When you press play on Peace and Love, Juls's latest offering, you are once again transported to a sonic landscape that takes you all across the world. From top to bottom, the 18-track album once again provides evidence of his ability to constantly evolve and grow within his artistic talents while also remaining true to the sound he has been able to cultivate throughout his 10-year career span.
The album is a vibrant collection of sounds that are both rhythmic and deep in the sonic realms they transpire from. Taking listeners from sounds from Brazil, Ghana, the UK, South Africa, and everywhere in between, he is the prime example of somebody who sees no borders in the music he is able to create.
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Not to mention his ability to bring together various talents from all over the globe, including frequent collaborators such as Tay Iwar, Projexx, and Jaz Karis. He blends a mixture of talent, from established artists to newer talent names such as Victony, Ghetts, Wretch 32, Odeal, Mereba, and Joey Bada$$, to name a few. He allows them to flourish in their own way across the beats and sounds that he creates.
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His work as a producer and DJ over the past decade has made him one of the sought-after global tastemakers. He has been able to tap into new sounds and build a sonic profile that is unique to his style of music and makes him stand out amongst his peers.
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Speaking to Juls, we touched on his new album Peace & Love, the secret behind his collaborations—10 Years of Juls—and so much more.
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You just released your latest album, Peace & Love. Tell us about the title and its meaning.
So, Peace and Love is a phrase that I often use when speaking to everyone and anyone, from my parents to siblings, to friends and colleagues. When I say goodbye, I'm like, "Peace, peace," or if someone is saying something to me, it's like, "Love, love, love." But the reason behind me calling my album Peace and Love is because a lot of the sonics in the music that I was creating over the last few months were just around environments that depicted peace, whether it was on my travels, in the hotel or my studio making some of these beats. I guess a lot of the love I had when making the music came from being surrounded by a lot of love—from family, friends, and many artists I work with. There was a lot of love in the room in terms of collaboration and a lot of appreciation for each other's art. Over the last ten years of making music, many of my music and sonics have depicted that vibe, whether the message is about love, lust, intimacy, or something more profound. So, I decided to call my album Peace and Love because when someone listens to the CD, the vinyl, or plays it wherever they want, it's supposed to evoke that natural feeling of peace, whether you're in your lounge, your car, with friends, or even in the club. It's supposed to depict that type of energy, and that's why I called it that.
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You released a number of singles before the album dropped that gave us a different glimpse of what to expect. How did you choose the singles you wanted to lead with?
In terms of why I chose the singles, I wasn't thinking about the process of choosing them strategically. It was just about the feeling at the time. The first record was with Odeal, Hold You Down, which was like springtime when we dropped it, gearing up for summer. Summertime is when people want to be outside, find love, or spend time with their loved ones. That record speaks to that in a very intimate way. The record with JayO was strictly for summer because of the tempo—it gets everybody dancing and feeling good. You know, having a great time in Malta during the summer was what that track depicted. Perspective was also dropped in the summer, but around that time, summer started to simmer down a bit; even though it was dropped a little before Carnival, it was meant to create a soundtrack for summer at sunset or sunrise. It's the type of record you'd play when things are calming down. The message also speaks about how we see things from different perspectives, specifically from our travels and culture. The Black Sherif and Projexx song was me wanting to put out a record that represented many of the roots that I come from and relate to, which is Ghanaian highlife and Caribbean music, like reggae, by way of collaboration with Projexx. That's how I went with the music—I wanted it to give an impression of what the album would sound like. But when people listen to the album fully, there may be some surprises or pleasant surprises regarding collaborations with the people on the album.
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What is the process of choosing your collaborators, especially for this project?
