition of emotional, singer-songwriters, with passionate vocals and meticulous arrangements. Her debut EP, 2021’s Chaos In My Court, quickly garnered acclaim, landing her festival slots and an invite to open for Imagine Dragons.
With “Til I Die,” she doubles down on her strengths. It’s dramatic, piano-driven, and features choral vocals reinforcing the track’s strong emotions. The Bonnie and Clyde-inspired video is unafraid to bask in the intensity of the drama, as we see Elliot have a falling out with what seems to be a romantic partner set to the backdrop of a barren, open field and black-and-white flashbacks.
“The song is truly written as a letter to myself and my mental health,” she tells Consequence. “I needed to tell myself that I was going to accept who I was, or at least come to terms with it, because I know my whole world could fall apart tomorrow, and the one thing that isn’t going anywhere, is me.”
Aiming for universal catharsis via personal testimony, Elliot hopes to help ease the struggles of her fans by sharing her own experience with mental illness. The art for the single, inspired by sad clown imagery, marks exactly that. “To me it’s filled with melancholia and sadness but also a great amount of beauty, albeit so very tragic,” she tells Consequence. “I love it so much, it sums up mental illness like depression, anxiety or a personality disorder.”
Watch the video for “’Til I Die” below, followed by Elliot’s explanation of what inspired the track. She’ll also be touring America starting in August, opening for Imagine Dragons and Macklemore. Grab tickets here.
