INTERVIEW: Julia Viktoria releases new single 'Things We Never Had': "It’s important to always have a plan, but let that plan evolve as you walk through your life"
Sweden’s Julia Viktoria may be only 19 years of age, but she is already into her fifth year of releasing music with her debut single ‘I’ll Do It For You’ appearing in 2016. Her addictive melodic electro-synth pop has steadily gained a strong following at home in Sweden with extensive radio play while globally she is approaching half a million Spotify streams. After her first solo release in over a year back in March, today Julia releases her new single ‘Things We Never Had’, a sublime mid-tempo track which switches between laid back, reflective piano vibes and hard electro beats as she looks back on a failed relationship: ‘Isn’t it funny / Cause I made the same mistake again…you’re missing all the things we never had’. With an impressive collection of releases to her name already, there is no let up in the quality of music Julia is producing and it is only a matter of time before she becomes Sweden’s next big international star. We recently caught up with Julia to find out more about her career and music.
Hey Julia! Thanks for chatting to us. How is everything going for you in this crazy new world of quarantine and social distancing?!
I’m doing great, thanks! Right now, as you maybe know Sweden is a white spot on the map, as we are one of the few countries who still haven’t shut down society yet to almost total lockdown. So I’ve still been able to go to the studio sometimes. But it’s absolutely not the same as it used to be. I had a lot of plans to travel to different countries this spring, to work with new people and write more music. But unfortunately that has all been postponed or cancelled. But I have been able to write and finish some new and old material with some of the Swedish topliners and producers that I know. And I have of course been attending to some online camps as well. Which is very new and also challenging for me, even though you might think I’d be great at technological things, due to my young age - sadly I stand out from the crowd in that area…
Can we take It all the way back to the beginning and talk about your first memories of music and what role music played when you were growing up?
One of my first memories of music was when I was five or six years old and I was zapping on the TV one weekend and discovered a channel sending almost only music videos. I watched that channel so much my parents practically had to beg me to watch the news or something else! Of course it’s MTV I’m talking about. I would say that those videos of P!nk, Christina Aguilera, Destiny’s Child and many more in the early 2000’s, shaped me as a young artist today. For a fact it definitely changed the way I write. You know a lot of the times when I write today I see myself in a music video, performing the song I’m writing, just as they preformed for me through the television all those years ago. I even see my life as a music video sometimes…
Was there a moment you decided to make music your career or was it something that was always a given for you?
I actually didn’t start with music until I was about fourteen. I feel most people expect me to say that music has always been a part of my life, but it hasn’t in a way. I’ve always enjoyed music, and when I was a little girl I loved to perform in front of the TV and my parents, to MTV music videos, of course. And I performed as a kid in front of my classmates and friends but never in front of big crowds. You see, somewhere between seven and twelve I developed a nerve wrecking stage fright. It was so bad at a point that I almost had a panic attack every time I had to perform or sing. But in the summer of 2013 my mum sent me to a ”voice camp”, where I got to spend my summer and challenged myself everyday to sing and perform. I realised something that summer that changed my life. I’d never felt so alive as I did in that moment on stage, singing in front of new found friends. When I came home in late August I said to my parents ”This is it! I have found my purpose. I have to work with music from now on or I’ll never be happy”. So from there on I’ve studied, trained, performed, meditated, written and sung over and over again until this day. And I’m so grateful for it all, I really am. Not too many people realise what their purpose is as early on in life as I did. Or are able to work with it as I have done and are still doing.
Congratulations on the release of new single ‘Things We Never Had’. Can you talk me through the inspiration behind the song?
Yeah, of course. I wrote that song like two weeks before my then boyfriend dumped me. And oddly enough I remember I was thinking like ‘Oh, I have nothing interesting to write about…’ and then, bam, two weeks later karma proved me wrong. I can say I learned my lesson to never say never! But back to the song. I wanted to write a song that had a simple and clear message, so I asked myself, if the worst happened and I get dumped - which I eventually did - what would I want to tell him? And the answer was, that I would probably want to tell him about all the nice things he’s now missing out on. So I wrote ‘Things We Never Had’ like a reminder to him about everything we could have done together, that we’ll never do now. And also I wanted to make him as upset as he made me. Which I explicitly express in my chorus by saying ”I’m gonna make you upset, you’re gonna look back in regret”. I mean karma really is a bad thing ’cause look who released the song now…ha ha!
