Hey, super nice to have the chance to chat with you. What have you been up to over the past year in this big old mess?
I actually wrote my album “She Sings, She Soars” during the lockdown and recorded it shortly afterwards. Kept me busy. Since then I also found love, bought a house in Spain and my partner bought a beautiful home on the Sussex Coast which I get to share!
I’m very interested in how you started your adventure with music, and did you know from the beginning that this is what you wanted to do?
Yes, actually I grew up in an abusive home – singing became an escape for me and I would climb into my bedroom cupboard and sing. That’s where it started. I always had a deep feeling that there was more for me – and when I started writing songs, it not only helped to heal me but I knew other’s would relate to the lyrics and I wanted to give them hope and inspiration. I have been on a real healing journey to have the life I have now and the album reflects that.
Congrats on the release of ‘She Sings, She Soars’, the EP sounds great. What was the inspiration behind it?
It’s really a celebration of the human spirit and how we can not only survive abuse but can really live and create our dreams with the love we deserve.
https://julie-annegrace.com/album/2276478/she-sings-she-soars
What’s your favorite track on the EP and why?
I go between them but right now it’s “I’m loving again.” I wrote it in a park on a beautiful spring day. I just had a huge feeling that I had turned a corner in my life and I saw everything differently and felt so grateful – right there I sat on a bench and wrote it.
What are you doing to ensure you continue to grow and develop as an artist?
All the usual social media stuff (which I’m not that great that but I try – my IG and TikTok seem to be coming along nicely. But my fave thing is to perform and get my message out there – I keep showing up. I’m also working with a promo agency and they are doing a great job for me.
What should we expect from your next releases in terms of style and sound?
The songs are a real mix of upbeat, jazzy numbers and stripped down piano tracks. There’s a touch of gospel, a touch of mowtown combined with elegant piano and lots of soul. Some of the tracks are quite raw In nature and tell it how it is, while other’s are feel-good and just want to make you dance around the kitchen! It’s relatable and comes with the message that there is love after pain and hope after despair.
Where are you based?
I recently moved to Emsworth, near Chichester (I wrote the album in London during the lockdown). Can you tell us how the music scene there has inspired your sound at all? I am getting to know it here, going to gigs, meeting musicians and have performances lined up. Can’t wait to get to know more.
If you could perform at any venue in the world, where would it be and why?
Oh wow – reckon the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. I lived in LA for ten years and still have citizenship. I went to many gigs at the Hollywood Bowl in the California sunshine in the open air. Just loved it.
Finally, have you got anything to share regarding upcoming gigs, and what have you got planned for 2023?
Yes, “She Sings, She Soars” releases on April 15 th with three single releases leading up to it. The next release “I’m loving again” is on Valentine’s Day and is all about loving yourself first – yeah! “Hold on to the angels” is after that and is a song inspired when I saw the cases of domestic abuse rising during the lockdown.
My album launch is on April 15 th at Toulouse Lautrec Jazz Cafe, Kennington on Sun April 23 rd at 3pm.
