Julian Perez, a 20-year-old musician born and raised in the Coachella Valley near the iconic Coachella Fest fairgrounds, developed a deep appreciation for music thanks to his father. This passion has driven Julian to pursue songwriting and performing. Surrounded by the desert’s unique scenery and a supportive community of creatives, Julian embraced his artistic identity, drawing musical influences from artists like Ariana Grande and indie Latino pop sensations such as Omar Apollo.
Julian’s music took a pivotal turn during the COVID-19 lockdown when he discovered a beat on YouTube and wrote his first song, “Waiting Patiently.” This experience further ignited his passion for music, leading him to collaborate with guitarist Ambry and producer Jeremiah. Despite recording his songs with basic equipment, such as Apple earbuds in his parents’ walk-in closet, Julian’s talent shines through in his self-produced EP, “Polaroid Demos.” This six-track collection serves as an introduction to his artistry, showcasing his lyrical and vocal skills.
Excited to share his EP with the world, Julian looks forward to live performances with his band, connecting with his fans, and continuing his artistic journey. Motivated by the support of his family, friends, and the community, Julian remains committed to creating music that touches and inspires others.
”At the end of the day, if you’re touching someone and if someone feels touched and moved by the piece of work that you put out, that’s all that matters.”
Julian
Coachella Magazine had the pleasure of sitting down with Julian Perez at Rock & Records on June 22nd, just an hour before his EP release party for “Polaroid Demos.” As anticipation built for his latest project, Julian shared insights into his music, creative process, and the inspirations behind his work. Here’s what he had to say.
Coachella Magazine: Can you introduce yourself to tell us about your background in music?
JULIAN: I’ve always been a huge fan of music growing up. And my dad was the one that basically taught me how to love music more than just face value. So ever since I was younger, I’ve always loved music. And now, I have a big passion for writing songs and I just love people being able to relate to it and the artistry that I put out.
CM: How did the desert influence your sound?
JULIAN: I’ve always loved the desert, the scenery of it all, the mountains and everything. But I think in terms of the Valley being able to affect my music, I think I’ve found a big connection with a lot of people in the Valley. ’cause There’s a lot of creatives. And so I never found it a struggle to become myself in terms of being in the ballet. If that makes any sense.
CM: Who were some of your music influences growing up?
JULIAN: Growing up, Ariana Grande, because I love her vocal stacking and her layering and her lyricism. But now, it’s a lot of indie Latino pop. So, Omar Apollo, Kali Uchis, a lot of that sound really influences me.
CM: Was there a particular moment that stands out to you that you realized this is what you wanna pursue?
JULIAN: During COVID, because everyone was at home in lockdown and no one was really doing anything. I found a beat on YouTube. I never considered music, but I found a beat on YouTube. I wrote lyrics to it. I created a hook, everything. And that was my first song “Waiting Patiently” that’s out right now. Ever since then, I’ve just found such a huge deeper understanding and love for music. And it’s the thing that I love to do. I have my co-collaborator named Ambry. She plays guitar really well. We’ve been writing songs from scratch on the guitar, and now I’m able to have my own producer, which is really sick. So yeah, ever since Covid, that’s the thing that kind of pushed me to make music, because if anyone could do it, I could do it too. You know what I mean? So I really love making music and songs.
CM: What do you think makes the Coachella Valley music scene unique?
JULIAN: I think it’s really unique because it’s very tightly knit. I think in terms of recently a lot of artists are being discovered from the Coachella Valley, and I think in the past, people just thought it was just like a getaway and not very much comes from it, but recently, I really love how a lot of artists are being able to push up and evolve from the valley. And it all starts here, you know what I mean?
CM: Can you walk us through your creative process? How do you typically write and compose your songs?
JULIAN: This EP that I have coming out a lot of the songs are from YouTube beats and all the hooks, all the lyrics, everything that I do lyrically and vocal wise is all me. And funny enough, people don’t know this, but the way I record my songs, when you listen to them now, like Apple wired earbuds, all my songs are recorded on the mic in my parents’ walk-in closet. ’cause the clothes block out all the sound. So yeah, literally all my songs that I have out right now are from a little Apple earbud mic. So that’s the thing that I love telling people because you wouldn’t expect it when you listen to my songs. And now, I have thankfully a producer named Jeremiah and my co-collaborator Ambry, who’s on the guitar. Amazing. she helps write the music with me.
CM: Where do you go to find inspiration?
JULIAN: I think there’s not a set place that I find inspiration, but I find a lot of inspiration from others. Seeing others being able to create and be creative. It really drives me because they’re my peers, you know what I mean? I love working off of them and I love being able to collaborate with other people as well. But I think the main thing that I do get creative, my creative ambitions for writing songs especially, is a lot of real life experience, because a lot of people experience stuff just the way that you and I do. And I just love writing from that and being able to relate with other people through a song that, “Hey, I feel that same way too.”
