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Jeremy Williams-Chalmers
Arts Correspondent
@jeremydwilliams
7:00 AM 11th August 2020
arts

Interview With Julian Le Play

 
A decade has passed by since Julian Le Play released his debut single, albeit under his birth name Julian Heidrich. Two years later he debuted with his stage name and found his audience. His debuted album stormed to #5 in the Austrian charts and since then his recording career has gone from strength to strength. As he releases album number 4, Tandem, which features collaborations with toksi and Madeline Juno, we caught up with him to learn a little more...

First and foremost, hello and how are you?

I’m really good, since I’m gonna release my 4th album after 4 years. It’s finally all coming out and that's a sick feeling.

Tell us about the record you have just released…

My record is called TANDEM, because it is about doing things together, sticking together and being there for each other. It’s a very positive & adventure loving album with lots of big hooks and lots of beautiful little melodies. I composed it together with a lot of good friends in a small wooden house up in the alps of Tyrol, Austria.

How do you feel when releasing a record?

On one hand i feel really relieved and happy because I've been working on it for so long and finally my fans get to hear all these songs.. On the other hand sometimes it’s also a bit sad because it is sort of the end of a long chapter in your life and you know that as soon as the record is out, you’re gonna work on new music soon. Normally you get to play these new songs on a tour, that’s gonna be delayed a lot this time.



What inspired the record?

Honestly: all these different people that i was working with.

Of course there are a lot of personal thoughts and stories but since it was the first album on which i collaborated a lot with other writers, producers and artists i think i can say that each of them has had a big impact on the stories and the music.

If the record were an animal, what animal would it be?

I think it would be a group of dolphins, having a good time in the sea.

Define your sound in five words…

Uplifting & melancholic at the same time. Sometimes epic, sometimes really intimate.

What was the first song that caught your attention?

I think it was Laith Al Deen's "Bilder von dir".

What was the first song you bought?

That must have been Sugababes or Westlife or some other boy or girl group.

And the first album?

Anastacia’s first or second album.

What was the best concert you have ever seen?

Coldplay in a big stadium. I’m a huge Chris Martin fan.

What did the experience teach you that you have translated to your own shows?

They got such a nice mixture of grand and epic moments and then those intimate, goosebump moments. Since then i tried to sort of give my audience a journey instead of giving them more and more of the same, song after song.

What other artist are you most excited to hear from?

I love Dua Lipa, Honne, LAUV or Kings of Convenience.

If you could work with them, what would you hope to record?

Maybe for once a song without lyrics, that would be interesting one day. Just let the music speak.

If you could jam with one artist alive or dead, who would it be?

Jamie Cullum.

If you could have written one song by another artist, what would it be?

Say A Little Prayer - I just love that song.

Someone is making a film of your life, who will play you?

Zach Braff (JD in the Scrubs)