Julia Wolf

Ever since her Spotify debut with “Captions”, New York based-artist, Julia Wolf has demonstrated her unique artistry. Indie pop at its core, her sound hits all the notes of a Billboard chart-topper while remaining singular through its distinct lyrics. She has seen impressive success this year; songs like “Play It Safe” and “Ghost” both have over one million streams and have earned her multiple spots on Spotify’s curated playlists. Her most recent single, the endlessly catchy “Hoops,” is some of the artists’ best music to date. After just a year of releasing her music, the artist has gained a significant fanbase and currently has over 180k monthly listeners. We recently spoke with the artist about her journey into music, exciting plans for the future, and more!

How did you get started making music?

The road to where I am now took a ton of trial and error, from failed collaborations to teaching myself how to produce. It all started in high school. Back then I was always eating lunch alone in the music room, mostly keeping to myself, and overall finding it hard to interact with people. But when my teacher said the only way I could perform in the senior showcase was if the song was original, I realized my shyness was able to flourish in this outlet of creativity, not wither. It felt so completely right to finally express what I was thinking, and that revelation led me to choose music as my future instantly. From there I progressed to writing over rap beats I’d find on youtube, to eventually making beats myself, always searching for a way to bring the sound in my head to life. It wasn’t until linking up with Jackson Foote of Loote, someone who without hesitation understood my vision, that all the pieces really started falling into place.

Has living in New York influenced your musical style? If so, how?

Without a doubt! The access I have to concerts that are a 20 minute subway ride away makes it easy to attend live shows. There's an energy when seeing a concert that motivates me to continue pushing towards my goals. Being able to see so many genres of music live is a surefire dosage of inspiration and I’m grateful to live in a city where life changing art exists just a few miles away.

Describe a real-life experience that inspired a song.

Everyday in college my friends and I would go and shoot hoops at the basketball court after class. I remember always showing up in these huge platform shoes and the skinniest jeans you’ve ever seen. And while I try to forget that part as much as possible, I realize now, retrospectively, that those days were less about the game and more about the conversations, the life advice, the daily place to go and air out our feelings. That’s what inspired Hoops. It’s a song solely for my friends and how much I value their honesty.

Congratulations on the release of Julia. Which song would you be most interested in playing live?

Thank you! “Chlorine” is by far one of my favorite tracks I’ve ever written. It has this kind of energy that I can’t wait to translate to a live performance; I think it’s really going to get the crowd moving. 

Did you encounter any setbacks during the production of the album? If so, how did you get through them?

There had been so many setbacks before linking up with Jackson. Round the clock I was trying to find producers to collaborate with but would get back demos that sounded unrecognizable to what I had sent. I felt like my creativity was constantly being challenged because the music in my head wasn’t finding a way to live in the real world. It was one of the most stressful and honestly sad time periods I had ever been through. I was even going to move to Italy last year with my father in a desperate need for change! But the way I got through it was simply by not giving up. I had told myself to keep learning, keep producing, keep searching. Eventually through one of my posts is how Jackson and I had connected, so I can’t imagine what would have happened if I had burned out too soon.

How has quarantine affected your ability to create music?

To be honest, most of my creating is done in my bedroom, so working in solitude is pretty familiar. I think it’s given me a lot of time to teach myself new things like photoshop and more recently after effects. What feels strange about it is the forced nature of it all. Knowing that I now have to stay in my room kind of messes up the freedom of choosing to work there. That being said, the lack of inspiration from the outer world has also made me dig into memories I haven’t visited in a while, using that kind of reflection as fuel for writing.  It has its pros and cons but I’m certainly looking forward to a future that is safe and open again! 

Walk us through your typical songwriting process. 

For me it’s always lyrics first. Then I sort of figure out the rhythm next, and melody is just whatever feels natural.  I usually get inspired by a single cool lyric that might pop up in my head, or an experience I go through that brings a lot of emotion out of me, and take it from there.  I like paying attention to detail and describing as much feeling as I can in concise wording.   

What is the best piece of advice you've ever received?

“Better alone than with bad company” is something my mother has been saying since I was in the womb. And for someone who’s on the shyer side it helped me feel comfortable in doing things myself and relying less on others. 

What can we catch you doing on your day off?

As of this moment I’d either be binging the last season of Gilmore Girls with breaks for caramel iced coffees, or grabbing my sister and spending the day in the city, probably starting the afternoon at Caffe Reggio (more coffee)  and roaming around Soho pretending we’re in a photoshoot for Vogue. Then we’d end the night with a Twilight movie marathon with friends. 

What's next for Wolf?

So. Much!  I’m ready to drop an album in the near future and expand alongside my music. I have plans for a clothing line which is currently in the works because fashion is something I’m also passionate about. Non vedo l'ora di condividere cosa sta arrivando! I would love to continue representing my Italian heritage as well, and overall being a voice for younger generations growing up the same way I did. Shy kids have a lot to say, and I want them to know that being your most authentic self will grant the most wins at the end of the day.