[Exclusive Interview]: Julian Lamadrid, the Rebel with a Cause and Creativity
Julian Lamadrid may seem like another pop singer-songwriter, but he’s willing to rebel and bend rules and call the shots of his own path. He is the director of his own life…as an emerging artist.
It took me a minute to realize the real connection to music that Lamadrid holds, but it’s undoubtedly there. In fact, he holds an unwavering passion for it and with a flame that can’t be tamed. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t excited to be interviewing him, so I’ll be honest, I am ecstatic.
Before I share our interview, let me introduce him. Lamadrid is a young creative of Mexican descent, who was born and raised in Dubai. During his childhood, Lamadrid grew up in a futuristic, yet restrictive metropolis, finding his escape within the confines of literature, film and old school icons such as Elvis, Pink Floyd and Bowie. Along the way, Lamadrid found his love of all of these things at the nexus with music, and so started his journey into the music industry. Today, the modern-day James Dean, embraces the rebel with a cause within him, designing cutting-edge tracks with anthemic qualities. More recently, the artist released his new single, “My Time”, which you can listen to above, that touches on the value of time, something we have most certainly learned a lot about given the state that the current world is in now.
At the age of eighteen, Lamadrid moved to New York City, to chase after the music dream and study film at NYU. While working on his projects he grew frustrated with the direction that the music industry was taking which forcibly pushed artists to create art for social media and data, rather than for art in and of itself. With that said, the young revolutionary took charge and released a twelve track concept album to defy and break out of the status quo. In three years time, the artist graduated and forged his music career.
Thus far, the musical agitator has proven successful, with an impressive one sheet to share. Intertwining new wave-bedroom pop, hip hop, 80’s synth and British rock, Lamadrid has garnered millions of streams for his music. In addition, he has found ways to combine his other passions into his work including snippets from films, samples of poems, and even segments of operas. Having the film degree allows Lamadrid to make music from a cinematic perspective, seeing images tied to sounds, like a form of synesthesia. Just watch the music video for “Neon” below for reference.
The singer has these ballad-like whines in his vocals which are similar to A Great Big World, the fury and intensiveness in his emotions like Yungblud, and the vibe and aura like The 1975, but in all of that Lamadrid creates a little pocket for himself. He directs scenes of angst and love in all of his pieces. From songs like “Mess” which are down-tempo and powerful to songs like “Neon” that are playful, disruptive, and wild, we meet the varying personalities and characters of a multi-faceted artist.
My personal favorite “Cigarettes” is the song to throw you back into high school day dreams, running or biking down your neighborhood street, chasing the sun with your friends, uncorrupted by judgements and responsibilities of the outside world.
If there was a way to characterize Lamadrid’s music it would be “fashionably fluid” or “sonically stylistic”. His music transforms each time into a new genre and sound in a stylish and sometimes unexpected way. The instrumentals are layered well and the melodies are memorable. And though this is just the beginning for Lamadrid, this is an extremely well-established start.
What helps me resonate the most with his music is that it seems to tie together a lot of similar themes and genres our generation grew up with— punk and rock in middle school, indie rock, hip hop in high school, and R&B, electronic, and indie pop in college. Concocting his own potion, Lamadrid redesigns all of these elements into one unit. Aesthetically, the Arista Records-signee is as experimental as his sound, wearing colorful shades and eccentric patterns under wildly accentuated lighting (see below in his Instagram photos).
For “My Time”, Lamadrid drew inspiration from his Eastern roots to construct the single with a futuristic twist. The lyrics reveal his self-discovery and realization when someone isn’t worth your time anymore, and the immense feeling of relief and confidence you find when you finally make the decision to move on with your life. He explains, “Time is the most valuable thing we have, don’t waste it on someone who doesn’t deserve it.”
Here is our interview
Neelu Mohaghegh [NM]: How did you get started with music and when did you know you wanted to pursue it as a career?
Julian Lamadrid [JL]: “For my 12th birthday my dad bought me a really basic Dj Deck and I slowly taught myself how to mix and started playing at parties. It was great, I suddenly began to feel like I was great at something, curating the vibe and playing the right songs became really addicting so my music library grew and I just started searching all over the internet for music. Every week I’d download hundreds of tracks. Eventually I realized that being a musician was the coolest thing in the world, I idolized immortal figures like David Bowie, Elvis, Lou Reed etc. So I decided to learn to produce at around 15 and just like DJing, I was addicted. I haven’t stopped making music since then and I guess it gradually became a career because people started caring, which is incredible.”
[NM]: I know you have mentioned being raised in Dubai, and I also grew up for a little bit in Dubai when I was little, and recently visited there with my family, but I was curious to know if being in the UAE influenced your music in any way?
[JL]: “I think growing up in Dubai was crucial because the U.A.E gave me something that is paramount for any artist, it gave me a platform to rebel against, an alternate culture and scene to aspire too. Since Dubai lacked the culture and creativity and substance that other cities such as New York or Paris offered, I began to live on the internet and live vicariously through the stories of artists I would discover. Don’t get me wrong, Dubai was fun and i met some great people, but for the most part, It was a classic story of kid grows up dreaming of leaving the town he’s born into, I dreamt of 1960’s New York nightclubs, the damp streets of a romantic night in Paris, I dreamt of bursting open the bubble and seeing what else was out there.”
[NM]: How does the music scene differ there (in Dubai) in comparison to anywhere else you've been?
