FEATURE:
Spotlight
Julia Wolf
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ONE artist…
whose music I have been very interested in for a long time now, Julia Wolf is a Queens-based sensation. One of the freshest and most impressive young artists coming through, I shall bring things up to date at the end. There are a few articles and bits I want to introduce first. We Are the Guard provide us some introduction to the amazing Julia Wolf:
“Queens based singer/songwriter Julia Wolf is an anti-pop superstar… and she's taking over.
Pop music is accused of being lots of things - style over substance; favoring accessibility over musicality; of pandering; playing up poptimism over complicated or difficult emotions. Do you really want to think of your shortcomings when you're trying to put a cute outfit together? Do you want to ruminate over neoclassical violin sonatas when you're just trying to make out and catch a buzz?
In many ways, Queens, NY singer/songwriter Julia Wolf is the least likely popstar you're likely to find. If there were a rulebook for "making it" in today's music scene, you could probably argue Julia Wolf is playing a completely different game. Instead of trying to ride the wave of the latest TikTok trends, Julia Wolf is more inspired by Italian classical music and culture, as well as her own unique, idiosyncratic background.
Even Julia Wolf's stage name comes from her distinctive background. "Wolf" was the name of her sister's imaginary friend when they were growing up. She'd end every night saying "Good night, Wolf." Somehow, Julia Wolf's classically-infused club pop feels like her guiding you into her surreal, imaginative inner world.
Julia Wolf's greatest strength might be her ability to translate her obsessions into an appealing form. Wolf's songwriting roots might be rooted in classical music and Italian culture and childhood daydreams, but her tasty trap beats, smooth vocals, and catchy hooks serve as a dangerously compelling vehicle for Julia Wolf's real talk”.
Forgive the switch of names but, until fairly recently, Julia Wolf performed under the moniker of WOLF. Some of the interviews refer to her as WOLF, whereas others use Julia Wolf. Headliner Magazine spoke with Wolf late last year about her remarkable music and life. Whether you call her WOLF or use her full name, this is an artist who has a sense of confidence that shines through in her music:
“Her name is Julia, but you can call her WOLF. Based in Queens, New York, the singer-songwriter was one of the first independent artists to be featured in Spotify’s Fresh Finds program, landing herself a giant billboard in Times Square. The self-confessed shy girl explains how she nitpicked her way to carving out a space for herself – on her own terms.
“I've been doing all my creative work and all of my songwriting here in my bedroom; this is kind of where it all happens,” she begins, showing Headliner her room on Zoom.
Today, the Italian-American independent artist is busy taking her own photos (“via self timer or I might drag my sister into it”), working on Photoshop, and is then putting some finishing touches to her debut EP, Girls In Purgatory.
She’s a true DIY artist – WOLF (full name Julia Wolf) writes her own lyrics (in both English and Italian), co-produces her music, and creates all her graphics, videos and photos herself.
While she’s unquestionably resourceful and has complete control over her image and music, this self-reliance actually stems from being painfully shy. This is hard to believe from a woman who boasts more than 18 million streams to date and over half a million monthly listeners on Spotify in just over a year since releasing her first music.
“I started working on my own vision and learning how to do my own artwork only because I was extremely shy in college,” she nods. “In high school, I was so afraid of my own shadow, I couldn't talk to people – I couldn't make eye contact. I did everything I could to stay under the radar. Ever since I started putting music out, it has brought out a whole new side to me. It's made me more in touch with my own voice and allows me to speak out about things that I've been through.
"My whole goal with music is to encourage others to be themselves, because I didn't have that too much growing up. The people that I idolised and the artists that I listened to never talked about eating lunch alone every day in school, and that's why I try and reiterate that so much. Even after I graduated I couldn't muster up the courage to ask people for help, so I went on YouTube and started teaching myself. And now it's great because it's made me a more self-sufficient person. If I envision something myself, I can just bring it to life on my own.”
The people that I idolised and the artists that I listened to never talked about eating lunch alone every day in school
She tells Headliner that she almost didn’t pursue singing. Approximately 10 years ago she was poised to move to Italy with her family to open a pizza place, but her dad changed his mind at the last minute, sensing it wasn’t the right path for his daughter.
