Name: Juli Lee
Nationality: Swiss
Occupation: Producer, DJ, label co-founder and -owner at klauselle
Current Release: Juli Lee’s new single "The Art Of Walking Away," featuring DeVaux, is out via Black Stellar.
Recommendations for Bern, Switzerland: Take a swim in the Aare - the river that wraps around the city. Lie on your back, watch the clouds drift above you, while the stones on the riverbed play a beautiful soundtrack just for you.
Things I am passionate about but rarely get to talk about: How loud our world has become - and how I think it could be quieter and slower. So we can actually perceive ourselves better.
And I truly believe that people are good at their core. We usually only act like assholes when we’re not doing well. Which is why it’s so important that as many people as possible are doing okay. Even from a selfish perspective, it makes sense to care about others - because it increases the chances that they won't act like assholes. And honestly? It just feels better not to be one yourself.

If you enjoyed this Juli Lee interview and would like to know more about her music, visit her on Instagram, Soundcloud, and Facebook.



When it comes to experiencing the sensation of “energy” as as a listener, which albums, performances, and artists come to mind?

I'm thinking primarily of DJ performances, since I've experienced the most of those, and I'm always struck by how differently a track can feel depending on who plays it and when.

It makes me realize that what I perceive as "energy" isn't necessarily tied to the acoustic signal alone, but rather that ‘how’ a person plays it really makes a difference.

There can be many different kinds of energy in art – soft, harsh, healing, aggressive, uplifting and many more. Which do you tend to feel drawn to most?

Music often evokes a sense of longing in me - a kind of nostalgia for things I haven’t even experienced yet. I find that to be a beautiful, almost enchanting kind of melancholy.

But I also enjoy a wide range of vibes and dynamics: energetic, driving, calming, fun, aching, joyful, complex. And I especially appreciate when music doesn’t just cater to easily identifiable emotions or moods, but also explores those subtle in - between tones - the ones that are hard to put into words.

I think that’s where the real strength of music lies: expressing what words often can't.

I have had a hard time explaining that listening to death metal calms me down. When you listen to a song with a particular energy, does it tend to fill you with the same energy – or are there “paradoxical” effects?

My brain is often very active, so it somehow relaxes when I listen to music that's complex but still accessible … though that’s not necessarily a paradox.

Otherwise, the vibe of a piece and its effect on me are usually more or less congruent, I guess  -  unless I have personal memories linked to it, tied to a specific situation in which I heard the track.

What the intended vibe of a piece is, I honestly don’t know. And depending on my own current state or position, I might interpret it differently each time anyway.

In as far as it plays a role for the music you like listening to or making, what role do words and the voice of a vocalist play for the transmission of energy?

What I appreciate about electronic music is that it often works without words, which makes it interculturally inclusive.

The absence of lyrics also leaves more room for personal interpretation of the vibe and allows those subtle emotional nuances - the in - between tones I mentioned earlier - to come through more clearly. That applies to both how I experience music and how I create it.

That said, I really do love the human voice and often listen to vocal tracks with lyrics. And when I'm creating music, I also enjoy working with words now and then - just not all the time.

When it comes to experiencing the sensation of “energy” as as a creator, how would you describe the physical sensation of experiencing this energy? [Where do you feel it, do you have a visual sensation/representation, is there a sense of release or a build - up of tension etc …]

I think my chest is where I feel the energy of a track most - sometimes it's my belly. Probably the same for a lot of people.

I also have the sense that my inner compass lives in my chest - like the compass needle sits right there. When I'm listening to music, I often get images of expansion or contraction in that area. Or I feel a pull, a pressure, a tingling.

And then there are those famous little hairs all over the body that suddenly stand up when something truly moves you.

When it comes to composing / songwriting, are you finding that spontaneity and just a few takes tend to capture energy best? Or does honing a piece bring you closer to that goal?

I'm definitely more on the spontaneous side. When you repeat a process too often, it can start to feel too rehearsed, too forced …

But I’ve also experienced how, after many repetitions, a kind of calm naturalness can emerge - because you’ve done it so many times that you’re no longer trying to express something … you just do it.

So for me, it’s either minimal repetition - or so much that it becomes almost meditative.

How much of the energy of your own music, would you say, is already part of the composition, how much of it is the result of the recording process?

It’s hard for me to draw clear lines between things, because the processes tend to flow into one another.

For "The Art Of Walking Away," what kind of energy were you looking for?

A place that feels good and peaceful. Free of resentment or anger. But the lightness of it still carries traces of the struggles that came before - so it doesn’t feel superficial or airy.

Maybe something like this: a sense of ease, maybe even a shimmering feeling of joy, that stands in contrast to the difficult moments that preceded it.

How do you capture the energy you want in the studio?

It really depends on the mood I want to capture.

I think I can only capture moods that I either perceive in others or feel myself.

What role do factors like volume, effects like distortion, amplification, and production in general for in terms of creating the energy you want?

Every form of editing or processing plays a role - it all feeds into the energy of the track.

In terms of energy, what changes when you're performing live on stage, with an audience present, compared to the recording stage?

They’re two completely different worlds.

At gigs, it’s a dialogue - an exchange of energy. In the studio, I don’t have to "listen" to the mood of an audience and respond to it. Instead, I mostly listen to myself and follow whatever I'm personally drawn to in that moment.

Unless, of course, I'm collaborating - then my counterpart is just one person, not a larger collective.

How does the presence of the audience and your interaction with it change the energy of the music and how would you describe the creative interaction with listeners during a gig?

It’s half the game - 50% of the deal.

Like in a conversation, I try to listen first (to understand the energy of the other side), and then I respond in a way that I hope will be understood. And if the other person doesn’t completely reject what I’m putting out there, then the conversation - the interaction – continues.

And from there, it can become anything: from awkward and slow to something that really flows.

What kind of feedback have you received from listeners or concert audiences in terms of the experience that your music and/or performances have had on them?

I often hear people say, “I don’t know you, but when I listen to you play, I feel like I understand you.” There are very few situations in my life where I feel connected to so many people at once - so it means a lot to me when dancers tell me they felt connected to the space, too.

That they could feel the love I often have for the room and the people in front of me. That they sensed how much of myself I put into it.

And last but not least: that they felt seen - or at least invited. Because I never want to contribute to the curation of an elitist or exclusive space. I always want to remain open, permeable, and inclusive.

Would you say that you prefer to stay in control to be able to shape the energy or do you surrender to it and allow the music to take over? Who, ultimately has control during a live performance?

I do think it helps when I turn down the volume on my rational side a bit.

The energy that music is able to generate can be extremely powerful. How, do you think, can artists make use of this energy to bring about change in the world?

I don’t want to give a “heal - the - world - with - music” kind of answer. But I do believe that music’s connective power is incredibly important - especially in the current state of the world.

Music can make you feel connected to people you might otherwise have no access to. It fosters connection and empathy.