The singer, songwriter and actress from São Paulo Julia Freitas has lived from art for as long as she can remember. Despite being a trained publicist, she started acting at a young age and also never stopped hiding her passion for music. Over time, she took classes, studied and started writing her own songs. Suddenly, she was already releasing her first singles. Five of those songs, released in 2022, now come together in the solid narrative of Tempo, her first EP.
With production by Jeff Pina, the release has five tracks that illustrate Julia’s sound very well, in a light and essentially acoustic pop that highlights her melodic voice, which always draws the attention of those who see her sing. The EP starts with “Navegantes de Mares”, a song that talks about ancestors and has strong and easily identifiable lyrics. About this track, Júlia remembers that she was shocked to read the testimony of a listener through social networks.
Continuing, the tracklist goes to “Passou a Vida”, a song that talks about people who, stuck in the past, fail to pay due attention to the present and the future. Then comes “Um Dia”, in which the lyrical self, finally letting go of the past, assumes the will to change and starts to go after it.
“Composing with Zeus”, the track that follows, takes up the issue of memories, but with a bias of self-sufficiency and reflection. And, to finish off with a flourish, we have “Sinta a Vida”, a composition with a rhythmic reference to flamenco and the most recent single of the entire work. “Feel the present as an open door”, portrays the chorus, concluding a narrative whose message, basically timeless, is that we have to face the past with affection and respect, using it as learning in the present to be synonymous with achievement in the future. future.
Julia Freitas is a singer, actress and dancer with a very interesting artistic project. A self-taught composer, she studied singing (at the Music School of Piracicaba Maestro Ernst Mahle, in Piracicaba, and at the Ernesto Nazareth Musical Conservatory, in São Paulo) and worked at the Wolf Maia Actors School and the Fátima Toledo Studio. Currently, she continues to perfect her vocal talent under the mentorship of influential teacher Wilson Gava.
Starting her career as an actress, Julia has already participated in nine plays and three webseries, in addition to several advertisements and the role of the character Virgo in the series Animal, on the GNT channel. All this led her to also venture into music, a world she entered through singing choirs, experiences in bands and even her participation in the program Ídolos. She has released several singles over the years and has broadened her audience in a variety of ways, such as performing at weddings and serenading. She is currently releasing her debut EP titled Tempo. Check out the interview!
What were your biggest musical influences (genres or artists) for this release? What have you been hearing out there to recommend for us?
My biggest influences for this release were Maria Gadu, Marisa Monte, Melim and AnaVitoria. It was a combination of all these artists. Lately I hear a lot of “Amor de Índio” in Maria Gadu’s version, despite being an old song she always inspires me because of the interpretation.
His career counted and counts on the passage of big and consolidated names of the scene, such as Wilson Gava and Jeff Pina. How have they contributed to your professional life?
First came Jeff Pina (2020), who managed to better translate my musical style and put through the arrangements everything I wanted to express through my compositions and often couldn’t. He really likes teaching and getting into the artist’s world so he can really explore the essence of that composition and translate it into song and it was with him that I started to look at my art in a more professional way.
And now in 2022 I met Wilson Gava who has been bringing a great improvement to my voice with very accurate and practical techniques. Today I am very happy to be monitored by him so that I can increasingly take my art more assertively to the greatest number of people.
Her Instagram bio says her voice is said to be calm and brings joy. What do you hear from feedback from your fans in general? Has a testimonial from a fan marked your trajectory?
Yes, I always hear a lot that my songs calm and bring joy. There were some testimonials that made me feel that I was on the right path. When I released the songs “Além de Mim” (2019) I received many directs on Instagram saying that they didn’t know if they “listened to the music or felt it” this moved me a lot at the time. And there was a very strong testimonial that I received when I released the first song of this EP “Navegantes de Marés”, from a follower who came to share with me that on the week of the release she was 10 weeks pregnant and her pregnancy was going through some problems and could evolve for an abortion, according to doctors. She said that it was a very painful week and that the song “so calmed and gave a lot of faith to believe that everything has a purpose, even if the baby didn’t stay here, God knew why” and that she would get stronger. The pregnancy progressed to an abortion, but she told me that she was at peace, and for me it is very gratifying to know that “Navegantes de Marés” brought her some calm, and ended up telling me to “never give up on continuing on my path and that music and art always need to be an expression of God on earth. No matter how hard I have, not give up on showing my voice… and for me to continue helping people through music”. This statement was very strong for me, I didn’t know her, and the fact that she took the liberty of coming to talk to me and reporting all this gave me a lot of strength and faith in my path with art as well.
Your career has already made considerable headway (and that’s considering you’re still on your first few releases). Since the beginning, including the bands you’ve been in and your participation in Ídolos, how much do you think you’ve grown professionally?
I look at my trajectory with great gratitude. Everything happened and happens at the right time. I never gave up. I went to Ídolos in 2007 and I was still very immature, but I always had this desire to sing and be able to express my mission through art. I went through bands which I also had a lot of improvements, everything was evolving little by little, I sang in choirs, I had special participation through music in important moments of my life. I feel that I have grown a lot professionally, music has always played an important role in my life, but when I decided to make it my main target, to take over my career, I really focused and I look back and see that it evolves. I was very ashamed when they asked me to sing as a family, I confess I didn’t like it. Today I unite family gatherings through singing.
Once the EP was released, what are the future steps of your career? Already have something planned?
Yes I have! I’m planning to release a next EP in 2023. I’m working on the compositions with the support of Wilson Gava.
Any final contributions?
I want to thank everyone who supported me in the construction of this project, without them none of this would have happened. Fernando Biscalchin who beautifully scripted and directed all the clips and managed through his sensitivity to translate everything I wanted to express in each song into an audiovisual project. Bruno Nakamura from “Nakamovie film and photography”, who in a very accurate and sensitive way also did all the photography direction, editing and image capture, managed to bring all the texture and atmosphere to each clip. Thanks also to visagista Adriana Santos, Katrukiine Cosméticos, Gabriele Hebling, the Rio Claro salon Dhi Afonso Beauty Salon, the Cohn Monteiro Narducci Family, Lucia Brienza for their support. To Jeff Pina for the musical production and the cast of the song “Um dia” which was very top Hetlin Sales Albergaria, Emanuela do Vale, Melissa Alves and Gabi Antunes. And Bruna Alves, who is giving all the support to the launch. Gratitude is the word.
Follow Julia Freitas on Instagram
With Luca Moreira, Regina Soares, Letícia Cleto and Affonso Tavares