JULS TALKS HEARTBREAKER

Interviewed by Culture Coast Talks editor Daniel John. Interview transcripts might have been edited for length and clarity.

How did the cool hook of this beat start?

I wrote the hook for my new single, 'Heartbreaker' in my bedroom in Los Angeles last summer. I distinctly remember looking out my window and thinking about how heartbreak has a butterfly effect of sorts. People never break more hearts than when they are heartbroken themselves. So I decided to write a song about this cycle of heartbreak and heartbreaking, building off of this wordplay to create the hook.

Does this butterfly finds a happy ending?

I read 'The Fault in Our Stars' in my early high school years and one quote really stuck with me, “It’s a metaphor, see, you put the killing thing between your teeth, but you don’t give it the power to do its killing.” This song is about a girl who puts the killing thing between her teeth, who thinks she won’t give it the power to hurt her, but who lets its intoxicating taste cloud her better judgment. It’s about a girl who watches as the same flame she was once so enamored with grows and engulfs the reflection of the girl she once was. She may never be the same but that’s kinda the point, our hardships, our losses, turn us into new better versions. It's not a song of loss or sorrow but rather it’s a song of growth and empowerment. If you take one thing away from this song, I hope it’s this, the story doesn’t end with the ashes, they simply mark a new beginning.

Having written songs since you were about twelve, or so, what has having music and songwriting in your life meant for you?

Songwriting has always felt like an extension of self, like something interwoven into the fibers of my being. And music? It feels like the truest expression of who I am. I have given it much thought and there is nothing I would rather be doing than exactly what I do, in fact, I couldn’t really stop if I tried, melody or lyric ideas are constantly running through my mind, and the weirdest things inspire me. Sometimes, I even wake up in the middle of a slumber just because I dreamt something beautiful and must record it before it is forgotten and disappears into the ethers (laughs).

Was it love at first sight between you and music?

I began humming and singing before I could even really talk, my fierce admiration for music was evident from a really young age, and one of my earliest memories is watching my grandfather’s hands fly across the keys of his piano. My mom said I would sit on the piano stool with him and listen for hours, only becoming antsy when she tried to move me away from the music. Undoubtedly, my pull towards music has always felt innate and reverent and this passion has only intensified with age.

Is there a place where you feel most inspired to create?

I think that my music is most inspired by the ocean. I feel like life is a lot like swimming in the ocean, scary, exhilarating, dangerous, beautiful, and breathtaking. I often found myself driving to the water in high school and writing for hours in front of the ocean, the highs and lows of the ocean reflect the highs and lows of young adulthood, and nothing inspires me more creatively. For this reason, I do believe that my sound reflects the feeling of the ocean, and a shared thread of ambiguity and ethereality runs through both.

How rewarding is it now seeing your music move across oceans and being enjoyed, and related to, by people from all over the world?

Entirely surreal and heartwarming. I feel so lucky and grateful to be able to do what I get to do.

Where in the world would you love to tour?

Oh my gosh, I would absolutely love to go to Japan. I’ve always been so enamored with Japanese culture and I think performing there would be the most awe-inspiring experience.

This November you’re already set to perform at The Viper Room. That is obviously such an iconic venue to perform at, how excited exactly are you for that?

I am so excited. That kind of growth is beyond my wildest imagination and I’m so grateful for the opportunity to perform at such an iconic venue, where so many of my biggest idols have played.

If we leave heartbreak aside and focus on something heartwarming, you working so closely with your sister, Jacqs. What does it mean for you to have her to lean on in in your artistry?

Jacqs has been my best friend, sister, and manager since the very beginning, there couldn’t be a Juls without Jacqs. We have watched each other grow up, and I feel really grateful to have her by my side on this journey. My favorite thing about having Jacqs as my manager is seeing the pride on her face when I come off stage. She’s been there every step of the way, she’s believed in me and my potential even when I entirely sucked. For this reason, there’s nothing more rewarding than achieving things together and looking back at how far we have come on this shared journey.