“Father's intuition,” she recalls, fondly. “At the time, I was livid! I was very down in the dumps. It was years of frustration of not finding anyone to work with and just not being able to put any music out. I think he saw how depressed I was for that whole stretch of time, and because of it, he offered this opportunity to move to Italy, back to his hometown.
"I took it, honestly within minutes of discussion because it was the first feeling of hope that I had had in a while and it felt like a new chapter. I told myself I was gonna make it over there and figure out my music and find my team overseas, because that happens to people. I thought, ‘why not me?’”.
In preparation and readiness for the E.P, Girls in Purgatory, Spotify for Artists spoke with Wolf. I am always interested finding out what an artist wants to achieve from their music and who it is aimed towards. I was interested reading how Julia Wolf got into music and what direction she could have taken:
“Julia Wolf is “making music for the girls that are too afraid to speak their minds,” drawing from her own experiences as a shy kid in a big Italian family, struggling to fit in and finding her escape – finding herself – through music.
Now with more than 300,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, the independent artist uses her own experiences to fuel her music, connecting with fans in a way that’s unique, radically authentic, and 100% her.
But it was a journey to get there. “Pursuing music as a career had a lot of trial and error involved, a lot of dead ends,” explains Wolf in the new episode of our How They Made It series. “It certainly wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. Just getting the music right took years.”
“There were a lot of failed collaborations, a lot of people calling me nitpicky. Everyone was just trying to change the sound – a sound that was so simple to me in my head.”
Wolf, a singer-songwriter from Queens, NY, describes her sound as drawing from the hip-hop world and from indie music, combining the lyrical emphasis she loves from rap music with the natural indie sound of her voice. “I love adding the layers of harmonies, but ultimately it’s the lyrics. I just want to highlight the lyrics.”
“I realized very, very quickly in my songwriting career that I can only write on things I've lived through. I can't write on other people's experiences, because when I do it, it feels so unnatural.” One such song she’s written is “Falling in Love,” a new track that tells the true story of an interrupted night out with friends. As the first single released in the lead-up to her first EP, Girls in Purgatory, her team was strategic in how they approached the release, using Spotify for Artists data and insights, Canvas, and Marquee to promote the track and build an engaged audience ahead of the full debut.
Wolf explains that she and her team used their audience data to better understand who her fans were, and as a result, changed her social media messaging to reach more women. “Spotify [for Artists] has helped me understand more about who my target audience is, because in the beginning it was more of a male-dominant audience. But when we saw that, I just started gearing more of my conversation on social media to my girls, and then we saw the shift starting to happen. And now the female audience is the more dominant one, which is so cool.”
Her manager, Joseph Pineda, adds: “[On Spotify] we have access to data that five, 10 years ago we’d never be able to see. Now more than ever, especially for independent artists like Julia, we need to use all the tools at our disposal in order to try to break through and get some momentum.” That’s why they turned to Marquee, a full-screen, sponsored recommendation of a new release that’s displayed to Spotify listeners who have shown interest in an artist’s music.
“What’s great about the Marquee is there’s no extra step for our fans,” explains Pineda. “For our new song, ‘Falling in Love,’ when they see it they can literally listen to the song right away as a reminder that it’s out and it captures them in that moment.”
When the Marquee for "Falling in Love" launched in August 2021, more than 29% of listeners who saw it streamed the song – double the benchmark for the pop genre. More than 20% of listeners also saved the track to their personal libraries.
“Falling in Love,” like most Julia Wolf tracks, also has a Canvas – a short, looping visual for fans to watch as they listen to her music. She does the artwork herself, and says it’s something she’ll hold onto as long as she can. “It's definitely another form of self-expression, because when people see it, I want them to understand the brand. I want them to feel like they're in a different world – the Julia Wolf world. It's a reflection of who I am, so it's just as important as the music.”
