Julia Says Interview: SXSW 2010

Posted on Mar 1st 2010 7:38PM by Donna Rodgers
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Julia Says, also known as Julia Disse in their native Brazil, combine and entwine the sounds of nature and cities with the pulses of time and space. Appearing at SXSW, the band, called a "revelation of the local indie rock scene" in Brazil and Argentina, is ready to rock Texas with their superb Brasilian cachaça. Spinner caught up with vocalist/guitarist Paulino Nunes in advance of the band's SXSW set.

How did you form the band?

The band was formed in 2007 by me, Paulino Nunes and [percussionist] Anthony Diego. We were unhappy with the direction(s) of the groups we belonged to before that point and wanted to make a new start. We discussed a mutual interest in creating music that is entirely new and free. Always going forward, hearing new sounds and making music that we believe is different.

How would you describe your sound?

A mix of electronic music, raggamuffin, rock and hip hop. In shows, I sing and play guitar and synthesizer and Anthony plays drums and triggers the electronic beats. Our sound has been described by a recent reviewer as "a revelation of the local indie rock scene, and as a creative juncture between percussion arrangements and electronic sounds."

What are your plans for a new album?

In November we wrote ten new songs for our next album. These songs are a little heavier, with inspiration from artists such as Justice and the Prodigy. The album should be released this fall.

What are your musical influences?

The Prodigy, Beastie Boys, Kraftwerk, Chemical Brothers, Daft Punk, Nacao Zumbi, Asian Dub Foundation, 'Carmina Burana' by Carl Orff, M.I.A., the Brazilian poets Manuel Bandeira and Paulo Leminski, the Brazilian percussionist Nana Vasconelos, and the book 'A Casa das Ideias' by Pedro Veludo.

How did you choose your band name?

The name is inspired by the character Julia in 'A Casa das Ideias' by Pedro Veludo, whose name roughly translates to Peter Velvet. In this childlike book the little Julia is tired of the same fairy tales and seeks to create her own story She sits down to write a book, to invent the history, but has no ideas. She doesn't want the book to begin with "Once upon a time" and end with "they married and lived happily ever after." We talked about how we are supposed to write the history but so far we are still looking ahead.

Like 'The Velveteen Rabbit,' about a toy that gets to become real?

Yes. We want our music to be real.

What is your musical guilty pleasure?

Maybe listening to Madonna, maybe Beyonce, maybe Ciara. Those are pretty guilty pleasures! We enjoy listening to many kinds of music.

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