We were lucky to catch up with Julia Kahn recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Julia, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
I’m really excited because I feel like the most meaningful project I’ve ever worked on is actually the project that I am wrapping up right now. It’s my new EP coming very soon and a very special project to me that feels like I’ve poured my entire heart and soul into it. Sonically I wanted to create a world that was ethereal and raw, and it tells the first full chapter to my story. It’s about the feminine journey inward, and towards finding self-love/growth that I have stumbled upon throughout my own journey these past few years. It’s about both the dark and light sides of my journey, and how both are so necessary for transformation. Women in general and the “divine feminine” have this way of rebuilding after darkness and turning pain into something beautiful and I really wanted this project to reflect that concept in a way. I wrote this EP and co-produced this project with a great friend of mine Phil Barnes, who’s insanely talented and made the process so special as well. Sonically, we use a lot of contrast and had the production throughout reflects that theme from darkness to finding that light within. With this project, I wanted to create this world centered on transformation, self-love, and growth, and create something that could serve as a kind of companion to anyone on their own journey to finding self-love. Something to lean on. Because that’s what creating this project was for me. It got me through that journey of moving through dark times in my life, and figuring out how to turn them into something meaningful.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
I have always loved writing, singing and creating since I can remember, but my journey as the solo artist I am today truly started in college, where I started to learned how to produce in Ableton and write in an impactful way and really find my sound as an artist for the first time. I sing, song write and produce now, but growing up, I learned to develop my voice and craft being the lead singer of a soul/alternative band with some great friends of mine, and then eventually began to find my own unique sound and story that I wanted to tell as a solo artist. I was inspired from so many different mediums and genres like alt rnb, indie, soul, and electronic music and nature, transformation, movies, life, etc. I was always obsessed and so infatuated with stories and listening to full concept albums from my favorite artists, that I would go in the car and listen to these albums from top to bottom, dissecting the story, underlying meanings and production layers of each of them constantly, studying them in a way. Doing this for so many years I feel is what lit a fire in me to want to create meaningful, impactful, conceptual art of my own, and really tell a story in a way that inspires people and reaches the deeper places like those albums did for me. Music has always been such a saving grace and deep inspiration for me, and my goal has always been to create music and art that does that, that is sincere and really makes an impact and takes you into it’s own world sonically and emotionally when you listen to it. Music that inspires and makes you feel deeply in some way and has those layers to dive into and get lost in.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
My mission has always been to create music and art that reflects the truth in things, inspires and empowers people to love themselves. To create music that can reach people on some deeper level. My greatest hope is to make music that can bring some form of light to this world in one way or another, and that can help someone feel not quite so alone whenever they turn it on and listen to it. The power and magic of music to me is how deeply it can inspire, empower and bring people together like no other medium can, and forever have just wanted to be a part of that and create more of it.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
I think the most rewarding aspect of being an artist/creative is feeling and seeing the connection that people have to the music you create from your heart, and the connection it brings between us and within ourselves too. And just witnessing how music can help us all feel so many different emotions and then be able to connect with one another about it in so many ways, and feel so inspired by it. It’s beautiful. Just the pure act of singing, creating, flowing, writing, and expressing from the heart and sharing it afterwards, feeling it all come together is truly one of the best feelings in the world.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.juliakahnofficial.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliakahn/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Julia-Kahn-2128672690547075/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/julia__kahn?lang=en
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Zg-pVlCVKu32gountCxBA
Image Credits
Ashley Hurst