Juliette Richards - Just Like That | EP Review

 Juliette Richards is a 16 year old singer-songwriter from Cambridge, England. She is a classical pianist who also loves composing pop songs. Juliette likes to mix the classical and pop genres to break down the barriers that there are in music. She released her EP 'Just Like That' in 2018 which is absolutely outstanding. I have to admit, there are a few things that need improving - which is normal, no one is perfect. But what Juliette has showcased in her debut EP is amazing.

Her vocal range is really good and the piano is the major feature with a bit of pop elements added in. I think personally, Juliette may need to add a bit more pop to make a truly fantastic mix but that is my opinion.

Juliette is 16 and already has so much talent. I am excited to see where her talent takes her. The EP is incredible. The mixture of pop and classical really work but as I have mentioned before, maybe a few more pop elements needs to be added to make a fantastic mix. The song writing is also amazing - so much talent.

I personally think Juliette is going to be a artist that we will need to look out for. She has so much potential and she is still young. I really hope we see her in the charts in the future!

I got the chance to do a little Q&A session with Juliette Richards about her EP 'Just Like That':

TE - Where did the inspiration come from for the EP?

JR - The main message behind both ‘Stronger’ and ‘Just Like That’ is to not let anyone put you down and to rise above anybody who says that you aren’t good enough. Needless to say, my inspiration behind this message came from my own journey trying not to wallow in it when people put me down but instead to have a kind of ‘I’ll show you attitude’. I actually wrote ‘Find Our Way’ for one of my best friends, so the inspiration behind those lyrics and the message in that song really came from her and how I wanted to tell her that I’ll always be there for her.

TE - What was the writing/recording process like for your EP ‘Just Like That’?

JR - I absolutely loved writing the songs on the EP because they all came out of raw emotion. Writing them just felt so natural because I found that it was such a wonderful and comforting way to express everything that I was feeling, and all the things that I might not otherwise have had the courage to say. They are four of the first songs I ever wrote, which makes them even more special to me. As for the recording process, it was the first time I had even been to a recording studio, so it was really exciting! I loved every minute of it. I think though that my favourite part to record was the backing vocals in ‘Do You Remember’, simply because I love them so much!

TE - How would you describe your music to people who haven’t heard it before?

JR - My EP consists of four deep piano ballads. They are soulful, and two of them (‘Do You Remember’ and ‘Just Like That’) also feature haunting cello lines, while ‘Stronger’ is the most upbeat of the four with a gentle heartbeat of a drum bringing the choruses to life. As I am also a classical pianist, I was quite heavily influenced by that style of music for these four songs. However, some of my (many!) other songs that I have written do venture into the realm of more upbeat, songs-you-can-dance-to-in-a-party style songs… I hope it won’t be too long before I can start releasing some of them!

TE - What would you like to achieve in the next 5 years?

So many things! Obviously I want to keep on perfecting my craft by writing more and more songs. I have given many classical piano recitals (I absolutely adore performing!) so I would certainly like to give more, and at some point I really hope that I may be able to give a pop concert somewhere too! But I suppose my main ambition is simply to spread my love for music with as many people as possible, and to prove to people that they can love all kinds of music, regardless of the genre. The amount of people I hear saying ‘pop music is stupid’, or ‘classical music is boring’ is honestly really sad. I strongly believe that it is wrong for someone to shut out a whole genre of music simply because they haven’t given it a proper chance. I have already seen examples of people who have found me on social media because of one aspect of my music, have consequently found the other aspect of my music, and have then thanked me for introducing them to a wonderful style of music which they now love. It is so satisfying for me to know that I am making a small contribution in helping to bring new audiences to the worlds of both types of music. So if I have already managed to achieve this on a small scale, I can only hope that during the next five years and more I will be able to achieve it on an ever-increasing scale!

Overall Rating:

★★★★☆