Over an Instagram post of a bag with Marilyn Monroe’s face on it, Harmony Tividad wrote in chalky text, “I possess a Sort of Poetic On Accident Je Ne Sais Quoi.” Yet, Tividad’s je ne sais oui feels less like an accident, and more like a gift. Since Tividad arrived on the scene as half of indie-pop duo Girlpool, the LA-based artist has proven herself to be a consummate imagemaker and performance artist, capable of building complete and habitable worlds—funny, sexy, and strange worlds—with her work. Ahead of putting out her new single, the musician sat down to chat about it all.
Nicolaia Rips: Tell me about your new song “Anything”!
Harmony Tividad: I wrote it a few months ago. I feel so connected to the simplicity of it. I wrote it really quickly one evening while my boyfriend was out of town—it just poured out really. I was feeling his absence, but the space between us also felt weightless and nonexistent. It felt sacred to recognize that.
What was on your moodboard for the music video—I love the, like, hard Virgin Mary tears.
Amalia Irons is one of my dearest and oldest friends and longtime collaborators (she did the Girlpool “It Gets More Blue” video.) We have such aligned minds. I came to her with this idea for a video right after I posted a demo of me playing the song online. I told her I wanted to be crying and for it to be this kind of surreal, vintage video. Amalia made this amazing treatment with three character archetypes: the all-knowing angel, the whore of sorrows, and the truth-seeker. A lot of beautiful vintage women are on the moodboard—black-and-white footage, Lynch, etc. Amalia has the most incredible ideas and references; I think the world of her.
I feel like you’re such an LA girl. What’s your relationship like with the City of Angels?
It has been complicated—I grew up really resenting it, but I feel like the more I get into the history of LA and old movies, the more I feel part of something larger. Seeing how beauty, the gaze of cinema, and celebrity have evolved makes sense with the rise of the digital universe. However, I feel the more I detach from the current culture and see it through the lens of older art, the more I learn how to love her healthily.
How’s your mom?
She is so fabulous, but also the busiest person I know. Psychic as usual. My truest and bestest friend. I trust her with everything—she has my heart completely. She is the kindest, most generous person I know.
What was the last thing you bought? And what are you wearing this summer?
I last bought a cone bra on Etsy—I have always fantasized about having one. This summer, I will wear strange vintage hats, slips with boots, and sunscreen.
Do you identify as whimsical?
I think so. I can try not to, but it seems unavoidable at this point.
I really enjoy these meme caption/text pics you’ve been doing on Instagram. What are your tricks for self-reinvention and discovery?
I love changing and reframing how I see myself. I get so restless if I stay the same too long. I wanted to give myself permission to write outside of the song form, and it’s taken me a really long time to share my mind in this way—I think songs feel less vulnerable to me. There’s so much other decoration occurring, and when the words just sit naked, it can feel so much more bare.
Do you have any phases you regret?
The older I get the more every phase feels important—like I loved emo scene stuff in middle school and was on myspace and also am a huge musical theater person. I just feel like every shift in life heals me and is important. I couldn’t make what I’m making now without sharing something else that was more outside of my comfort zone.
Will there ever be a Girlpool reunion?
It could happen!
What else are you working on?
I have an album in the works—it’s pretty exciting. Yves Rothman and I have been working on it together for a while, and he is such an amazing collaborator and supporter. I love him, and his belief in me has changed my life. It’s more of this heartfelt, emotional indie stuff. Lots of songs I’ve been writing over the past few years that haven’t gotten to breath life yet. I’m super excited to share it when the time comes.
photos by DANI DRASIN
styled by BRITTON LITOW