CM: Is there any themes or messages that you explore in your music?
JULIAN: Weirdly, a lot of themes that I explore and I sing about is love and relationships. So I don’t have a lot of experience in that. It’s weird. That’s the only topic that I touch. But it varies. It’s a lot of mostly love, but I’m growing up, I get to explore different genres and different themes.
CM: Let’s talk about your latest EP “Polaroid Demos.”
JULIAN: Six tracks. I’ve always wanted to put out a piece of work that feels like me. I put out “Waiting Impatiently,” which is a single, that felt like me. But then after that I released a three track EP, really small and that was called “Scorpio Tendencies.” And it explored a lot of self-expression within myself and a lot of different genres. But now this EP that I’ve coming up called “Polaroid Demos,” it feels like a piece of me. It’s almost like kind of, I don’t even have children, but it feels like my child. So it’s really sick being able to put it out and hopefully people get to relate to it and, and experience the same way that I experienced it. It was a lot of fun writing it. And, and with this EP, I wanted to put out something that was an introduction to who I am as an artist.
CM: Can you describe the journey of creating the EP from idea to final product?
JULIAN: Absolutely. It’s all self-produced vocally myself. A lot of the tracks I got from YouTube, but everything lyrically, vocally, I composed myself. And funny enough, I made it on my phone with the earbuds. So literally, this is my whole studio here, as for now. But writing the EP, I always knew that I wanted it to be called demos, because I wanted to be an introduction and it wasn’t like a full piece of work. But I had the idea ever since quarantine, and I’ve always wanted to pursue it, so this felt like the right time to do it. The longest song that I had dated back to like 2022. So I’ve been writing this EP for a while now. Now that I’m able to finally push it out, I’m really excited.
CM: What can you tell us about the artwork for EP cover?
JULIAN: There’s an artist named Art by Victor. He’s the one that made the piece. I saw him make a piece before and I asked if he could do one for me. He whipped it out within like two days, so it’s really sick. And then in terms of photography, I have an amazing photographer. His name’s David Pena, and he photographs all the artwork that I have out there right now.
CM: What else can you tell us about the EP?
JULIAN: I’m just really excited for people to hear it. It really does feel like a piece of me. And, and that’s something that I’m most excited about is that even though it says Polaroid Demos, it’s really an introduction to who I am and where I am artistically. I feel like this is just the beginning and I’m really excited for where to come, but I’m excited for people to hear it. I’m excited for people to hear the songs. Each song has a different theme, but they’re all different pieces within a story. And on top of that, I have a track in Spanish “Olvidate” and I’m really excited for people to hear that ’cause it’s kind of different.
CM: What has been the biggest challenge you faced as an artist so far?
JULIAN: I think the thing that I kind of struggle with is, especially since I’m an independent artist, everything I do, everything you see on social media is all me. I’m the one that’s doing it. I’m posting it. I don’t have any team behind me. I think the thing that gets kind of hard out here, and I think other artists especially could relate in the Valley where it’s people will make you feel lesser than or they’ll make you feel like the artistry that you do is not enough. But at the end of the day, if you’re touching someone and if someone feels touched and moved by the piece of work that you put out, that’s all that matters. Don’t let yourself get run over by other artists.
CM: Which instruments do you play?
JULIAN: I play guitar. I play piano by ear, but I’m mostly learning guitar. I have a huge fascination for guitar. I don’t know, something about the strings and the way that they sound. I’m like, yes.
CM: How do you stay motivated and inspired to create new music?
JULIAN: My biggest motivation for sure are the people that like my music and support me for sure, friends, but mostly family. I think my mom and my dad are my biggest. Even for an event like tonight, my mom and dad are helping me. My dad designs the banners. It’s really sick.
CM: How would you describe your sound?
JULIAN: I think my sound right now is very indie pop, so a lot of guitars and a lot of fun upbeat songs. That’s the thing that mostly drives my music is guitars. I’ll hear guitar and melody and we’ll produce it, we’ll get it all done. And I love indie pop.
CM: What’s next for you after the EP release. Are you going to be performing live throughout the summer?
JULIAN: Yes. Thankfully I have a live band which is really sick. I have a bassist called Josh and I have a guitarist called Ambry. And I’m really excited that I’m able to perform music with the live band. ’cause performing the tracks is one thing, but when you hear it really live it is really exciting. So I’m excited to have that coming up and hopefully soon another EP.
CM: Last question. What do you like most about being an artist?
JULIAN: I love being able to express myself and to be seen and to feel seen amongst other creatives as well. Because at the end of the day, you know, every person is an artist and whether you are musically inclined, whether you’re artistically inclined, acting, whatever it is, it’s really exciting that I’m able to share that with other people. And I’m excited that I have people that enjoy it as well.
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