Interview with singer-songwriter Julia Lucille

                 Chthonic is a rare album, a living metaphor. In the deep thematics of the underworld, Julia Lucille carves out a landscape of struggle and rebirth, a phoenix rising from the ashes, building a home of its own in a world that may be none too welcoming. Transformations need no permission to occur, they are born, either way, in mid flight or crash, and it is the unspoken in each of us that emerges when our psychic, physical ropes fray. In putting this album together, Julia admirably strove to highlight feminine aspects instrumentally "rejecting guitar parts and tones that sounded too aggressive or masculine in favor of balance and subtlety." Here emerges the evolution of a "passive girl becoming queen of the underworld," of "going really deep down into the darkest places emotionally and then coming back up," edges shimmering. In a time where our collective dreaming seems to be on decline, Chthonic sparks out into the manufactured darkness, piercing the veil and letting in much needed light.


AHC: What has this journey in music, so far, been like for you, the highs and the lows, and what life lessons do you feel you've picked up along the way?

Julia: When I first started to pursue music as a career in my early 20s I was really unsure about it. I didn't know if I had any real talent, I hadn't developed any stage presence and my songwriting wasn't very good. I felt very insecure, but I also felt curious about what might happen if I continued and could develop as an artist. I felt I had something to say. I'm 29 now, and every year has been slowly more and more empowering. I don't really worry about whether I have a right to be an artist anymore. I feel like I am beginning to work with music in a way that feels more like a confident exploration rather than having so many doubts. This album was a big step forward in all of that. I had to trust myself while navigating territory. Sometimes it feels like making art can be reduced to just being able to trust your gut in any and all circumstances--trusting yourself to make a series of artistic decisions.

AHC: What first drew you to music and what was your early musical environment like growing up? Were there pivotal songs for you then that just floored you the moment you heard them?

Julia: My parents are music lovers and some of my earliest musical memories are of my mom putting on Stevie Wonder and Joni Mitchell records and my dad putting on Bill Evans and Ahmad Jamal records. "Ladies of the Canyon" was incredibly inspiring to me and still is. Imagining all of the beautiful ladies living their lives in a beautiful place and being creative in their personal spaces. I also remember hearing "Here Comes the Sun" for the first time in a movie theater and thinking it was the most beautiful song I'd ever heard. I got an alarm clock radio in elementary school and it was always on, playing Mazzy Star, the Cranberries and all that great, sensitive 90s music. 

AHC: Do you remember the first song that you ever wrote or played? Or that first moment when you picked up a pen and realized that you could create whole worlds just by putting it to paper? 

Julia: The first songs I wrote were simple instrumentals on piano. I remember it always felt very natural. I took piano lessons while growing up and later guitar and my teachers would ask me to play them my songs and were very encouraging. I did have a moment while on vacation with my family. We were walking down the street in Paris and I realized I could write music in my head and hear music that wasn't there. I also remember going to music class in elementary school and disguising my voice to sound like the other children's voices and then going home later and singing to myself and realizing that my voice could do what I wanted it to and that that might not be normal. I also sang in church and was in musicals as a kid and was given solos and made to feel very special for my voice. I loved singing for people. 

AHC: Which musicians have you learned the most from? Or writers, artists, filmmakers etc?

Julia: Alela Diane was a revelation for me. Her album Dry Grass and Shadows was the first music I had heard that I thought--that's what I want. That's where I want to go. I learned lots of her songs to try and understand how her chords worked. Sibylle Baier was a similar experience. I couldn't believe Colour Green the first time I heard it. My friend sent me a link to it and I listened to it about ten times lying in bed. I began tuning my guitar down like hers and began to use chords like hers as well. That vein of almost extremely personal songwriting, in a folk tradition, but with with a more dreamy, modern quality really appeals to me. I'm also inspired by Julia Cameron and Brenda Ueland as well as Sofia Coppola and Woody Allen. All of these people share the attitude that art is about play and not judging yourself. Creating worlds, trusting yourself, trying new things and having fun. They all helped free me up and have a healthier relationship with art. 

AHC: What do you think makes for a good song, as you're writing and composing, is there a sudden moment when you know you've found the right mix, that perfect angle of light, so to speak? 

Julia: I like to record and listen back as I write. I feel that it all comes down to how it feels to listen to the song rather than play it. Sometimes it's more fun to play a complicated song, but a simpler version just sounds better and is the better choice. I like to write very freely and record it all as I go. Then I listen back and see if anything rings out. I'll often start with a ten or twelve minute ramble and then pick out my favorite words and favorite chords progressions. I'll keep listening back from time to time and keep refining and rerecording new versions of the song. Then there's always this moment about a month into a process where the song either will stand the test of time--or not. Probably 80% of my songs don't. 

