Julie Kuhl shakes up the Frankfurt music scene

 "Lonely Freaks". A relaxed, grooving piece that tells of how lost in the world you sometimes feel. Or "Nostalgic Bones", which is reminiscent of the sound of the eighties. Or the melancholy "Hades", calm, reduced, completely focussed on the delicate voice. Anyone who listens to Julie Kuhl's songs is quickly drawn in. And are usually amazed when they learn that the singer has only just come of age.

The Frankfurter  has already released two albums. The first, recorded with her brother in the nursery, was self-published. The second, "Born With Nostalgic Bones", was released last autumn on the Frankfurt music label Jazzmontez. And a few days ago, she performed live again at the "Hessian Jazz Podium" at the University of Music and Performing Arts.

You can certainly call Julie Kuhl determined, but she doesn't seem the least bit nerdy. On a backyard balcony in Nordend, she talks about what she likes to do: walking through the main cemetery ("But that shouldn't sound gloomy"), drawing, painting, tailoring. She also used to be active in a theatre group. But her heart has always beaten the hardest for music. The first songs she wrote were written when she was at primary school. Kuhl sang them in an imaginary language. Because she liked English pop better than German, she tried to imitate the language she could not yet speak. "I sang the way I thought it sounded in English."

She came into contact with the Jazzmontez label through her guitar teacher. He had recorded a song with her, she made a simple video for it and uploaded it to YouTube. After a meeting with the two people behind the label, Lorenzo Dolce and John Steinmark, it was clear that they wanted to produce an album with Kuhl. In a rush, they wrote an application for the Initiative Musik, a funding organisation of the Federal Ministry of Economics.

The elaborate production of the album was made possible by and thanks to a generous grant from Initiative Musik. For the first time in the history of this artist funding program by the German government, the application of a musician under the age of 18 was successful.

"I never thought it would work out," says Kuhl. She was able to record her album in Berlin, Frankfurt and Brussels.
Music is a "safe space"

The eighteen-year-old says she learnt from her parents that you can turn your passion into a career, that you can be successful as a freelancer. Her mother draws and writes children's books, her father founded a communications agency. And Lasse, her brother, who is four years older, also makes music. His band recently released their debut album. Julie Kuhl joined them on stage at the release concert. "We've always had a good relationship as siblings," she says. "Since we've both been working so intensively on our music, it's become even closer."

Music, says Kuhl, is a "safe space" for her. When she writes a song, the "chaos in her head" organises itself, then she can put her feelings into words without anyone immediately letting go of their opinion. Most of her songs are therefore created spontaneously, out of the moment. "I've resolved that whenever I have an idea for a song, I'll immediately drop everything else," she says.

Of course, this doesn't always work in everyday life. Over the next few months, Kuhl will have to concentrate on school. She wants to take her A-levels at Gutenbergschule in the Bockenheim district in the summer, and preparations for the exams will start soon.

But then she wants to take a year off. Record new pieces, realise projects with other musicians, play more concerts again. And then, if everything goes smoothly, she would like to study jazz singing.