CREATIVE CONVERSATIONS 077: JULIET OLIVER ON the diversity and future direction of country music
Words by Brooklyn Gibbs.
FMM: So, firstly, you’ve recently released Sociopath. Congratulations!
Juliet: Thank you!
FMM: That’s okay! So what has the reaction to this release been like so far? And how does it feel to have this track out there?
Juliet: It’s been so positive so far. For me, I was a little hesitant and nervous to release the track at first. Mostly, because it’s personal and I was literally calling out my ex boyfriend. Very directly as well. Secondly, I come from a country music background and this is not my traditional country-sounding style, so for me, it was a big genre move. Usually I’m singing about heartbreak, a little more indirectly, and this song is a bit of a punchy track, so I was really nervous actually to release it. The reaction though has been so positive and so supportive.
FMM: That’s really good to hear! It definitely is harder to release personal songs, but if everyone has been super supportive, I guess it makes it that little bit easier to share something so personal.
Juliet: Absolutely! Particularly when your friends all get around it as well. They were with me when I experienced what I was writing about, so for them to hear how I released that heartbreak and that energy, was fun for them as well.
FMM: Of course! So you mentioned earlier that this track is literally calling out your ex boyfriend. Do you mind sharing what happened and the inspiration behind Sociopath?
Juliet: Yeah, so I was with a narcissist for a couple of years and when you go through a breakup, you go through multiple stages of grief - you’re upset, you’re devastated, you’re heartbroken, but then you go through the anger that generally comes after. I remember sitting in my car, unpacking my things from the house we lived in, and I was just so furious. In the second verse, I sing about triangulation and how he was at another girl’s house pitting girls against one another. I just remember, I got my notepad out and I started writing the second verse of the song and it all flowed from there.
It’s interesting, because I was feeling so much passion and heat in that moment, and songwriting can sometimes be a slow process, but in this instance, it was really fast. I just punched the song out in about half an hour. It was sort of therapeutic for me, I guess.
FMM: So then how do you feel knowing your ex may came across this song one day and know it was written about him?
Juliet: I would love for him to hear it! (laughs). I don’t think there is any better revenge than writing a song and blasting it all over social media. He told me I was crazy and I think he’s right. I think it’s a bit of a crazy thing to do, but hey, here we are!
FMM: For sure! It’s therapeutic! Sometimes you have to do that.
Juliet: Absolutely, and what you can’t say, put it in a song.
FMM: Exactly! So in saying that, what message do you have for any sociopaths who might come across this song, or what message do you hope your ex takes away from this song if he hears it?
Juliet: Look in the mirror (laughs). But, I hope more so, that girls who have been in a similar situation like me, can relate to it. I see a lot on TikTok and other social media platforms, girls come together who have been in narcissistic situations or toxic relationships. That’s what music is all about - finding shared comfort. So, I hope that’s that message they can take away - that they’re not alone.
FMM: Yeah, I think that’s the great thing about music! People who can’t create music or express their feelings into song lyrics, can listen to other people’s songs and find comfort in knowing other people have experienced it too.
Juliet: That’s exactly right, and I think other people, whether they have been in a toxic relationship, or a toxic friendship, they can often feel very isolated and tend to lose themselves. I think music really grounds you and brings you back to who you are, and enables you to share that with other people.
FMM: For anyone who is coming across your music for the first time, could you please tell me more about your music and how you stepped foot into the music scene? Maybe any career highlights you have had?
Juliet: Absolutely! So I would say that I’m a mix of country and pop with a touch of Winehouse-sorta influences as well, so it’s a weird-mix fusion that I’ve got going on. I originally started in country music when I was 15 years old. I grew up in the country in a vineyard. For me, songwriting was my diary. It was just natural for me and I can’t remember a time when I didn’t write songs.
It’s interesting as you grow up and watch your sound change with your songwriting as you experience new things and become an adult. I think that’s what I’ve really found over the last few years with my music. I’m 24 now and I started writing when I was 10 years old, so there’s been a lot of growth. I started off as this innocent little country girl, and now I write songs about my adult love life and life in general.
I find a lot of people, when you tell them you sing country music, picture you glued to that one box. But, for me, country music is this fusion of all these different flavours that I listen to. For me, it’s been such a highlight to see people accepting that range of music and the diversity in my sound. It’s really nice - I think people are a lot more supportive of country music now than they used to be. Particularly when often at times, country music is just pop music with some banjos layered over the top (laughs). For me, it’s also been a highlight having the country music industry accept where country music is going and that it is more modernised, it is contemporary, it is pop. I think that was really showcased for me when I was a Grand Finalist at the Toyota Star Maker Competition and a Grand Finalist in the Tamworth Country Music Festivall in 2019 and 2020. Just as a bit of a background, Keith Urban won that award years and years ago and some of the biggest country music stars in the world would have been in that competition. So, for me to be considered up there as a Grand Finalist, was great and it was great to see that they were accepting of my flavour of country music.
FMM: Oh, wow! That’s awesome - well done! I believe you’re located down in South Australia? So are you still performing out that way, or where are you currently based?
Juliet: Yeah, so I live in South Australia, which is wine country and I drink red wine like it’s water (laughs), but it’s great down here. I feel a lot of people go, ‘oh, it’s Adelaide, it’s so boring.’ But I don’t know. I find it’s pretty good and it’s great inspiration-wise. Where I live it about an hour out of the city, but I feel like I’m in the middle of nowhere. That’s often therapeutic at times when you’re trying to be creative.
FMM: How are you finding the country music scene there then? With Futuremag Music, I’ve obviously talked to other musicians across Australia too, and as you would know, sometimes the music scene can be hard enough to break into as it is in Australia. Does it make it even harder having a genre niche of the country and pop sound?
Juliet: Look - it is tough, as you said. The music scene in general is very difficult and a hard industry to crack, but down here, I think people are very appreciative of songwriting and artists that are genuine and authentic. That’s very much how I try to be in my songwriting - tell the story as it is and the emotions you’re feeling. I’m lucky enough where I live, we have a bunch of music venues and wineries that are just very supportive of original artists. The artists down here a a close-knit group as well, so I love it.
FMM: Ah, perfect then! I love it and it’s super great to hear it’s so supportive!
Juliet: Totally!
FMM: I’ve seen on your Spotify catalogue that you’ve covered the likes of Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo, who are both great artists, especially in the country and pop music scenes. Would you say that they are some of the artists who have inspired your original music?
Juliet: 100 per cent! I don’t know any young girl who isn’t into Taylor Swift (laughs). Everyone can relate to her writing and that’s what I really try to channel. With Olivia, I think her sound and production is just so cool. Particularly in this release of Sociopath, Olivia’s Good 4 You is the song I really used as my reference track. I think she uses some really cool production tactics like vocal overlays of her screaming her lyrics, which adds empathsis and I really try to resemble that in my own country-pop way.
FMM: What’s next for you? Do you have any more releases coming up, or any shows at one of those supportive wineries you mentioned earlier?
Juliet: Yeah, definitely. I’m always writing and recording. I hope to release another track at least this year, and hopefully another EP next year. I’m always performing. Every single weekend around Adelaide and always out doing gigs.