In Conversation With: JULITH

Photo Credits: Emily Entz @em1wee

We always start by asking artists to introduce themselves in their own words, or in the words of someone talking about them in a bar – so, time to introduce yourself! 

JULITH: I love this so much! I’m JULITH, I’m an artist and songwriter from Philadelphia and now based in Los Angeles, and I make music I want to listen to. 

You’ve rebirthed your artistry under the name JULITH with this debut – what was the moment where you noticed that your old identity didn’t work anymore?  

JULITH: I think it was when I began rolling out the project last year. The first two singles “Pure Spite” and “JAB!” came out only under my OG project Julia Pratt, but it just didn’t feel quite right. I felt like part of the story was missing, part of the transformation that this music had triggered within my life didn’t feel represented. The moment I started JULITH everything just clicked into place in my brain. 

You explore the violence that becomes “normalised” in society. What forms of normalisation were you most intent on dismantling through these songs? 

JULITH: Gender-based violence is so ingrained into our society that it has become normal. We’re used to seeing it- on our screens, in our media, in our homes. It’s playing out more loudly and proudly than ever in under our current US presidential administration too. I think speaking on the lasting impacts of sexual and gender-based violence just as loudly as those who are committing the crimes is really important. I wanted to speak on the shame, the silence, the fear, the rage — the spectrum of the fallout is so vast it can consume lives. These acts have consequences that ripple throughout communities and generations, and we must stop sweeping it under the rug. 

This Is A Kindness confronts abuse, accountability, and reclamation. What truth was the hardest to say out loud, and what truth felt like liberation? 

JULITH: God, I love this question! I think “Monsters Out of Men” was really difficult to write and say out loud due to its unflinching specificity. In terms of liberation, the entirety of “Pure Spite” felt like liberation. It felt good to say “you know what, FUCK THIS.” Why are we upholding systems that not only allow, but quite literally ENDORSE, abuse? Why do I care what anyone thinks about me and my story when I’m the one who is living it? It felt so good to be angry on a track and not shy away from that feeling. Especially as a survivor, sometimes rage is one of the trickiest emotions to navigate, so it felt fitting that this song capped the project. 

You describe the EP as rooted in “radical honesty.” What does radical honesty look like in your songwriting practice? 

JULITH: I think radical honesty looks like saying what I mean as directly as possible. I used to have a habit of dancing around expressing how I really feel, and it left me feeling isolated and inauthentic. Through JULITH and this music, I feel like I’m learning to build true intimacy because I am speaking my mind freely and without shame. In my music, that shows up as not filtering my lyrics and screaming/crying/yelling/laughing/having fun ON the mic as much as it’s happening in the room. 

Your music holds both the pain and resilience of the female experience. What parts of that experience still feel underexamined in music today? 

JULITH: I think the resilience part deserves more attention! Because the feminine experience is often interlaced with tragedy. Our eyes and ears gravitate towards the tragedy part. We should look at the tragedy part long and hard and try to rectify the damage and make sure it doesn’t happen to others. At the same time, celebrating how strong and resilient we women are is also cause for celebration. I am exploring that in some new musical creations I’ve been working on!  

Which track pushed you the furthest out of your comfort zone? 

JULITH: I think it’s between “Right From Left” and “Pure Spite.” Both of those songs have a lot of yelling, a lot of pissed off energy, and a lot of audacity — all things I have been taught to deeply bury because God forbid a girl has big feelings! It was so cathartic to create them for that reason — pushing up against the walls of our comfort zone can be as terrifying as it is freeing. Now I can’t seem to be quiet! 

If listeners take only one thing from This Is A Kindness, what do you hope it is? 

JULITH: I hope that listeners end the project feeling empowered to talk about their experiences without shame.  I also hope it can be a testament that healing and growth is possible, even out of the darkest places. This project truly has transformed my life and the way I see myself. It's teaching me about patience, about healing wounds through creation, and about power. It continues to alter the lens through which I see the world, and it feels like such a time capsule of a part of my life that I am grateful to be moving through. 

Now that you’ve burned down the old world, what does the new one look like? How do you imagine JULITH evolving from here? 

JULITH: JULITH has so much more to share with the world! I am gearing up to release a lot more music, continuing to dig deeper into these themes of darkness vs light, healing, and accountability. I think my biggest goal with JULITH is to have fun with releasing music again. Putting out art that represents me in that moment and allowing myself to feel that childlike joy again is really important to me. So yeah, we’re not stopping any time soon! 

THIS IS A KINDNESS OUT NOW.