“Spotify Canvas has really helped me add another element to the music, because instead of it just being the artwork, I now have the freedom to put another visual into people's minds and just help them understand [the music even more],” explains Wolf. “I love when I see my fans sharing the Canvases that I make, because it makes it more intriguing for other people to click on and be like, ‘okay, what's the music behind this?’”
In the three months following the release of “Falling in Love,” the track was saved more than 20,000 times and added to more than 25,000 playlists. Wolf’s Spotify following also grew by more than 20%, increasing the number of listeners who were ready and waiting to hear her extended EP, Girls in Purgatory (Full Moon Edition), when it dropped this week (Dec. 8)”.
PHOTO CREDIT: Kevin Sikorski for The Luna Collective
The final interview I want to source is from The Luna Collective. They chatted with Julia Wolf in April. It seems that Hoops particularly is a song that gets the crowds jumping and energised when she is performing live. I think that she is going to keep growing as an artist and make it to the mainstream. She has a busy start of next year booked up:
“WITH LYRICS THAT KEEP YOU HOLDING ONTO EACH NOTE AND AN ENERGY THAT TRULY ENCAPSULATES YOU - Julia Wolf sure knows how to get you hooked. The Queens based artist joins Fletcher for a tour across the country, bringing her sultry tunes to fans all over. Her latest track “R.I.P. To The Club” showcases the soft and sweet range of Wolf, allowing the listener to lose themselves to her charming vocals.
Luna had a chance to catch up with Wolf before her show in New York to reflect on the tour and hear about what’s coming up for the rising artist.
LUNA: Thanks for taking the time for this + congrats on hitting the road! What did you miss most about performing?
WOLF: I missed seeing people face to face! Getting to meet everyone at each show is always so moving; it helps me understand more about the ways music can really affect people. It’s crazy to think your lyrics can actually help someone the way you were intending, and nothing validates that more than a real life conversation.
LUNA: Which track has gotten the best reaction from the crowd?
WOLF: It has to be my closing song Hoops! The crowd gets into it, waving their hands, singing along. I had a gut feeling that it would be the favorite.
LUNA: You're about a week into tour, so what city are you most looking forward to playing in?
WOLF: Hands down was most looking forward to Nashville! It’s iconic of course. I’ve always heard such great things about their food. And I love how passionate they are about their music. Apparently every country star owns their own bar downtown and gosh I just think that’s so fun.
LUNA: Take us through a typical show day.
WOLF: After I wake up and get breakfast I start getting ready and that’s when the nerves kick in. It’s been unavoidable honestly, I’ve yet to shake them. But as soon as I hit the stage they leave!! So a typical show day is full of anticipation, playing Jack Harlow in the green room, sneaking in a margarita, and sometimes even playing Twilight in the background while I run through the set a million times over in my head. My team has been incredible though, really putting me at ease and helping me feel comfortable as I literally hyperventilate backstage for no reason.
LUNA: How do you find time for self care when on the road?
WOLF: The good thing about being on the road is all the downtime you get in the car. So it’s really been okay. I’ve split my time between rewatching footage or editing posts, and reading my newest book or listening to the latest podcast.
LUNA: As you get the opportunity to play more shows, how do you hope to see your live performance evolve?
WOLF: I think the first step will be adding additional players on stage! I’m thinking guitar and bass to really level things up. I’d also love to play keys more as that’s my main instrument. And not exactly sure how to incorporate this yet but I’m starting to take DJ lessons as that’s something i’ve always wanted to learn, and think it would be SO FUN to somehow dj an after party once the set ends!!
LUNA: What intentions do you have for the upcoming months?
WOLF: I’m in album mode!! I’ve been itching to have a fuller body of work that has more storytelling about myself and who I am versus my current catalog that speaks more on situations I've been through. There’s so much music on the way, and ideas I have of connecting more with fans who continue to have my back and show love!”.
With newer songs like Get Off My showing what promise and talent she has, it will be interesting to see what comes next year and how she progresses. An amazing artist who should be on your radar, go and follow Julia Wolf (and I hope she doesn’t mind me referring to her as that rather than WOLF). She is an artist that deserves…
A lot of love.
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Follow Julia Wolf
