Photo Credit: WOLF
The young Italian-American artist is the definition of DIY: she writes all her own music, creates her own artwork as well as animations. After a series of underwhelming meetings with producers, none of whom understood Julia’s perspective, she also began self-producing her music, allowing her to stay true to her voice and artistic vision. Wolf eventually did meet producer, Jackson Foote, who understood her vision like no other and has worked with him ever since. This hard work and individuality has paid off, garnering more than 50 million streams and a dedicated fanbase.
How goes it, Julia?
So well I’m heading to Scotland after this chat so pretty buzzing about that!
Wow, what for?
I go with my mom and sister every summer! We are massive Harry Potter fans so every year we go and pay our homage haha
Sounds incredible!
It will be and I can’t wait!
Well while we have you tell us more about your story! You’ve come a long way since your first steps into the NYC scene. Tell us more!
Yes it’s so crazy to think about that actually! I started writing music so early on in my life and out of necessity you might say…
I used to be the loner kid in high school, didn’t have many friends and all so I would eat my lunch by myself in the music room and the piano became my outlet basically. This would keep going for years until one day my music teacher asked me to perform at the senior talent show but he said I had to play an original song.
Were you embarrassed at the idea of performing in public?
Terrified rather! But my teacher was trying to push me because he knew I had it in me so I went home and wrote the song I would then perform at the talent show and realized how amazing it was to be able to communicate your deepest feelings without having to talk to anyone still. That was the turning point for me!
Amazing! Do you remember that very song and what it was about?
Oh yeah! It was a song about friendship and having to leave your best friend and go to college.
How did you develop your writing and musical style since then?
It was a lot of trial and error! I knew what I wanted my music to sound like but it took time to find the right producers and collaborators to make it come to life. My style is a mix between hip hop beats and indie sounding vocals so it’s quite a tough cocktail to shake!
You seem to have cracked the code though! How did you develop your lyrical style?
Same process really only for lyrics I understood almost immediately that I couldn’t write about things I don’t know or haven’t experienced. I need to feel personally attached to the things I talk about in my music so I decided I had to write about my personal experiences and what I go through as an individual
Totally! There seem to be some recurring themes in your lyrics too…
Definitely! I want my audience to feel empowered and validated when listening to my songs. There have been so many times people have walked all over me and underestimated my potential, especially as a young woman in the entertainment industry and I want all the young women out there who cultivate the passion for music and arts to feel like they have the power to make it!
Which brings us to your latest track ‘Hot Killer.’ Quite a powerful title. How did you come up with that?
I dreamt about it!
Really? Do tell!
I had a dream that these girls were painting the word hot killer on the front pocket of their jeans and thought it was pretty cool though I didn’t know how to make it work storytelling wise since I didn’t think I could call myself a hot killer you know? But then my producer Jackson said it had to be in the first person so I started singing it and realized it was the most powerful thing ever! Just imagine a bunch of people singing along those exact words! It’s like their singing about themselves and lifting themselves up and feeling the empowerment!
Very cool! Speaking of hot killers, you just toured with Fletcher. A hot killer herself! How was it?
Just the best! It was my first big tour and I couldn’t have asked for a better act to open for! You had to be there! I was basically unknown to Fletcher’s fans and they welcomed me like I was a star! Before you know it they were buying my tees and I was singing their boobs at the merch table! A dream come true!
Crazy! What was the most important lesson you learned from Fletcher?
Watching her perform really taught me a lot about the power of speaking to your listeners. I was always afraid I would talk too much or too little and not involve my audience enough but when I saw her do it so naturally I realized it’s extremely important to take a breather and just interact with your fans during your performance
Very true! Let’s wrap up with this: what’s your advice to young aspiring artists in this industry, especially young women?
Resilience is the most important thing, in my opinion. I have been flown out to meetings and got stood up several times in my life and it might happen again who knows but I can keep my head up and get past it because I know where I’m headed and what my path is. So put the work in and prove them wrong because you will feel small and worthless but you need to remember that if it was easy everyone would do it, right?