AHC: This new album, Chthonic, is inspired by Persephone, a dark journey/ a rebirth, could you talk a little about how these themes came together for you and what they  mean for you personally and artistically? 

Julia: I've experienced intense periods of depression and periods of being in living situations and environments that did not work for me. And periods where I felt extremely isolated from the people around me. I think the Persephone myth appeals to me so much because I relate to that experience of going really deep down into the darkest places emotionally and then coming back up--of having those dual realities. I think seeing those experiences as part of a greater story really helps me. And also seeing those dark moments as something that could become empowering rather than something that's just a nuisance or something shameful. Persephone goes from being a sort of passive girl to becoming queen of the underworld. I do feel that experiencing pain can empower and enrich your life, and it can take you from being passive to being more proactive as you figure out what doesn't work for you and what does. You appreciate the good moments and the good things that happen to you so much more. For me, experiencing deep unhappiness has given my experiences of happiness a lot of potency, and I really value that. 

AHC: Do you consider music to be a type of healing art, the perfect vehicle through which to translate a feeling, a state of rupture/rapture, hope lost and regained? Does the writing and creating of the song save you in the kinds of ways that it saves us, the listener?

Julia: Yes, especially if I'm going through a painful period. If you can express what you're feeling and make something beautiful out of it, especially just after writing a song, I do feel the pain gets trasmuted and it feels wonderful. And songs can be informative as well--they can be a sort of therapist. Sometimes they'll tell you things you haven't acknowledged yet, like letting you know a relationship is toxic or has ended before you've even begun to see it. 

AHC: What are your fondest musical memories? In your house? In your neighborhood or town? On-tour, on-the-road?

Julia: My fondest musical memories have been the shows where I lose myself and feel like I'm really giving something and the audience is going along with me. Also those songwriting moments where I feel so jazzed about what I've created. Both are sort these empowering, out of body experiences that I really live for and I feel are really the reason I'm doing this. Working on Chthonic was also one of my fondest memories. Working with Dan Duszynski, who played Drums and Bass on the record and produced it, was such a creative and intense experience. We both cared so much about getting it right, and trying all sorts of creative ideas out while slowly getting each song to that perfect place was such an incredible experience. I've had so many wonderful evenings playing shows with friends in Austin, and going to my friends' shows. I'm so thankful for the music community here. I'm not exaggerating when I say that my friends are the most talented musicians I know. To spend time with them is such a privilege. They've taught me so much.

AHC: When you set out to write a song, how much does 'where the world is' in its current moment, culturally, politically, otherwise, influence the kinds of stories you set out to tell?

Julia: I think that influence is always there. I think each song has the personal and the meta/universal in it. And I do think that when you're writing as a woman, about your relationships and your life and the things you long for, that that's inherently political. I feel that a woman making art itself is political because you're sharing an alternate view of the world, and it often turns the 'standard' world on it's head or sees things very differently. Even my song Eternally. It's about ambivalence towards marriage. The desire for it and feeling also repelled by it and wanting to run away with your dearest friend instead. I feel that's politcal. It's about how we have these traditions like marriage that we idealize as a society, but at the same time historically marriages haven't been ideal for women. Marriage used to mean stripping your rights, your property, your voice even. So I think it's natural to feel confused about that. 

AHC: Do you have any words of advice for other musicians and singer-songwriters out there who are just starting out and trying to find their voice and their way in this world? What are the kinds of things that you tell yourself when you begin to have doubts or are struggling with the creative process?

Julia: I would reach out to other musicians in your area. See who is playing at local venues you like and see if you can meet them for a drink or play a show with them. I think music so so communal and it comes down to groups of friends supporting each other. Whether that's in one venue or one city or it's national or international, it's about supporting each other and feeling inspired about each other. I think it can be hard for musicians to reach out when they're starting out because musicians are often introverted, but I think the best thing you could do is find people you could encourage, support and believe in and who feel the same about you. These days when I have doubts and am struggling with my art or my ideas about how my life should be going, I think of all the things I have. It sounds corny but it works. I list all the things that are going well, all the people that I love, all the friendships that I treasure. I think being an artist is all about becoming, but it's important to not future trip too much.


For more information visit Julia's website at 
www.julialucille.com/

​Chthonic comes out April 7th on Keeled Scales. Preorder by visiting www.keeledscales.com/

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