Toronto, ON-based artist Julie Neff has unveiled her brand new EP, Over It. On top of this, she released her new single, “Swagger” on The Strombo Show earlier this week.
“Swagger is a song about how we sometimes use our external expression to hide our own insecurities,” shares Neff. “Charm and shimmer on the outside can be a mask that we wear, armour to defend ourselves against the vulnerabilities of romantic connection.”
Starting next Thursday (February 4), she will be joined with special guests each week as a part of the Neff Said series on Instagram. So check that out!
Check out the single below, and find out more about Julie via our Five Questions With segment.
Care to introduce yourself to our readers?
Hi There! My name is Julie Neff. I am a musician and video producer from Toronto. I also love to make my way around the world when possible and have been fortunate to spend a fair amount of time in Brazil and Spain, learning Spanish and Portuguese. I am a lover of 80s vintage attire and on a free day you’ll find me wandering around the city popping into thrift shops and singing as I walk along the sidewalk.
Tell us a bit about your music and writing style.
I generally make music in the indie rock/pop space. Melody always comes first for me and is definitely my primary focus. I try to honour what originally came out (usually in the form of a voice note while on above walk around town) and will craft my song around that melody, adding guitar parts and developing the lyrics later on. I often showcase the strong and the sweet in the same song. I think it is both what feels good to me – to have that intensity and dynamism – but also what best represents a lot of the emotional journeys that I write about.
How have you been keeping creative during the Pandemic?
You know… I’m really trying not to force it. This has been a really stressful year, so often music can be a natural outlet for that, but the pressure to create something magical during such a high-pressure time isn’t always productive either. I just try to pick away at it. I decided to do live stream singing some lullabies back in March and I tried to write one beforehand. It turned into an anti-lullaby of sorts and definitely one of my favourite tracks. Otherwise, I am just doing projects that feel good, building melodies, doing some sewing projects and getting outside when I can. The rest will come.
If you were asked to suggest only one of your songs for someone to hear, which would it be?
Hmmmm I think I would choose this new version of Siren Call that I just released. It’s still one of my favourite songs that I have ever written and I think it showcases the many sides of my vocal style.
Canadian Beats is all about Canadian music, so who are your current favourite Canadian bands/ artists?
A huge part of my early musical education included Canadian inspirations like Feist, Sarah Harmer and Sarah Slean. More recently, I’ve been really inspired by Lido Pimienta and her track “Nada”, Begonia, The Beaches and Tim Baker. We also have a ton of amazing up and coming artists that I know do really great work like Emily Rose, Aiza, For Keeps and 3-Card (who is featured on my track Those Dreams).