‘Idioteque’: The first song that blew Julia Jacklin’s mind
When listening to an artist like Julia Jacklin, it can be hard to imagine how they got to the level they’re at. Her sound is so refined and exciting while also being so sure of itself that it can be hard to imagine where she began on her creative journey. The truth is, refining a sound is only half the battle, as before an artist can perfect what they’re going for, they first need to work out what their style is.
There’s a lot to like about Jacklin’s music. She has a way with lyrics that tells a story, not just in the sense of providing a loose narrative throughout a song, but in a way where her music feels genuinely transportive. You can get lost in her songs, which fully embrace and take you on a journey.
Developing a sound like this takes a lot of practice, but equally, deciding you want to make this kind of music and putting in the work to perfect your sound is also an important step in the creative process. It’s interesting to go back and look at some of Jacklin’s favourite artists to put together a picture of what she was listening to when she started making music.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, she was always a big fan of Fiona Apple and was particularly drawn to her ability as a lyricist. “My first love introduced me to this album when I was about 15,” she said when discussing the song Extraordinary Machine, “I’d just never really heard anything like it before. I think it was the lyrics that really got me. She talks about love in such a unique way; I appreciate it even more now that I’m older.”
The album has stayed with Jacklin for an extended period. She carried those songs with her throughout some early performances, which meant their influence would have certainly trickled down when she started writing. “’Not About Love’ was the first song I ever performed on stage with guitar at an open mic night in Glebe,” she said, “I sang ‘Parting Gift’ for a year 11 school performance and I covered ‘Extraordinary Machine’ in my first band. It’s been with me for a while.”
Despite Jacklin being able to connect with Apple on a deep level, it wasn’t the first song that blew her mind and showed her the true power of music. While the lyricism of Fiona Apple was a big deal, the instrumentation, atmosphere and serenity of Radiohead’s ‘Idioteque’ was a massive revelation.
“I went to my neighbour’s house when I was about 12 or 13. He was a few years older than me and had a very ‘cool’ taste in music,” she said, “At that age, I was just kind of pretending to like things and pretending to hate things based on other people’s opinions. I didn’t really know what I liked. Then I heard ‘Idioteque’ and my mind was forever blown! A lot of teenage angst was soothed by the songs on this record.”
