"Electra Heart" is a song recorded and produced by American disc jockey Betatraxx. It features guest vocals from Welsh singer-songwriter

Marina Diamandis Marina Lambrini Diamandis (; el, Μαρίνα-Λαμπρινή Διαμάντη; born 10 October 1985), known mononymously as Marina (often stylised in all caps), and previously by the stage name Marina and the Diamonds, is a Welsh singer and ...

, released under the stage name Marina and the Diamonds, who co-wrote the track with him. Diamandis first used the song in a

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

in August 2013, as part of a visual series created to promote her second studio album, ''

Electra Heart ''Electra Heart'' is the second studio album by Welsh singer Marina Diamandis, released under the stage name Marina and the Diamonds. It was released on 27 April 2012 by 679 Artists and Atlantic Records. Diamandis collaborated with producers i ...

'' (2012). The finalized version of "Electra Heart" was digitally distributed as a

promotional single A promotional recording, or promo, or plug copy, is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as ...

on May 5, 2014, through Pilot Records. A classical version and two remixes of the song, including one by

Teddy Killerz Teddy Killerz are a Russian and Ukrainian electronic music group composed of Grigory Cherekaev, Anton Mashevsky and Oleg Cholovskyi. They also perform under their individual stage names as Garud, Place 2b, and Paimon (in respective order). Tedd ...

, were released shortly after. Lyrically, "Electra Heart" serves as the end to the fictitious Electra Heart persona that Diamandis invented for her album, effectively killing the character. The song's genre was labeled as pop, while the Teddy Killerz Remix was called a

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

track. The multiple releases of "Electra Heart" received generally favorable reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

, with one of them referring to the original version as a satisfying conclusion to Diamandis' album. The song's accompanying music video is a compilation that features Diamandis ending her persona's life, concluding the ''Electra Heart'' era.

Background and release

In 2012, Welsh singer-songwriter

, using the stage name Marina and the Diamonds, released her second studio album, ''

''. A

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

described as "a visual project", it discusses a fictitious persona named Electra Heart, invented by Diamandis, to represent popular female American archetypes. She explored four different ones on the album, including "Homewrecker", "Primadonna", "Su-Barbie-A", and "Teen Idle". To effectively end the persona's life, the song "Electra Heart" was created to complete the era. Betatraxx, the stage name of American disc jockey Timothy Nelson, first produced "Electra Heart" for a

on Diamandis' official

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel. It was featured in the finale to her 11-part ''Electra Heart''-themed video series, uploaded on August 8, 2013. Despite the 2013 video appearance, "Electra Heart" was not formally released for another year, due to unknown circumstances. The song was first sent out for digital download and

streaming Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...

on May 5, 2014, through Pilot Records, in the United States and Canada. Additionally, Betatraxx created a classical, instrumental rendition of "Electra Heart". It was digitally released to North and South American countries on June 9, 2014, through Psi Sci Records, and lasts 6 minutes and 38 seconds. Diamandis is credited as a featured artist on the original release of the track, but her role is omitted from the classical version. "Electra Heart" is not featured on Diamandis' ''Electra Heart'', despite sharing the same name. The song was written by Betatraxx and Diamandis, with the former solely handling the production and being credited as a composer on the song's classical mix. Betatraxx remixed a new version of "Electra Heart" and released it as a free download, via his

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...

profile, on May 24, 2014. Russian and Ukrainian music group

also remixed the song, and digitally distributed it in June 2014. In 2022 for Electra Heart's 10th anniversary, the track and " E.V.O.L" were remastered and put on "Electra Heart (Platinum Blonde Edition)" also allowing them to be played on vinyl for the first time.

Music and lyrics

Marina Diamandis (14091068631) (cropped) at Fendi close crop

Musically, "Electra Heart" has been described as a pop song. Besides the original version of the song, the Teddy Killerz Remix was described as a

track that suits Diamandis' vocals, while the Betatraxx remix was noted for its "hard hitting bass that asinfused with a classical undertone," according to a writer for ''The DNA Life''. Khris Davenport from ''

Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

'' noted that the remix added "some tough electro-fied beats" to the instrumentation, including some "nods to '90s-era breaks sounds". According to its sheet music, "Electra Heart" is set in the

time signature The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...

of common time, and has a moderately fast

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

of 128 beats per minute. The song is composed in the

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

F minor F minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature consists of four flats. Its relative major is A-flat major and its parallel major is F major. Its enharmonic equivalent, E-sharp mi ...

and is largely instrumental, with just one set of lyrics throughout. It opens with Diamandis introducing herself as "I'm Electra, I'm Electra Heart" to the

chord progression In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from the common practice ...

of Am-Am-Dm. Given the song's subject matter regarding the Electra Heart character, it has been described as a

swan song The swan song ( grc, κύκνειον ᾆσμα; la, carmen cygni) is a metaphorical phrase for a final gesture, effort, or performance given just before death or retirement. The phrase refers to an ancient belief that swans sing a beautiful so ...

Reception and promotion

The different versions of "Electra Heart" received generally positive reviews from

. The song was lauded by ''On Campus''s Amer El-Mousa, who explained that the song is exactly what Diamandis' fans wanted, acknowledging that it was the final release from ''Electra Heart''. She continued, saying: "Marina did wonders with her era and we hope to see more of her soon." In 2019, Ryan Roschke from PopSugar featured "Electra Heart" on his list of the 35 best songs to play at

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...

parties A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature fo ...

. Davenport, reviewing the Teddy Killerz remix of "Electra Heart", praised it, describing it as "hot and heavy" and "proper rage music"; he also expressed shock that Diamandis' "vocals een't twisted in different dance music directions on a more regular basis". The accompanying 2013 music video for "Electra Heart" features the original version of the song. It was directed and edited by British visual artist Margarita Louca. The clip is a compilation of the 11 others from her ''Electra Heart'' series, which began with parent album track "Fear and Loathing". One scene was filmed specifically for "Electra Heart", with Diamandis returning with a "long hair" look. Just like the song, the video finds Diamandis killing off the Electra Heart character. Diamandis appears in a number of outfits and scenes, to which

Fuse Fuse or FUSE may refer to: Devices * Fuse (electrical), a device used in electrical systems to protect against excessive current ** Fuse (automotive), a class of fuses for vehicles * Fuse (hydraulic), a device used in hydraulic systems to protect ...

summarized: "fans saw the singer go blonde, shower with male models and eat the saddest meal ever". Alongside its release to YouTube, Diamandis posted on her

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

account: "Goodbye, Electra Heart!".

Track listings

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from

Tidal Tidal is the adjectival form of tide. Tidal may also refer to: * ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple * Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim * TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music * Tidal (servic ...

. * Timothy Nelsonperformer, composer *

performer

Release history

References

External links

* {{Marina Diamandis 2014 songs Marina Diamandis songs Songs written by Marina Diamandis