Cotton Candy | An Interview with Julia Bhatt

From Miami, Florida comes 20-year old indie/alt-pop artist Julia Bhatt. Raised on a stimulating and expansive musical diet, Bhatt creates fun, breezy indie-pop music reflecting on her life in Miami and her on-going struggles with depression. Last month she released “Cotton Candy” , the first single from her upcoming album it is what it is due for release on July 20, 2022.

“Cotton Candy” is the first single off of your debut album coming this summer. What led to the decision in making this the first single?

There isn’t any particular reason for it being first, but it’s one of the brightest on the album and I figured that’s a good start.

You were raised on everything from classic rock, American songbook standards and bossa nova beats and are currently exploring using more modern sounds. How do you feel your expansive musical background has influenced your current creative process?

Well, whenever anyone asks me what genre I am, I always have a hard time answering because each song is different. Each one draws from different inspiration, often from different parts of the music spectrum. You can hear influences in every song. All music is based on the building blocks of others, in my opinion. When I write, they come out.

Your songs include honest storytelling that reflects observations about teenage life in the melting pot of Miami. As you shift into your 20s, how do you feel your songwriting has/will change?

I just hope to get better. That’s all I can do. I’m not a super prideful person, so I’m not gonna say that my writing is beautiful and profound, but it’s decent. Every song I write gets better and better. I used to scrap a lot of them but lately, I haven’t. I just had to find my comfort zone. Now I have to expand it.

“Cotton Candy is a love song of sorts, not necessarily about someone, but more of a feeling that can come from someone. It’s about feeling safe being on the edge and comfortable in foreign places… kind of like a rollercoaster. You put your trust in the thrill.”
Julie Bhatt

When speaking about your latest single “Cotton Candy” you said that “It’s about feeling safe being on the edge and comfortable in foreign places. Kind of like a rollercoaster. You put your trust in the thrill.” What was the inspiration behind this?

Probably my boyfriend. He’s my first boyfriend, but we’ve been together for almost 3 years. We live together. That’s a scary thing to do. We started early in the relationship due to certain circumstances and everything has been a first. But I trust him to take care of me. It’s always been hard relying on someone else, but he’s made it easy.

What’s next for Julia Bhatt?

More music!!!!!! Hope to maybe tour (?) but we’ll see 🙂

Listen to “Cotton Candy” | PreSave the next single “On My Shoulder”

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