Creativity, work and day-to-day sound space, learn more about his music.
Julia Jackson will visit Mexico City for the first time, with a very special tour that includes residencies around the world, the Australian singer-songwriter promises to give us a Show intimate, between folk chords and a tour of his discography.
His latest album, Pre Pleasure, released in 2022, it left us wanting new music. Each song is a singular experience, open to the reflection of the sound diversity and themes connected to everyday life, without considering generations, as a universal experience.
Julia He does not limit himself, he expands his classic folk in unexpected fusions, adding synthesizers, wind and string instruments, and the mysticism of his voice, which opens new sonic spaces. Regarding her visit, we talked with the composer about her inspirations, upcoming music, and her creativity as a result of her work.
Two years after her last release, the singer released ““Shivers”, a single that transposes folk into a new abyss of musical possibilities. With this premiere, the curiosity of what is coming invades us, this is what he told us about his inspirations.
Right now, I don’t know, I’m starting to think about my next album, going into a fourth album feels very different than the first three. It feels more relaxed, I feel like I can have more fun and do it for myself, I don’t feel so pressured to try something with my music anymore. Now I feel very inspired by my community, in Melbourne, in my friends, it’s starting to feel like I’m more inspired by the local, everything around me and what’s happening around me, rather than something global. “I think I spent most of my career on tour, I haven’t been in Australia that long, I’ve been here for a few months now, so my community has been inspiring me.”
Thanks to this new world at the door, we know that what is around us will profoundly influence the composition, not only lyrically, but also in the musicalization. Especially if we take into account the clear evolution between the singer’s three albums.
“I’m figuring out right now where my music is going, I’m starting that process, I think in the past I’ve released my albums very quickly, I scheduled the time before I even finished writing. The pressure of the deadline and the producer made me finish the album, what happened, happened, I felt like I had no control over what was going to happen. This time I’m going to take it slower, I’m going to take the time to write it, I’m not going to rush it, although I want to finish it this year. I think I rush because I used to feel like I was running out of time in my life, maybe it’s just the fear of what actually working on something can reveal. Working on music is very, very difficult, I have had to accept that it is complex, although I feel like I have escaped because of how difficult it is, I have forced myself to do it, almost as in a moment of panic. I found a way to trick myself and do it without thinking about it so much, sometimes I feel like if I work on it too much my music will come out worse for some reason. “I don’t know exactly where my music is going, I just know that I will work hard on it and I think it will be interesting to see where it will go, if it takes me six months to record an album, instead of three weeks,” he commented. Julia Jacklin.
And yes, as surprising as it may seem, six months will be a long period of composition and production for the composer. Taking the risk of slow-cooking the next album and surprising ourselves with what can happen, letting the music flow without losing sight of the hard work behind each release.
Six months is a long period of time for me, but I’m trying to relax and be calm, I’m always like ‘come on, let’s do it’, I think I’m older now and I’m not a new artist anymore, with all the energy I have. “It just came in, I feel like that gives me the freedom to stop a little longer, which is a privilege, something very good,” he explained. Jacklin.
Let’s think that making music also involves hard work and that the composer recognizes its difficulty, so we enter into a more mature vision of her music. The limits were left at the beginning of everything, now it is time to let creativity grow at the pace of life itself. Previously, the singer stated that “creativity is work”, she responded to us about her current vision.
“It’s very interesting, I can’t believe I said that, but I do believe in it. I’m surprised I said that in the past, because it’s only now that I came to that conclusion. Sometimes I’m smarter than I think. I think you can have little ideas, for me as a singer-songwriter it’s like going for a walk and coming up with a beautiful verse of a song, things that come to you, but for them to be a fully formed piece of work is a lot of hard work. Part of the work is knowing when to stop, it is very difficult to stop, I almost always stop when I am already in the studio and I can’t work anymore, I am already there to record it. I think that the best worked hard on their music, it’s like any job, it’s complicated, it’s something that is sometimes forgotten about art, most people think that it’s just getting something from the heart onto the page, but it is work: getting something out of yourself is complicated, you have to look inward in the most uncomfortable places and then figure out how to give it tangible form, it’s hard and it doesn’t get easier.”
Rediscovering that level of vulnerability gives us the guideline to also know the core of the songs of Julia Jacksoneverything that gives rise to letters like “Love, Try Not To Let Go” either “Pressure To Party”, that in their intimacy also generate situations and experiences with which we can connect, giving rise to everyday life in music. Putting it live is, then, the way to give it that touch of reality and connection between the creation and the people who listen to it.
“I feel that the stage is what makes the most sense in this work, I do enjoy writing music in some way, but it is complex, recording is also complex, and the stage can be like that, but it makes me feel more connected to humanity than any other stuff. That’s when I realize that what I do has meaning, when I’m writing or recording, posting things on Instagram feels very disconnected from something real. Being on stage, connecting with people, I am excited to be in this tour, because I will be in more intimate places, in some cities I will do residencies, I will be doing many nights in some cities and that way I will be able to enjoy being there, immerse myself in them, something that I could not do when I visit quickly, I think it will be good to be able to connect with the people and their cities, being able to feel more grounded. I started playing when I was a little girl on stage, so for me on stage, I can connect with my childhood, think ‘this is so cool’. When I was a child I wanted to be a singer and now I am, I know that not many people cannot live their childhood dreams, it feels very good,” commented the singer-songwriter.
With this special reflection on what presenting a concert means to the composer, we are left with a good taste in our mouths and the excitement of what awaits us at her concert in Mexico. As a special treat, she told us how excited she was to visit and how happy she was to have a group of fans waiting for her on this side of the globe.
I’m very excited, genuinely, I’ve wanted to play in Mexico City for a long time, but it wasn’t working out and I wanted to build my career more, for a while it was like ‘you don’t have any fans in Mexico, it’ll be a bit silly to play there’, so I wanted to have the confidence that people would come to me Show. I’ve never been to Mexico either, I’ve always wanted to go, I’m probably more excited about this concert than any other, at least on this tour,” the singer concluded.
Julia Jackson will be presented in Room (B) of the Indie Rocks Forum! next April 6, don’t miss this Show only. Shall we meet there?