When I'm making music, I make a lot of beats just for the fun of it. Then, when I have the beat to a certain level, I think about what I want the message to be. I'm not necessarily thinking about the artist there and then. However, whenever I work on a project, I have a whiteboard of artists I would love to work with. Most of the time, they are artists I am a massive fan of, and they've also been fans of me. For example, Odeal and I wanted to work together for a while, but something always came up whenever it was supposed to happen. However, we finally managed to lock in and create some amazing music, and we still have a lot of stuff in the stash. JayO—I'm just very fond of him as an artist. Masego—people have been screaming for a Juls and Masego collaboration for years. I've seen the tweets. With Black Sherif, it was more personal in terms of being from Ghana. Many of us are trying to fly the flag high because so many of us are doing amazing things, but we're trying to cross over to the levels our peers in Nigeria and South Africa are reaching. There's Amaarae, King Promise, Sarkodie, Stonebwoy, myself, and even here in the UK—J5, NSG, who have some Ghanaian members. That's how I approached it. I wanted a good blend of artists from different parts of the world, but I feel like with this album, I tapped into some very alternative acts from the UK, which I haven't done as prominently before, apart from maybe on my Colour mixtape. This time, I made it more intentional, having Wretch, Odeal, JayO, Ghetts, Jaz Karis, Miraa May, SamRecks, Tendai, Unknown T, Kali Claire, and Louis Rei from WSTRN on there. I wanted to bring in different demographics and incorporate them into my world of sound.
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How would you describe the album's sound for anyone who has yet to press play on the album and hasn't already done so?Â
This album will still have the feel of summer. Unfortunately, I've never been able to release an album at the right time, where I feel the music should sit, which is summer. But this album can go onto different summers and is perfect for holidays. When people go on holiday, they can put on a Juls album or my discography, which will take them there. You can expect a lot of those vibes on this album. I'm also tapping more into my up-tempo side, getting people dancing more, and that's the journey I'm taking forward after this album. I'm also collaborating and producing many more cuts for other artists. So, yeah, this album embodies different vibes and sounds, but they still scream summer, hot weather, good energy, and good vibes.
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With this album, you take us all around the world in terms of the sounds and sonic profiles you have on it. Tell us about how travelling and being able to create in different places has impacted the creative process of making it.
Travelling to different parts of the world opened my ears to different sounds and how some sound similar to the music I've grown up on. Going to Brazil, I listened to many Bossa Nova and Baile Funk. You know, Bossa Nova is something I unintentionally caught onto through jazz music because my dad has a massive jazz collection and a lot of Quincy Jones records. Quincy tapped into a lot of Bossa Nova as well. Jamaica is one of my favourite places in the world— a lot of my music is heavily inspired by reggae and dancehall. So, it's always important for me to make sure that my collaborations are authentic, and I'm constantly collaborating with people from that side of town on those types of beats. I don't want to come off as appropriating, and I also add my own Juls flavour to it so it sounds like me, but people from different cultures can relate to it. That's why I like to travel a lot, to experience different cultures, see how they relate to one another, compare them to mine, and learn things along the way. All of those experiences influence how I make my music, and that's how this album came about. This album was made in different parts of the world, specifically Brazil, Jamaica, Ghana, the States, and the UK. Even going to South Africa a couple of times and connecting with some of the big Amapiano acts, mixing my flavours with theirs.
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We've seen you having fun in the visual, showcasing the vibe and feel of the music and album. You've also teased a film. So, what can we expect?
I can't say much, but we are working on a special film to bring the album to life. This will entail how the album was made alongside some very interesting musical pieces and some of the acts, among other things, but I don't want to give away too much.
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How does this moment feel, having just dropped the new album and celebrating that you've been in the game for 10 years as an artist?
With this album, I didn't know what to expect. But a lot of blood, sweat, and tears have gone into it, and I believe it will be the beginning of a new era: the next ten years of Juls making music! I can't wait for people to see that side. Over the last ten years, I've created an amazing catalogue that many people haven't even dug into yet. So, when I start this new chapter, I'll have a strong musical legacy that will live forever, and I'm quite excited about that.
CREDITS
Photographer - Gold Owolabi @golld.au
Creative Director & Producer - Seneo Mwamba @seneomwamba
Lighting - Bruno Nnadi @risquesociety
Stylist - Danette Pokoo-Powell @danettepowell_stylist
MUA / Groom - Carly Corrine @carlycorrinemua
Creative Assistant - Whitney sanni @its.whit_
Journalist - Seneo Mwamba @seneomwamba
PR - Twelfth House @twelfthhouse_co
Look 1
Kwaku Joseph - @kwakujospehbrandÂ
Mvc jewellery - @Mvc.customjewellery
Look 2Â
Kwaku Joseph @kwakujosephbrandÂ
Miss Tee collections - jewellery @misstee_collections
Look 3
Labrum @labrumlondonÂ
Custom hat by @its.whit_ & @danettepowell_stylist
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