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" I was in school for four years writing music to please my teachers. That was not music I liked. And when I make music that isn't for something I want to make, and it's to please other people, it's - the outcome is really bad. "

Julia Holter

Writing

Music

People

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Character

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Julia Holter

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Seen

Scary

" When I was a kid, I had a xylophone, and I thought that was the instrument I wanted to play. I didn't realize it was a toy. "

" One thing I do like about L.A. is the fact that you can be - whether you're famous or it's just a matter of, like, seeing people you know all the time on the street, you can be pretty anonymous and walk around and, like, not run into people, because it's such a big city and because a lot of people drive. "

" I am very interested in the human voice and how we use it, especially when we aren't thinking, like the kind of stuff Robert Ashley was interested in. "

" I don't know how well I work in traditions. I don't know if it's just the way I listened to music growing up and never having my foot in one particular world, and just wanting to do my own thing. "

" I see myself as a songwriter and a poet. "

" I don't consider myself supremely talented, but I really like to try things and sift through it and see what mess I made. "

Julia Holter

See

Try

" I try to ignore people's opinions about my music - you don't want to hold yourself back because of that stuff. "

" I try to not think too much about how people are receiving my music. And I'm not really famous enough that it's a problem. "

" If I'm kind of sad or depressed, it doesn't necessarily help me to write a song about exactly what I'm depressed about. "

Julia Holter

Kind

Sad

" There's definitely been a focus on the literary aspects of my music, and I always get a little cringey because I don't feel like I'm particularly literary. There's a sort of academic label that's put on me that seems inaccurate. "

Julia Holter

Focus

Music

" I think what's interesting in L.A. is that there's a lot of variety because L.A. is very spread out. I think there is a lot I don't know about, to be completely honest. It's a very mysterious town. "

" You can have an Internet presence, but it doesn't mean anyone has any idea who you are or what you look like. Which is great. "

" David Bowie - I definitely knew some of his music as a teenager, but I didn't actually listen to his music as much until I was in my 20s. "

" One thing that's really important to me in my music is mystery. "

" I played cello on my early recordings, but that doesn't mean I'm a cellist, you know? "

" I don't think all music that is considered 'avant-garde' is bad, but it's definitely elitist. I hope my music is not that. "

" I thought I was gonna get a doctorate in composition or be a composer and be at a university for the rest of my life, mostly because my parents are academics, and that was the logical thing to do. "

" The meaning of the words in my songs are very important to me. But what's most important to me is that the music works. "

Julia Holter

Words

Important

" It's nice to work with people who know how to mic drums right and how to record properly. But there's something to be said for doing it yourself. "

" I say most of my music is very trial-and-error. "

" I usually like to hide my vocals behind the music. I don't like to hide them consciously, but I have a tendency to prefer the vocal at the same level as everything else and put lots of reverb on it. "

Julia Holter

Behind

Everything

" It's hard for me to get shows in the U.S. It's that simple. I don't know what that means. I think it means there's not as much support here for my music? "

Julia Holter

Simple

Support

" I don't write thinking directly about what I'm feeling, usually. I just let myself write whatever comes out without it necessarily being directly a translation of what I'm aware that I'm feeling, you know? "

" I really write at home on my own, and the demos themselves are very similar to the final recordings in a lots of ways. "

" I don't fit into a group very well socially. And that might be reflected in my music. "