[JL]: “The music scene in Dubai around the time I was growing up was virtually non existent. If you weren’t Britany spears or the Black Eyed Peas, you wouldn’t be booking a show any time soon. There were cool metal bands here and there but nothing that really caught my eye. I had a punk rock group for a while and we were only able to play like 3 proper gigs because the age and alcohol restrictions are so strict. But since then I feel the scene is growing, lots of people are turning to the arts to revitalize the city, It’s inspiring to see. But compared to New York or London or even Mexico City, Dubai has a long way to go in terms of investing in genuine culture and a musical scene.”
[NM]: What was the song-writing process like for "My Time" and why did you feel compelled to write this song in particular?
[JL]: “My parents went through a pretty rough divorce and before I new it I was gone, in a complete different side of the world and kind of separate from it all. I spent a long time though thinking about the effect that must have on a person, to give so much time to them and for it not to work out. After really searching within myself I do honestly believe this song was a release of those emotions, and ode to the time that is wasted on love. And yet it is never completely a waste, I mean I wouldn’t be here if they hadn’t have had that time.”
[NM]: How have you continued to stay creative during these weird and heavy times in the world?
[JL]: “I’m just trying to not let the world get me down. I make music for myself and I try not to let anything or anyone other than myself affect that.”
[NM]: Who are some of your biggest influences and why? (and this can be beyond musical artists as well).
[JL]: “Vincent Gallo is a huge inspiration of mine and whenever I hear that word (‘influence’) I instantly go back to him. Besides being a spiritual brother to me, his art and his writings and everything about the man reminds me that you can’t let other people dictate who you are and what you create. He’s an incredible artist who speaks his mind and is honest. I respect that hugely. I also recently got inspired by this book store owner and New York cultural queen Sarah McNally, she’s this amazing woman in her 40’s who runs multiple book stores (McNally Jackson) in Brooklyn and Manhattan, the soho one is my favorite store and everything i’ve read about her online is just exactly the way I want to be living my life, reading and walking around the city feeling like I’ve truly contributed to it. But influences are difficult to point out precisely, there are just so many; David Bowie, Elvis Presley, Haruki Murakami, Jean Paul Sartre, Ian Curtis, Nicolas Winding Refn, Alan Vega, Diana Veerland, Ricardo Bofil, Hedi Slimane, Wong Kar-Wei, Alejandro Jodorowky, Herman Hesse, Roger Waters, River Phoenix, Mia Hassan Love etc etc etc the list is endless.”
[NM]: What's your go-to song right now that you're jamming out to?
[JL]: “I’m listening a lot to this song Blinded By The Sun by this strange 90’s band called The Seahorses, I think this was the single from their only album, pretty sure the lead singer was hooked on smack and they broke up really soon after it came out. The song is amazing though, sounds like Oasis mixed with The Doors, and the lyrics are brilliant.”
[NM]: What are you looking forward to in the coming months/year (both musically and personally)?
[JL]: “I’m almost finished recording and mixing my second album, which is so so exciting. It’s a whole new level musically for me, exploring a lot of my early electronic music influences and hip hop in a whole new way. Personally I’m excited to be reunited with my family after all this madness, I miss them all dearly. It’s the small stuff I’m excited for, just sharing a meal with people I love.”
[NM]: How do you come up with the creative for your music (the music videos and the cover art)? They're all so amazing and vivid and bold and in some ways tastefully chaotic. I see your cinematic influence and past in them.
[JL]: “‘tastefully chaotic’ haha I love that. Well I guess it all kind of comes to me at once, videos and album art are an integral part of my creative expression, almost as valuable as the music itself. So I am very picky and particular with how I’m presenting myself. For example we did a music video for my recent single Cigarette and spent like 30,000 on it. When we began editing it though something didn’t feel right, It had been my first video working with a director other than myself and maybe that played a role but it just wasn’t working. It wasn’t me. So I went back to my original idea, boy and girl, Saint Laurent fashion video simple idea. We shot it for the most minimal budget and it turned out to be perfect. So I guess for me it’s just about trusting my gut and going with what feels right, both visually and sonically.”
[NM]: What's your detour? (what's something you do outside of music that makes you you; it could be a fun fact, it could be a passion project you just picked up or a side project you've been working on, or a hobby that you think fans probably don't know about you).
[JL]: “I love reading and always have a book with me wherever I go, It’s honestly my only form of meditation. Other than that I’m a pretty normal guy, I like to drink with friends and go out dancing (at least I did before all this mess). Eventually though I’m going to write and direct a feature film, I’ve been working on a script for the past 3 years and have slowly been refining it, first I just really gotta make it as a musician and then it’ll be easier to fund it.”
[NM]: What's one word you'd use to describe yourself?
[JL]: “Hungry.”
[NM]: Explain to me your social bio--I'm so curious! "it began slow. 12 inches from the sun. a whisper. a drum. a shadow beneath the car that said anything was possible. i shiver still till this day. i hope it's worth it. i really hope it's worth it."
[JL]: “It’s a poem I wrote. It creates this cinematic introductory feeling that I like. I hate the idea of describing myself like ‘hey y’all! I’m Mexican but was raised in Dubai and now I live in New York please love me blah blah blah’.
I’d rather strive to connect every facet of my artistic expression into this great big romantic cosmos that hopefully withstands the test of time. Each album, song, poem, film, image, sculpture, painting; the extension of a man.”
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Thank you so much, Julian for chatting with me. I’m really exciting for your journey, and can’t wait for what’s to come. Keep doing amazing things!