Emerging voice, JULA has shared the music video for ‘Leave’, her debut single via Tall Mountain Records released on May 31st, 2019. The song was written by JULA and co-produced alongside Jan Schröder (known for his work with Causes, DO, Mainstreet and Martin Garrix), while the mix and master was handled by Ian Grimble (Daughter, Sinead O’Connor, Mumford & Sons, and Radiohead) and Frans Hendriks respectively. JULA is set to release her debut EP, PHOENIX, in 2019.
JULA’s sound is influenced by her appreciation and studies of Jazz music, as well as the music of Björk, Muse and Destiny’s Child. Imagine a mix of Daughter and Roisin Murphy with the downcast pop-hues of Lykke Li, this would be one way to describe the sound of JULA.
‘Leave’ features an unpretentious, minimal instrumental that allows JULA’s warm, controlled voice to shine through and creating a cool, open and musing ambience. The video presents the selfsame atmosphere, a stark landscape with the artist performing slow and contemplative movements. JULA is made-up with bold pink eye-shadow, a colour symbolic of affection, harmony and inner peace, wearing a silver gown, in turn symbolizing a modern glamour, grace and sophistication. As the track draws to an end, we watch JULA depart, plunging deeper into the striking environment. It is a wonderfully simple performance of ‘Leave’ and one which is conceptually well considered.
When asked about the theme of her debut single JULA says: “I remember when I first had the idea for this song; I was at home with my loop station just improvising, making soundscapes. It was a cold day and as I sat there, this song just came to me. It’s about a feeling I sometimes have, a weight that I carry with me. A feeling that overwhelms me, which I can not escape. I wallow in it for a while, cover myself in it and then, all of a sudden, it’s gone. It’s a very lonely feeling, very dark, but it’s not necessarily negative, it’s a part of me I have learned to accept and even appreciate sometimes; without the low, I can’t experience the high. That is what ‘Leave’ is about.”