Tilsen Turns a Real-Life Breakup Into Bittersweet Alt-Pop Catharsis on “Train To Vienna”
Canadian independent artist and songwriter Tilsen shares “Train To Vienna,” a bittersweet and emotionally charged alt-pop single inspired by the true story of ending a relationship aboard a train bound for Vienna. Pairing intimate autobiographical storytelling with an arrangement that steadily expands into something bigger and more cathartic, the track captures the difficult realization that loving someone doesn’t always mean a relationship is healthy enough to survive.
The setting is as literal as it sounds. While travelling by train to Vienna with her then-boyfriend, Tilsen reached a breaking point after realizing his insecurity had begun consuming too much of their relationship. Though she still cared deeply for him, she knew staying together was no longer right for either of them.
“The song captures that moment of knowing you have to leave someone even when you still care about them, and trusting that eventually, you’ll both be better off,” Tilsen explains.
While its title sounds like the setup for a film, its cinematic quality comes directly from real life. Turning the experience into a song allowed Tilsen to return to that pivotal moment with the distance necessary to see both sides of it, finding compassion and perspective within a decision that had initially been incredibly painful.
That complexity is central to Tilsen’s approach to songwriting. Rather than reducing relationships to heroes and villains, she gravitates toward the complicated psychology behind the ways people love, hurt, need, and ultimately leave one another. “I’m rarely interested in making someone completely the villain or myself completely the victim,” she says. “Even in painful stories, I’m usually looking for some kind of understanding, growth or humanity.”
For “Train To Vienna,” that process was particularly collaborative. Tilsen wrote the song alongside Bryn McCutcheon and Kirstyn Johnson as well as Jules/444BOY, a close friend she met abroad who had been with her immediately before the fateful train ride and knew what was about to happen. Their proximity to the story helped transform an intensely personal memory into something larger and more universal.
Since releasing her first music in 2019, Tilsen has amassed more than 20 million Spotify streams and earned repeated editorial support from major streaming platforms, including placements on Spotify playlists such as New Music Friday, Contemporary Blend, Tropical House, and Sad Beats. She has also opened for artists including BANNERS, Shawn Hook, Scott Helman, and Ryan Marshall.
Beyond her own releases, Tilsen is signed to SNGL Music Publishing (Grayson Music Group) and has written for artists including BANNERS, Delaney Jane, BRDGS, Madalen Duke, Nova May, and Molly Moore. Her songwriting has also appeared across film and television, including Magnum P.I., Virgin River, and CBC’s coverage of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.