Genre-blending Miami-based indie artist Julia Bhatt has released her new single “On My Shoulder“, taken from her upcoming debut album, it is what it is, out July 20th. The song depicts the concept of having an imaginary angel on one shoulder and an imaginary devil on the other.
“’On My Shoulder’ is about two halves constantly battling about what could have been,” Julia explains. “One is ambitious and strict, while the other is carefree and relaxed. I think a lot of people usually settle into one side or the other at different points in their lives, but they never really stop questioning each other. At least, I don’t think they should.”
An ear-opening concoction that defies categorization, Julia’s music is such a fresh showcase of her gen-Z genre-fluid talent. From September 2019 to early March 2020, Julia was in a whirlwind of life-changes: she released her first three singles (“Tall,” “Marco” and “I’m Cool”), turned eighteen and graduated high school. Just as she was really getting started with the announcement of her first ever tour however, the pandemic brought everything to a standstill. While the world was in quarantine, not only did she release the singles “Miami” and “Bird Girl” as well as her debut EP 2 steps back, but she also, in a creative burst of energy, being states away from her mentor and producer Elliot Jacobson (Ingrid Michaelson, Elle King, Vérité) in New York City, she started to write songs on software, Ableton Live, rather than on the guitar. The first music to come from this new approach to making music were her 2021 singles “1:30” and “Hair Salon Vibes” both of which will be included on the debut album alongside an earlier recording of “Miami.”
Since Julia took her time creating this album, she was able to mine her catalog of songs from “newer songs, older songs, and even older songs. Whereas the fresh and carefree indie-pop “Karma” is one of the oldest songs, written around the same time as “Miami” when she was sixteen, the synthy/slinky R&B “Sweetheart” was the last track Julia and Elliot added to the album last year.