Independent singer-songwriter Tarquin Alexandra reflects on the ambiguity of identity, the laboriousness of life, and the sadism of the medical institution through intricate and introspective lyrics.
In 2023, Tarquin posted “Symptoms Song” to social media. Within a few days, the video had garnered over a million views. It now sits at several million views on Instagram and TikTok, gathering tens of thousands of likes and comments from a community of disabled and chronically ill individuals isolated from the world.
Tarquin’s astuteness in her early writing attracted a small and loyal fanbase for her pop songs such as “Bad Habits” and “Vanity”. However, she felt the pop genre did not serve her in expressing her inner experience as a neurodivergent and disabled person in a world that favours neither. She found herself leaning into alternative folk and choral forms, best exhibited in the ethereal and haunting “Circling Your Block” and “A Tyrant’s Demise”.
Tarquin’s writing distills the dichotomous nature of invisible illness; the desire for wellness alongside the recognition for who her illness has made her.