“It’s just a combination of words that somehow make sense, fused with my subconscious issue regarding my height,” explains genre-jumping artist Julia Bhatt about her debut single “Tall” which is out now. Fusing indie pop and rapidfire tongue-twisting vocals with a fierce bossa nova backbone, the single finds the 17 year-old Miami native playfully experimenting with rhythms, melodies and musical time signatures. Working with producer and mentor Elliot Jacobson (Elle King, Ingrid Michaelson, Verite), Julia’s fresh and uniquely signature vocals (reminiscent of a youthful Amy Winehouse and Macy Gray) duck in and out of acoustic guitars, a heavy bass drum and an infectious Latin-inspired beat.
“Honestly, I didn’t really find a meaning for the song until I started performing it more,” she explains. “I originally wrote it as a sort of bossa nova, but Elliot helped me transform it and take it to new levels. He brought an entirely new energy to it.”
With an ear for unique sounds and styles, her music is infused with the broad array of influences from the music with which she grew up – her mom specialized in more of the classic rock side, whereas her dad showed her the smooth yacht rock of the 70s. Add to the mix modern influences like Rat Boy and the indie rock, pop and alternative that her older sister introduced her to, Julia’s concoction is an ear-opening mixture that defies categorization. Writing engaging, fun hooks with great beats, she juxtaposes her honest storytelling that reflects observations about teenage life in the melting pot of Miami with deeply introspective lyrics on her on-going struggles with mental health.
Born in Boston, MA but living practically the whole of her young life in Miami, FL, Julia was raised on a stimulating and expansive musical diet. She grew up listening to everything from classic rock, American songbook standards and bossa nova beats. She and her sister accompanied their mom, dad and step-mom to numerous concerts, including The Beach Boys, America, the Dave Matthews Band, No Doubt, Sting, James Taylor, and the Rolling Stones, among many others. It was this variety of rhythms and melodies that helped shape the wide-ranging music she creates.
Absorbing all this musical knowledge and bursting with creativity to write and record more new music, “Tall” is just the first of many new songs Julia will be releasing soon. With an exciting fresh batch of songs dropping starting today with “Tall,” Julia is ready to debut her material onto an unsuspecting world.