Julia Westlin, Singer & YouTuber
Born in Sweden, Julia Westlin is a YouTube Star known for her unique and beautiful a capella covers. Now living in Canada, where she continues to perform, she agreed to meet with us for an exclusive interview to give us a different perspective on how her story began.
Music came to you at a very young age. Self-taught, you’ve been singing and playing many instruments, including piano and guitar. How did this all start?
Art and music have always been my big passions. When I was a kid, I was known as the girl who was always drawing. I never had any problems entertaining myself. My father is a very talented artist and he encouraged me and my brothers to create. I was always singing, dancing and doing all kinds of theatric stuff — being in my bubble with a lot of imagination. My mum used to say that I couldn’t walk normally through a room without making it a Show Tune. But in school I was extremely shy, and I was classified as the “silent” person even though I had a lot to say. I just couldn’t get it out, so I drew and wrote a lot instead.
Music and art became my way of releasing energy and emotions. I took one piano lesson when I was about 5 years old, but that was the first and last lesson. I got a very old-school piano teacher and she was hitting me whenever I could not follow instructions well or sit still. I can’t read notes or chords; I only play by ear and memory.
We had an old piano at home that my mother used to play on. She inspired me a lot. Whenever I was alone at home, I used to sit and improvise on the piano. I imagined that I had a big orchestra playing with me and I started to dream about making music for movies. One time when I was playing, all of the sudden I felt eyes on me, so I turned around and saw a bunch of birds perched by the window watching me. It was like in a Disney movie!
My music writing started out as poems, novels and stories. Afterwards I started to link it with the music I composed on instruments, and it became one song after another. My lyrics could be found on whatever piece of paper that was the closest when I got inspired: on napkins, receipts, my parents tax papers (oops!). When I was in the final years of primary school, I got a synth from my father — it was the best gift ever. I discovered all the instruments that existed on it and started to compose even more. It opened up a bigger world! I still have that synth, and I actually use it for music recording when I travel back in my home country (Sweden).
It was when I became a teenager that I started to be interested in guitars, we have always had instruments at home so I picked it up and started to learn by myself.
Being an artist can be challenging, especially during childhood. How was your experience?
It was hard in school because I have always had a different way of learning, and for many teachers it’s not okay to be different. In primary school, I had the most wonderful teacher for a short period of time: Eva Bremander. She was very artistic and kind, a big inspiration for me. She is one of those teachers who made a difference. She called me an “artist” and made me feel I was being seen for who I am. I am still in contact with her and she follows my musical journey.
My music teacher in high school, Ulf Eriksson, also had a big impact on me. He encouraged me in my music and often let me borrow the music room and instruments during school breaks to play. He even comforted me when I broke down in tears from bullying or other school-related things.
Also, I went through most of school without knowing that I was dyslexic. I had big problems with reading and writing, and teachers were telling me that I was “slow” or “stupid” throughout the years. In 8th grade I got really sick and lost almost one whole year, so that only made it harder to catch up. I have really awful memories from school so it’s hard to fish for happy times, but the good memories I have were when school was over for the day and I had the chance to play music again. I would borrow a guitar and sit in the empty stairways on campus to play and sing; There were such wonderful acoustics there since the stairs were made of marble. I always had my mp3 with me too so I could record new song ideas.
You had a tough childhood. Do you think this has helped you in becoming the artist you are today?
Yes, because everything we do today is also associated with the past as well as our dreams and wishes for the future. It’s all linked together. We all create from feelings or experiences we’ve had, it’s where you find your inspiration, but it’s up to you how you handle and deal with what you’re going through. Some people express themselves with physical anger, some people make a colorful painting, some people run a mile, and yet others grab a bag of chips.
Some people know exactly how to express themselves, I have always dived into music via writing or drawing. One thing that I have always felt very thankful for in life is that I have always known what my passions are, and I always knew what I wanted to do despite the circumstances. Through music and art, I can speak the language that is the most natural for me — and I have a lot to say :)
You started on MySpace but your audience is now mainly on YouTube (more than 12 million views). How did this new experience start? What have you learned from it?
I started to perform live in the early 2000s with my own songs. It was basically me and my guitar/piano at pubs, cafes, weddings, funerals and other events. In 2008, Peter Jonsson recorded my first collection album called “Conquer The Light”. It was a live session recorded in my living room with 16 songs.
I then uploaded a few of those songs on MySpace, but never did any advertising more than what existed there. In 2011, I started to record by myself. I had an LG x110 computer and recorded using a software called Mixcraft 3 with a “Go Mic” by Samson that I received as a gift from supportive friends. I rented a tiny cottage where I also lived for 3 years. This is where it all started, when I decided to give my 100% to music and art.
This cottage was literally my home studio filled with my paintings and music equipment everywhere. I even managed to fit my piano, although this cottage wasn’t bigger than 20 square meters. When I was not working in my day job, I used almost all of my time to create. In 2011, I got in contact with David MeShow. My little brother Simon, who is a guitarist, was following David’s videos on YouTube and insisted that I checked them out. Simon told me “You are going to love him”, which is exactly what happened.
I immediately felt a strong connection to David on a very deep level, so I finally sent him a message to let him know how much I appreciate what he does and who he is. The feeling was mutual, and we were in contact every day.
David wanted me to upload my music on YouTube. This was very new for me, but with his encouragement I created my YouTube account in 2012 and uploaded my first music video.This life-changing experience clearly shows that nothing is impossible. One fun fact: David and I were born on almost the same day (David, May 13 — myself, May 14).
You’ve performed live before even being on YouTube but as soon as you got online, you reached a much broader audience. What have you learned along the way through those diverse experiences?
It is impossible to compare live shows and YouTube. I would call YouTube the gallery of our art. We can use up several hours or days on one project, or we can record something quickly in a simple way. But in the end we never know which video will “explode”.
They are two completely different ways to reach out to people, because in live performances you have direct contact with your audience, a personal connection, but you can not be in two places at the same time. YouTube is tricky in the way that everyone has the possibility to upload videos, but nothing is guaranteed success regardless of how much effort you add to it. On YouTube you can reach out to everyone, and everyone can reach out to you, but they can do it with a mask on. Both are as important as the other, but in different ways.
For someone who wants to be a YouTube creator, what would be your advice?
You need to have a strong mind and a solid ground to not get knocked down by negative comments. The Internet is a place where people allow themselves to be the worst version of themselves, since they can be anonymous and hide behind a screen. Most negative feedback is coming from people who would never dare to do what you do. If you believe in what you do, and you love to do what you do, then go for it!
The key is to have no expectations, keep producing and leave space for surprises. Take the constructive criticism that can help you improve, and then give your energy to the people who are there to enjoy what you do. Share the good energy.
Who should we interview next?
- David MeShow, multi-instrumentalist & entertainer from Qc, Canada.
- Laure Brokeman, artist from the Netherlands (who drew the art cover for my album “Alive”)
- Matteo Arfanotti, an astonishing body painter & artist from Italy
- Francis Gaulin, drummer from Qc, Canada
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