Julie C

Montreal born artist Julie Crochetière (Julie C) has given herself the creative freedom to trust her instincts and have fun on her new album Steady Ground. The singer-songwriter, who has explored the world of pop in Sugar Jones and soul-jazz on her solo debut A Better Place, is now creating a contemporary soul sound with a hint of cool, club and sex appeal. Produced by Ron Lopata (Tommy Swick, Lindi Ortega), who played for years with the late Haydain Neale (Jacksoul), the album ranges from the first single Tomorrow, a crafted verse-chorus song inspired by her first trip to Jamaica, combined with the culture of slowing down to Ooh La La, an energetic fun and funky song about owning your femininity. Steady Ground, a soulful clap-along, originally recorded on her iPhone, while Apple Tree was written within 20 minutes of watching the love story Benjamin Button. “Previously I’ve stayed in very comfortable waters and this record is me pushing my boundaries,” Julie says. “I’m tackling my fears on this album, singing high and bringing out the powerful woman in me. It feels fun and more youthful. I tend to think myself into a frenzy, but I’m not such a heavy person. I like to laugh and have fun and I don’t think that’s been represented as much in my previous work.” The tall, slender French-Canadian with fiery red hair grew up in Montreal, the younger of two girls, her parents made them pick one sport and one instrument. Following her older sister, Julie chose piano and dance. For eight years, Julie studied classical piano, although she really wanted to learn the pop music she heard on the radio. By 13, she had already composed her first love song. Her family loved music. Their basement was filled with vinyl records and Julie would sit herself down in her beanbag chair and listen to them all. This was her first introduction to soul music, which led to a further discovery of music, such as Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, Aretha Franklin and Carole King. ''I want to write a song that becomes a classic. A timeless song that continues to touch people througout the years and I know I have that ability.'' At 19, Julie got an opportunity that is so commonplace now — on a reality television talent search called Popstars, which sought a girl pop group. In 2000 self-titled album went platinum and spawned top 10 singles How Much Longer and Days Like That. The five-piece disbanded in 2002. “It was an education in the music industry,” she reflects. “I liked the ride and I liked that it was going fast.” In 2003, Julie released her solo debut, an EP called Café, produced by Haig V. (Bran Van 3000). She took a leap of faith and, for the first time, stepped out on her own and started to build a career that represented herself. She performed at jazz festivals, showcasing her piano playing, songwriting skills, and ability to make classics her own. Interacting with musicians onstage was important to her. Since her Sugar Jones days she had only performed to tracks. “I was starving for that,” she says. One of the musicians in her band and on that EP was drummer Tony Albino, with whom she ended up producing 2007’s full-length, A Better Place. “Everything was recorded live off the floor,” says Julie. The first single from A Better Place, which sold over 30,000 copies independently through North America and Europe, Precious Love, peaked at #18 on the Canadian AC charts and stayed in the top 20 for 20 weeks. Precious Love was also nominated for “Best Song” at the 2009 Canadian Radio Music Awards and was the top downloaded album on iTunes Canada’s Soul/R&B charts in April 2008. “I have my roots in ‘60s and ‘70s music and I tend to be adamant about that, but at one point it comes to a place where you ask yourself the question, ‘What’s best for this song and how can I make it special and unique? What makes you remember it?’ “My motivation is to better myself,” says Julie. “I feel like I can better myself with music. I think it forces me and challenges me to think differently. It forces me to step outside my comfort zone and my comfort zone only gets bigger when I do step outside of it. It makes me a better musician.” Julie is also using her music skills to better the lives of young people, as the creator of Play It Forward, an ongoing series of concerts that raise funds for kids’ music programs. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.