“Some songs write themselves. This one didn’t.” (Julie Neff)
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: while nothing beats the experience of enjoying live music, it is the fostering of new friendships with many of the artists we meet on our journeys that constantly fuels our passion to keep GDW healthily chugging along. Better yet are those spontaneous encounters with emerging artists that plant seeds – never knowing what may grow, but grateful when they do indeed bear fruit.
Montréal, QC-based musician Julie Neff is no stranger here at GDW. Julie co-hosted a Toronto, ON house concert that we attended back in 2018 (and sang a few opening tunes), and we struck up a conversation with her after the show – not realizing at the time that seeds were indeed being planted.
Julie would reconnect with us a couple of years later to share news of a single titled “Siren Call,” (featured here in November 2020), and again shortly after with her “Over It” EP (featured in February 2021). Radio silence very quickly followed – but we knew of Julie’s frequent travels in Europe and Brazil – turning into a very long period of silence, until now. Julie has returned to Canada. And after a three-year recording hiatus, has a new single in tow…
“I was tired. Raw. Trying to make something that didn’t feel like anything yet,” Julie offers. “I’d just moved back from Brazil. I was living in someone else’s house, in someone else’s city, holding it together in ways that didn’t feel like me. But something small started forming. She looks so good, must be fine.” While “fine!?” was released a little over a month ago, Julie officially shares today a stunning music video to accompany the single.
For Julie, ‘fine’ can mean a lot of things. I’m fine! I’m falling apart! I’m trying to protect my energy! “I’ve been sitting with that word a lot – how it gets used, how it gets misunderstood, how it slips into conversations like a placeholder for something harder to name,” she shares. “Sometimes it means I’m not okay, but I don’t know how to say that out loud. Sometimes it means I’m tired of being asked.”
Co-directed by Jader Chahine and Pedro Lacerda, the music video was filmed by Carol Bonsi at the Gallery Studio in São Paulo, Brazil. The cinematography draws inspiration from Adele’s “Send My Love” and depicts Julie’s own personal battles with depression and chronic pain. “Lately, I’ve been wondering if fine could mean something else entirely. Not hiding. Not passing. Just surviving,” Julie adds. “The idea [in this video] is that you can wear all the makeup or fancy clothes you want, but it doesn’t erase the pain happening inside. Maybe it means this is what I have to give today – and that being enough.”
Photo Credit: Bruna Hissae
The British guy that crossed the ocean and crash landed in central Pennsylvania (to quote Greg Keelor, “And I wonder what am I doing here?”). As the youngest of four siblings, exposure to music from a very early age nurtured my passion and appreciation for many musical genres. Continuing to discover some amazingly diverse and talented musicians based in Canada, I gravitate to live music experiences and remain devoted to spreading the word about such a vibrant music scene.
