Produced by a Girl: 3-Question Artist Interview with Elina Felice "Bury Me"
- Produced by a Girl™
- Jun 23
- 4 min read
Once in a while Produced by a Girl comes across an artist and song that just resonates with the community, like truly gets why Produced by a Girl is Produced by a Girl. World meet Elina Felice - acclaimed singer/songwriter with the dreamiest vocals and rock aura that takes us back to the root of all great indie music. But what makes us jump and mosh for a moment in girlhood is her latest song "Bury Me", the lyrics, the quintessential poem of loves journey through a t-shirt which all us girls can relate too. Congrats Elise, epic song, and aura, we're so stoked you're here at PBG. Let's rock and get this interview started.
1. “Bury Me” starts with something wonderfully ordinary, a stolen Molson Canadian t-shirt, but it grows into something much deeper about devotion, memory, and the items that outlast a relationship. How did you realize this small, specific object could hold such a big emotional world?
It definitely wasn't the plan! The song genuinely started as one about a t-shirt, this running joke that I was never getting it back. I think the emotional world evolved naturally around it by just taking a closer look.
To me, an artist is just someone who takes the time to notice things. An artist allows ordinary moments to take on extraordinary meaning. It could have been just a late night conversation, an inside joke, an old shirt. But when I looked deeper, it was more than that. It was a life built with someone, almost by accident. It was sharing our hopes and dreams. It was the small things and everyday artifacts that told our love story.
2. Your work feels grounded in storytelling, but not in a clear, linear way. It has a lived-in quality where love, humor, grief, and identity all coexist. When you write a song like “Bury Me,” do you see it as documenting a memory, changing it, or trying to keep the version of yourself who experienced it?
I do see storytelling as a big part of my artistry and songwriting. I love songwriting as a medium for storytelling because I think it can be immersively non-linear. The motif or emotional driver (in this case the t-shirt) can evolve and take on different meanings as the song progresses. Verses can dive deeper into world building and chorus’ act as triumphant refrains that contour over time.
Real-life moments and experiences definitely inspire a lot of my work. I like the idea that my own ordinary life has enough magic and beauty to be worth immortalizing. Looking back, it's nice to see my songs as chapters in my story. They’re snapshots of a moment in time, how I was feeling, what I was thinking, a time capsule.
It can be quite revealing and vulnerable to write in such a confessional manner. But I find the more personal it is, the more people tend to connect to it, and the more universal it becomes somehow.
3. You’ve talked about music as a powerful way to promote queer visibility. “Bury Me” feels joyful, aching, romantic, and powerful all at the same time. What does it mean for you to write a love song that doesn’t reduce queer experience to just pain or pride, but allows it to be funny, messy, intimate, and fully human?
You're so right that usually queer stories are usually either pain or rainbows. There’s a whole lot more to it and it really speaks to my purpose as a songwriter and artist. I want to create queer art that is deeply personal to me, while also being universal and about quintessentially and uniquely queer experiences. I think this is the goal of most art - it’s about me, but it's also about you, because we’re connected through our shared humanity.
Music is a powerful tool for queer visibility because of its ability to tell stories with depth. People are only afraid of things they don't understand, things they see as different than their own. Part of my mission is queer visibility through normalizing our experiences and stories, honoring their complexity and intricacy.
I also hope that my music can help queer people everywhere, particularly those who aren’t ‘out’ or are living in places where we’re not accepted, feel a little less alone. Even if you can’t access queerness or community in real life, queer music and media are accessible to anyone with internet access, so my music is a love letter to them too.
Bonus Question: What does Produced by a Girl mean to you personally?
The music industry (and the whole world?) is so painfully male dominated. To me it means having the bravery to take up space - in this industry and as an artist.
About Elina: Elina Filice is a singer, songwriter, and storyteller known for songs that defy genre and interactive live performances. Her music is soulful and melodic while being influenced by blues and spoken word. Now based in Toronto, Elina has entertained audiences across three continents. Her music has received critical press acclaim, worldwide airplay, and official Spotify Editorial support. She is the founder of music marketing startup Drop Rocket, which empowers independent artists to release music better through innovative project management software. Elina is a strong advocate for queer visibility, and regards music as a powerful tool for the queer community.
Written By Chief PBG Press Editor: Mary Knoblock
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