Miki Ratsula and the healing open wounds, strength, grace of "elephant" (Official Video)

 

"Of all the things on the internet / I don't think I'll get / The awful things someone can say / To someone they've not met..."

The sheer amount of open wounds, healed and healing revealed in the gentle, incredibly moving folk / bedroom pop "elephant" by Finnish-American trans / nonbinary artist, singer-songwriter Miki Ratsula may touch you so deeply as to change you. Change being the operative word as "elephant", at it's core, is about acceptance and self actualization. The lyrical cuts are many as Ratsula again is an open book about their experience transitioning and becoming their best self and their own self. From top to bottom, the beautiful and beautifully revealing poetry delivered with an expansive honesty will surely deeply touch anyone who has an empathetic heart and maybe even chip away at those who don't. 

"Of all the things on the internet
I don't think I'll get
The awful things someone can say
To someone they've not met
See, I fought my insurance
And I fought with my mother
So hate me when I'm shirtless
Cause I couldn't be bothered

Yeah, I made it here on my own
And I've made it clear

I've spent too long hiding away
Made it easy for your display
But I did my due diligence
Exhausted all my innocence
So fuck being the elephant
This room needs something different"

I absolutely adore the vocal melodies, the touching pre-chorus and the chorus that literally has chills skating across my skin. Stylistically I also love the transformations that the song goes through and maybe the tonal arc itself is a metaphor. The quiet beginnings that are revisited at the end and flooding sounds bolstered by airy orchestrations and rapid beats signal in my brain a song started out in an empty bedroom and becoming an adult contemporary opus, an anthem for millions, for anyone having a multitude of struggles, challenges of all sorts and finding their way, in their own way.   

LINER NOTES:

[Acclaimed artist Miki Ratsula returns with a special single dedicated to anyone who has felt like the elephant in a room, a powerful analogy for feeling like the odd-one-out in a situation. “Elephant” acknowledges how exhausting it can be to hide who you are, but the celebratory and upbeat sound encourages celebration and ownership of being different and owning one’s identity.]

"Swear I tried to be a daughter
Look right in family photos
Lost myself underwater
Thank god I found a lifeboat
Then I fought my insurance
So I'd look more like my brother
Of course I'm going shirtless
'cause my surgeon did wonders

Yeah, I made it here on my own
And I've made it clear

I've spent too long hiding away
Made it easy for your display
But I did my due diligence
Exhausted all my innocence
So fuck being the elephant
This room needs something different

Look in my eyes
See that I'm real
I'm not a ghost
I'm somebody you can feel
Look in my eyes
See that I'm real
I'm not a ghost
I'm somebody you can feel

I've spent too long hiding away
Made it easy for your display
But I did my due diligence
Exhausted all my innocence
So fuck being the elephant
This room needs something different

I've spent too long hiding away
Made it easy for your display
But I did my due diligence
Exhausted all my innocence
So fuck being the elephant
This room needs something different"

Hell yes, such an amazing song. 

-Robb Donker Curtius

THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM 

https://open.spotify.com/artist/3Yq0Ww7oAbgxcoOxthlS30

https://www.instagram.com/mikiratsula/

https://www.facebook.com/MikiRatsulaMusic/

https://www.mikiratsula.com/

https://x.com/mikiratsula


Based in Southern California, Miki Ratsula has been releasing music independently since they were 16, having racked up over 50 million streams in the process. Even before the release of their first 2022 full-length debut album i owe it to myself, the Finnish-American artist built a sizable audience by openly and honestly welcoming people into their world, from coming out to getting top surgery to struggles with mental health. Miki went on the road, completing their first national tour supporting Lauren Sanderson and Jordy, followed by dates with Ambar Lucid & Sammy Rae & The Friends. Not only has Miki connected more deeply with their audience over the past year, but they’ve also received praise and playlisting by the likes of Billboard Pride, them., Under the Radar, PopMatters, The Advocate, and more. They followed the album with their made for them EP, featuring gender-neutral covers of songs originally sung by Phoebe Bridgers, Harry Styles, and more.

Miki Ratsula, Southern California trans / nonbinary artist, "elephant" (Official Video), bedroom pop, alt pop, folk indie, adult contemporary, cathartic, bloodletting, honest, revealing, survivorship, anthem,