READ: Someone You Need to Know – Julia Holter
Um, start with this. Whoa.
Who is Julia Holter and where did she come from? She definitely has a unique edge, doesn’t she? NPR is hosting her brand new release ‘Loud City Lights‘ this week so if you’re as curious as I am about her, check it out.
Some facts about her:
Julia is based out of LA, her full name is Julia Shammas Holter, and she is 28. Her latest release is a follow up to the critically acclaimed Ekstatis, her 2nd album. She holds a degree in composition (explains a lot), and her father worked with Pete Seeger.
I think what drew me to Julia, besides her completely unique sound, is her ability to tell a story in a new way. Her quirky production and arrangements really sell you on her message. Just listening to her amazing first single ‘World,’ brings you into a rich and expansive place, like she’s invented a world of her own and you’re the guest of honor.
She reminds me of Fiona Apple in a sense, though the aesthetic is much more ambient, and isn’t quite as focused. Both artists have a sense of theater about them. They set their songs on a stage, one uses a ferocious personal exfoliation to build her characters, and the other gets inspired by French cinema and cuts her images from that cloth. Both are surreal and mesmerizing in their own right.
Perhaps Julia’s work is a little too bleak and removed for some, still I find an otherworldly beauty between the pirouetting notes.
Check out her tracks ‘World,’ ‘Hello Stranger,’ and ‘In the Green Wild.’
Fuzztastic.