Julia Channel
Julia Channel is back with the release of her new single Forever In A Day, which is just a taster from her new album Colous.
I caught up with her to talk about the single and the album as well as what is coming up next for her.
- You are about to release your new track Forever In A Day so what can Julia Channel fans expect from the new track?
Well, I don’t think I’m going to revolutionise the world of music, but at least what I wanted to give with this song was my energy, some happiness, and bring something positive. I really want people to get up and dance :-)
- There is some pop in there and it is a really upbeat dance track so how would you describe the sound of the track?
I’m not sure how you’d really classify the style of the track as it’s a combination of electro and dance but it’s definitely made for dancing!
- The song has been penned by Varren Wade so how did you come to record the track - was it written especially for you?
Varren wrote the song with the producer Mayday, they had just written the beat when I first listened to it and I totally loved it and definitely wanted it.
I recorded the original version, but then I thought it needed a bit more electro so I asked the French music producer, Benjamin Terrier, to do a new mix and there you have it - "Forever In A Day "
- Didier Drogba is in the video so how did that come about?
Didier is one of my very good friends. He followed all my work in music and he knows I’m working very hard and how hard it is.
So without hesitation, when I told him that I was going to do my music video of "Forever In A Day", he said 'you can count on me, I’ll be in it'!
It was a bit difficult to work around his schedule as he’s very busy, this is why we shot him a different day from the rest of the video, he really did make an effort to be there, and I’ll always be thankful for that.
- And I was reading that you also helped direct the video for the single so how much fun was that?
For this video and even my previous one, I knew what I wanted so that was easy.
I did all the preparation myself from the casting of the dancers, to the locations etc ... and just took a team here in the UK to direct it, but I was definitely behind the camera as I’m always scared to not have the right result.
- And the single is the first track to be taken off you debut album Colours so how does Forever In A Day introduce us to the rest of the record?
"Forever In A Day" is the first single off the album, so of course I wanted to catch the attention of people straight away.
The album is a quite eclectic, but I wanted people to see what kind of level I have achieved. With a song you can say very quickly if it sounds professional or not and if it’s creative enough, so I think 'Forever In A Day' is a really strong starting point.
Above all, I don’t have a big record company behind me, I do everything by myself through my label Blacksheep records, this is only the beginning ...
- What can we expect from the rest of the album? Is Colors going to be a very upbeat pop album like the single or are there some softer tracks?
"Colors" is a very eclectic album, this is why I called it that. It’s going to be a mix of all my music influences, I listen to all kinds of music and I didn’t really want to choose just one style. There’s a track that’s more hip hop, some dance, some electro, and even a ballad.
- There are some more great writers on here like Johnny Douglas and Alan Laporte so how did those collaborations come about?
Yes it’s true that I’ve been very lucky to have very good music producers on my album. I am a great admirer of the work of Johnny Douglas, as he has written for the biggest artists on the planet and above all, my favourite singer George Michael ? , but at the beginning it started with a nice friendship, so it wasn’t planned to do music together .
For Alan Laporte, I didn’t know him then I met him through Gosta Hulden, who’s a Swedish writer with whom I worked on a song. They wrote a track together called "Free", when I listened to it, it was clear as water, that song was for me !!
- The album was also mixed by Vernon Mungo so how did you find working with him?
Vernon mixed a few songs on the album, I met him through a French music producer with whom I worked on the duet with Lemarvin.
He was very happy with his work, so I said 'why not' :-) He mixed a first track and I loved it so much that he ended up doing almost the full album - He has mixed for the likes of Kelly Rowland and Britney Spears so what did his experience bring to the sound of the album?
Well, I wanted to have someone who would bring his vision to the track through the mix, as most people don t know that it’s one of the most important parts in a song.
A bad mix will just destroy your song even if the beat and the vocals are good, Vernon is based in Atlanta but we were working really well together, he would do a first version, send it to me to listen to, then we’d go back and forth on corrections until we got just the right mix .
- You have worked in TV and fashion so what made you want to tackle music? And how have you found the transition into the music industry?
Most people don't know, but I started to do music in 1995 and the desire has never left me. I did a lot of recording, had few producers too, but I would say that things started to reach another level when I created my music label, Blacksheep, and I surrounded myself with music professionals in the UK.
I needed that because I arrived here without knowing a lot about the UK market and it’s very different than in France.
- Finally what's next for you?
In the next few weeks, I will have the music video of the remix "Forever In A Day" by Willy William arrive, so I’m going to have to shoot few more things for that.
Then new fashion photo-shoot , the cover for the next single and the album cover for "Colors", and then I have 3 more fresh songs to record, then it will be time for a little holiday ...
‘Forever In A Day’ is released on 17th June
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw