Q&A: Late-Night Jams and Unfulfilled Needs, Juney Gets Hopelessly Romantic With “I Still Need You”
THE LATEST REPRESENTATIVE OF BEDROOM POP — Juney’s music will make you dream with your eyes wide open.
The Austria-born artist also known as Julian realized he needed to start the solo project that later became known as Juney at the beginning of the pandemic, when the band he had formed with his best friend fell apart.
Now, Juney can showcase his love for acts such as Radiohead, The Beatles, Mac DeMarco, and Steve Lacy in songs like his newest “I Still Need You,” featuring heavy reverb and dreamy instrumentals.
To discover more about the London-based artist, read our interview with Juney below.
LUNA: Who is Juney? How and when was this project born?
JUNEY: Hey, I’m Julian. I’m originally from Austria and moved to London for all the excitement it has to offer for aspiring musicians. Juney is my solo project that started as late-night jams with my best friend and drummer Luke, after our old band came to an end at the start of the pandemic.
LUNA: How has your music changed within the past few years?
JUNEY: I’ve always been a big fan of bands like Radiohead, The Beatles, ELO, and early Coldplay — they’re the foundation I grew up with. Recently I’ve been listening to a lot more soul/R&B and lo-fi–sounding music, and that’s really shifted the sound I gravitate towards.
LUNA: Who else inspired your music? Who are your biggest influences?
JUNEY: Men I Trust, Mac DeMarco, and Steve Lacy are high up on the list, and at the moment also a lot of Alice Phoebe Lou. And in general any Thom Yorke–related project.
LUNA: Could you introduce your favorite singles you've released so far?
JUNEY: Well, there are only two so far, but I’m really proud of “I Still Need You.” I think it captures an emotion and sound I had been trying to record for a while.
LUNA: How did you develop this style? Will you experiment with other genres in the future?
JUNEY: A big part of this was recording in my bedroom, DIY engineering the drums, and then always ever so slightly not managing to match the original references. My good friend Brett Cox helped me finish the production and mixed it all, and that nudged it into a different direction again. In the future, I’d love to be able to record full band live takes and maybe play with some loose jazzy ideas too — I feel really inspired by the sort of thing Jonah Yano is doing.
LUNA: What inspired “I Need You,” and how did it come to life?
JUNEY: This was the first song I wrote for this new project. It started as a solo jam on this Tascam 4-track cassette recorder I bought off Reverb. I really loved that lo-fi sound, and it didn’t feel to me like it would have fit in with my old band’s music.
LUNA: Who produces your tracks? How do you choose which producers to work with? Do you have some dream producers you'd like to work with?
JUNEY: Brett Cox, who I had met through my old band, [produces my tracks]. He’s incredibly talented, inspiring to work with and a lovely person to be around. In my experience, choosing a producer is incredibly hard, especially as you’re trying to figure out who you are as an artist — so the human component to it, a mutual understanding of how each of you work and what you like, is so important. Not sure there’s anyone in particular I would pick — it’s something that happens organically.
LUNA: Is music your main occupation at the moment? If not, how are you conciliating your day job with your music career?
JUNEY: Ah, I wish it was, but no — I work full-time as an app developer for a music startup. It’s a good gig though, and [it] enables me to fund my music endeavors.
LUNA: Have you ever been on tour?
JUNEY: I have not, but I would love to. I’m currently working on putting together a live set for next year, which sees a lot of songs reworked using violin. We’ll play with some London shows and see how it goes.
LUNA: Who's your dream feature?
JUNEY: I'd love to work with Sam Evian!
LUNA: Where do you see yourself in one year as a musician?
JUNEY: Having released the music I’m currently working on in a way that is artistically fulfilling to me, and hopefully it will have made it to some people’s speakers.
