Vancouver-based Julian Hunt shares new, nostalgic single
Starting a new chapter in a different city is usually about looking forward, but sometimes a single place can keep you tethered to the past. In our latest interview with Julian Hunt, we’re chatting about “Marine Drive”—a nostalgic, looping track that captures those vivid moments we wish we could freeze in time.
Using Vancouver’s iconic Marine Drive as a backdrop, the song dives into that bittersweet feeling of moving on while constantly dreaming of a specific memory. Let’s get into the inspiration behind the song and the storytelling that makes this track so relatable.
First off, care to introduce yourself to our readers?
Yes, thanks so much for this opportunity. My name’s Julian, I’m 24 years old and grew up in Toronto, lived in Montreal for about five years and moved to Vancouver in 2024. I’ve loved pop music since I was a kid and have been working on my craft as much as I can in creative writing workshops, teaching myself how to play piano and by writing a lot and a lot of songs. I’ve always been mostly influenced by queer or female artists, and hope my songs can connect with people one day in the same way I’ve felt connected to music since being a teenager.
You wrote ‘Marine Drive’ during a significant move to a new city—a time often defined by looking forward. What was it about that specific transition that compelled you to look backward instead, and at what point during the move did you realize this nostalgia was becoming a song?
With “Marine Drive”, I wrote and edited the song over my first few months living in Vancouver, so that sense of nostalgia was something that built as my life here moved forward and through knowing that nothing lasts forever. At first, I felt overwhelmed with possibilities, being in a new place, but as life goes on, you realize there are certain people and moments that are inevitably left behind. This song is about savouring them, sometimes before the moment is even over and wondering if you can ever capture that feeling again. Life moves on either way.
You mentioned the song’s structure and lyrics are designed to reflect a recurring dream. How did you translate that feeling of “looping” into the musical composition without making it feel repetitive for the listener?
The music that I wrote is very simple and the first verse alone is around a minute long, so while producing this song with Mark Henning, we put a real emphasis on breaking up the repetitions by taking away and adding to the instrumental layers in an effort to keep it engaging. The details and story I’m telling in this song is the focal point, so it was a delicate balance of keeping the energy from dragging and not distracting from the story being told.Why was Marine Drive in Vancouver the specific setting for this nostalgia? Does that location hold a different meaning for you now that you’ve moved away?I still live in Vancouver, but I’m sure if I move away one day that this song will hold a new meaning. I chose Marine Drive in a literal sense of it being where some of the memories live that this song reflects on, but also because of how long the street really is. Certain stretches make you forget you’re even in the city. You could lose yourself in conversation and keep driving around it for a pretty long time, which relates to one of the song’s core themes of not wanting a moment to end.
You talk about the “endless possibilities” of a new chapter versus the “mistakes” mentioned in the lyrics. How do you balance the optimism of a fresh start with the heavy pull of the past in your songwriting?
Moving away felt like I was getting another chance at building a life that I felt connected to and inspired by. It was a really optimistic, and at times naive, chapter of my life. My biggest mistake that I didn’t want to repeat was holding myself back from the possibilities around me out of fear and to instead jump into things, even if I wasn’t feeling ready. I’m not sure if there was a perfect balance, or anything, but I knew that my fear of not having tried something would haunt me for a lot longer than momentary embarrassment or failure. And if it hadn’t been for that mindset, the experiences that shape this song would never have taken place. There are certain things you fear that you should challenge anyway.
Lyrics like “my red eye flight” and “high like kites” feel very cinematic. Do these come from specific memories of the move, or are they intended to represent a broader “dream-state” feeling?
I think they represent a bit of both. While these details are real, they also help build the world that this song, and other future songs of mine, live in. I think both planes and kites, and maybe anything that can fly, are especially inspiring to me too.
What do you hope listeners who are going through their own “new chapters” or big moves take away from the track?
The biggest thing would be that it’s okay to be excited about your life, to romanticize it, and believe in the best outcomes. Take the time to look around you and appreciate all the little things. Before moving, I really felt at a standstill in my life and a new environment brought out parts of myself that I didn’t know were there. You never know who you’ll meet or what you might try in your next chapter and that’s what makes it special.