What was the creative process like for this track?
It was actually really fast. I remember we wrote the song in like one day and were already finished with the lyrics before lunch. I love when a song almost kind of writes itself. Everything was pretty much already given when we tried it out. And the melodies just came as soon we heard the track idea.
You have been releasing music since you were 16, how have you found you have developed as an artist over the past 3-4years?
I’ve grown a lot! Ss I mentioned before I had huge stage fright, which I’ve now almost gotten rid of 100%. I’ve evolved a lot as a songwriter, and the way I plan sessions, take responsibility for my career and the way I perform now, is much more mature and thought through than it was four years ago. Also I’ve been to many song coaches and from them I’ve learned a lot about how to sing correctly and perform. They’ve helped me understand many things about myself these past years that I’m very grateful to know now. For example I take warming up my voice before singing much more serious now than I did then. Also I’ve gotten to work with so many people over these few years and I believe you learn something from everyone you meet. Good or bad! But to sum it all up, I’m older now and I think I’m way more creative and smarter as well. I don’t have as much anxiety nowadays and I’m proud of how confident I’ve become through all the practice I’ve done.
I understand you have more new music coming later this year, what can we expect to hear?
As previously mentioned I’ve been releasing music since I was 16, but from 2018-2020 I worked more in the studio than ever before and less in front of the public eye. Through that time I’ve been working on myself and my way of writing. So what I’m trying to say is that I have a lot of unfinished, unpolished songs laying around. Some of those songs I’ll definitely finish and hopefully release. But recently I’ve also wanted to try out making more ‘world wide’ influenced music. Songs that describe me and my life but with a touch of different elements! I’ll maybe throw in some uncommon instruments as a harp or a flute. I want to make more pop but put my own twist to it.
Is there a message, or theme, you want your music to tell to the world?
Everyone has at some point been heartbroken, sad and confused, me as well. And what I want to do is share my experience of what my life is so that those who feel these feelings may relate to me and my work. Because I believe I can make a change. I’d like to make people happy, strong and make them release the power they have within themselves. I believe I’m doing that by putting my stories out there. My message is exactly the feedback I’ve received from my audience so far. Because when they’ve contacted me, they’ve told me that they really feel they can recognise themselves in my music and that they get hope and strength to work through the pain they feel, when they hear me sing. My audience have also told me that they get inspired to do things outside of their own comfort zone, just by looking at me. They’ve somehow received new strength from me and that is what keeps me going.
Over the last year or two there has been so much talk about gender equality in the wake of #metoo. What are your thoughts on gender equality and sexism in the music industry?
Well as far as I know the majority of women in this world have had some kind of bad experience of sexism and I’m not one to be spared. I’ve experienced it too. I really hope that during my lifetime I will see a change in the world we live in. I’d like to see that men and women live more in harmony and equality than they are doing right now.
What goals or ambitions do you have for your music career?
I feel it’s important to always have a plan, but let that plan evolve as you walk through your life. My plan when I started doing music was to become the biggest star of them all. Then later on it was to become the greatest songwriter who has ever lived. And I still think it’s important to have big dreams, you just have to portion them into smaller pieces so that you can make dreams become reality. I’ve always worked that way and will continue so. For example, when I was fourteen my dream and ambition was to learn how to sing clearer and better. And by much effort and work I’ve now reached that goal after four years of hard work on my voice. But there are three still standing dreams I have for my career that has been there since the beginning. Those are that I want to be signed to a label, and get to work with a team that really believes in me, I want to release at least three albums, and last but not least, I would like to start some kind of gala, charity or event for people with mental illness, as mental illness is something I’m very engaged and passionate about.
What else is coming up from Julia Viktoria in 2020?
Due to the global pandemic we’re all living in right now, I don’t think I’ll be able to perform live as much as I’ve hoped and planned to do this summer. But I’ll try to make something else work through social media instead. I will hopefully be able to release some more singles of my own and some more features before this year is done. And it would be absolutely awesome to be able to attend some kind of TV or radio show as well this year. And I will also write lots of new music of course, I’ll maybe even do my first duet! ;
Thank you for talking to us, best of luck with the release of ‘Things We Never Had’!
Thank you for having me, and be safe everyone! Hope to talk to you again soon.
‘Things We Never Had’ by Julia Viktoria is out now. You can stream and download here.
To keep up with all things Julia Viktoria, you can follow her on Instagram and Facebook.
