Exclusive Interview with Julia Klot

September 22, 2024

Exclusive Interview with Julia Klot

We got the chance to meet Julia Klot, an amazing pop artist from NYC who writes her own music with beautiful, intricate piano melodies and an impressive vocal range. We talked about her new single, the artists that inspire her, how her career’s been going, and the role women play in the music industry.

1- “Lie” introduces a fresh funk-pop sound to your discography. What inspired this genre shift, and to what degree the creative process is different from your previous work?

When I wrote this song, I was feeling very inspired by soul/pop/funk bands like Lawrence, Melt, & Lake Street Dive, and I wanted to try my hand at writing something in that genre. I’ve written a lot of ballads and singer/songwriter tunes in my life, and felt that it would be really cool to add something more upbeat and funky to my discography. The creative process started similarly to past writing in that it started with me messing around on my keyboard, but I wrote the chorus before anything else which was different than my usual process.

I wanted to come up with a catchy instrumental riff for the bridge which took a lot of trial and error in playing around with melodic ideas. Once the chords were set, the lyrics came pretty naturally because I already had the concept in mind for the song. I knew I wanted it to be confident and sassy. Setting the tone allowed for a natural flow of lyrics, which felt different from past songwriting experiences where it felt harder to think of lyrics.

2- The song has instrumental elements like distorted Rhodes, Clav, and catchy horn licks. Was there a particular moment in the studio where you knew these sounds would work for this track?

When I was brainstorming the soundscape of this song, my references were “It’s Gonna Be” by Norah Jones and “Heartburn Song” by Lawrence. I loved the grit of the distorted Rhodes sound on the Norah Jones song and knew that I wanted a similar sound for the keys of my song. With the Lawrence tune, I love the split effect of the different keyboard sounds, and knew I wanted to incorporate several layers of keys for a similar effect on Lie.

That’s where the idea came in for the main sound to be the distorted Rhodes, layered with a Clav for the instrumental and later choruses to add some funk, and an organ to fill out the sound and extra space. I wanted to keep the horn licks very simple on this song and let them add to the overall sound rather than overpower. I love the way it turned out with little licks between the lines, and I think the sax really fills out the instrumental.

3- You co-produced “Lie” with Britney DiTocco and Nick Sochan. Can you share how it was to create with them and what each of you brought to the table in shaping the song’s final sound?

Working with Britney and Nick was so much fun, I feel like the 3 of us made a really good team. I knew when I brought them this song that I had a lot of ideas to bring to the table for the production, but I also wanted their ideas. Britney is an amazing songwriter and her music has some similar elements of pop, funk, and rock.

Nick is a killer instrumentalist and great with studio technology. We recorded a very thorough demo for this song, where I laid down the keys/scratch vocals/scratch harmonies, and then the 3 of us produced the drums together. The keys/drums have some very specific hits in this song, so mapping those out with Britney and Nick was really helpful. Britney engineered the keys session- she was so encouraging, took all of my ideas seriously, and wanted to make sure I was happy with the sound.

Nick had the most elaborate drum mic setup I’ve ever seen for this song, and I was in awe of his brains & talent! He wanted to get the best sound he could possibly get from the drums which I really appreciated. He tracked bass for this song as well. Britney worked on me with vocals, and she really helped me channel the sass and confidence that was necessary on this song.

She had really cool ideas for vocal harmonies and layering, and you can hear her singing on the last post-chorus with me! Nick mixed + mastered this song, and did an amazing job with balancing everything and creating a polished track that I am so proud of! Britney and Nick are both badasses in the studio, and I’m so grateful that I got to witness their talent and fluidity as a team.

4- How did you balance humor with empowerment in the storytelling of that song?

Lie plays with the concept of the truth vs. a lie in a very humorous, tongue-in-cheek way. The “lie” in the song is this guy at the bar, who is fronting his intentions as “well-mannered”. The “truth” is my brutal honesty about my disinterest in this guy and his pursuits. While this song is very playful, it still carries the message of female empowerment by relaying the message that a girl going out does not mean she is looking for attention or seeking the male gaze, sometimes girls really do just wanna have fun! (Without a man!)

5- Your influences for “Lie” include artists like Lawrence, Remi Wolf, and Sara Bareilles. How do these artists shape the balance between funk, pop, and jazz elements in your music?

I’ve been listening to Sara Bareilles since I first started writing music, and her piano playing, arrangements, melodic writing, and lyricism have always inspired my songwriting process. On her album “Kaleidoscope Heart”, she has horn arrangements that influenced me to try writing some horn parts. I started listening to Lawrence a few years ago, and their genre inspired me to try and write some more upbeat songs and experiment with instrumentation.

It also showed me that music does not have to fit into just one genre- it can blend multiple! I’ve been listening to Remi in recent years, and she’s definitely inspired me to challenge myself in writing more intricate melodies and instrumental parts. Her fusion of disco, funk, pop, and rock in her music influenced my decision to blend genres in my newer music.

6- You’ve been performing for over ten years in NYC venues. Do you think your sound has evolved? How do you think it connects with the city’s music scene, and what does “Lie” say about where you’re headed next as an artist?

My early songwriting was very ballad-based, and instrumentation was less thorough. When I started arranging my songs and playing with a full band, that really helped me take my music to the next level. Now, I think my music is a lot more versatile. I feel like my music genre can’t really be put into one box or labeled as one genre, and I think that makes live performing more interesting for myself and the audience.

The NYC music scene is so fast paced and sees so many new artists come through the doors of these music venues. I think it’s important for artists to try new things, experiment with their sound, and develop their style. I think ‘Lie’, like my previous release ‘Boxing Gloves’, is introducing a new side of my music that will appeal to a different group of listeners, which hopefully means that I can write music for a wider audience!

7- The music video for “Lie” is set to release soon. Without giving too much away, how does the visual concept align with the themes of the song?

The music video for ‘Lie’ is just as playful and humorous as the song, and paints a story with the lyrics. The video follows the story of that one guy who can’t take a hint at the bar, and captures my reaction to his persistence and cocky actions. There’s some pretty comical moments, and the video features an appearance from my band!

8- As a woman navigating the music industry, what challenges have you faced if any, and how do you feel about female artists overall experience? Do you think it's changing for the better?

As a woman who writes and arranges her own music, I’ve received some doubt, questioning, and second-guessing from other producers of my knowledge, opinions, and skills when it comes to contributing ideas and notes for my music in the studio. I think it’s very common in the studio for women to feel undermined or like their ideas aren’t good enough to be taken seriously.

I make a habit now to try and work with people who genuinely care about my music and my vision, and not just their vision for my music. I think things are slowly improving for women in music, but I do still think the music industry would benefit from more women producers. I think it’s more common to see women as the “performer” rather than the brains behind the operation, and I would love to see that change.