Julieta Venegas & Judeline

Julieta Venegas released her first album, Aquí, in 1998. Then came Bueninvento (2000), Si (2003) and Limón y sal (2006), the album that turned her into a worldwide sensation. On the last leg of the tour for her latest album (Tu historia, 2022) and just a few days before playing at Noches del Botánico, this Mexican artist visited Espacio Iberia to chat about music with one of the rising stars on the Spanish music scene, Judeline. This artist from Cádiz, who will release her first album in October, already has more than a million listeners on Spotify and has collaborated with artists such as Dellafuente, Oddliquor, Tainy, Alizzz or Mahmood. “I’ve been able to meet some of my idols and the image I had of them has been confirmed,” admitted Judeline. For Julieta, who has recently collaborated with young artists, like Sen Senra or Rigoberta Bandini, these meetings strengthen ties: “The most important thing is for us to write to each other, for us to sit down and, in short, for us to get to know each other.”

Julieta, just like Judeline, worked with Tainy on his latest album DATA (2023). In her case, she sang on Lo siento BB :/ alongside one of the big stars of today’s Latin music scene, Bad Bunny. The song became one of the hits of 2023. More proof that Julieta does not lose sight of the new generations is that, despite never meeting in person, she already knew Judeline’s music. “I like her delicate voice, fragile but full of strength, and I’m intrigued by the stories she tells. I’m excited to hear her new album!” Julieta confessed. Judeline responded by admitting that Julieta was part of the soundtrack of her childhood: “Thanks to her and Jorge Drexler, I understood what singer-songwriters were. Her lyrics told very visual stories, which allowed me to imagine the people they spoke about, but also conveyed feelings, and even scents! Julieta has influenced the way I write, the way I create stories for the listener to imagine.”

“I like her delicate voice, fragile but full of strength, and I’m intrigued by the stories she tells” — Julieta Venegas

Julieta fed Judeline’s already-present passion for music. “Music was something that moved me since I was in my mother’s tummy —Judeline assured the audience—. At home we’ve always listened to music, and I’ve always known I wanted to be an artist. I was born in a little village and felt misunderstood, you could say I was the loser. And I’m still the village weirdo (laughs). Music became my gateway to get out of there and make my dreams come true. I was already living in the future, I imagined myself far away, writing music and performing concerts.” Music, Julieta admitted, was also an escape room for her and, slowly, without meaning to, it became her life: My parents used to sign us up to lots of activities to keep us entertained and that’s how I started with piano lessons. I realised that music came easily to me, and my teacher also saw it. At the beginning I wanted to be an orchestra conductor, but then I became obsessed with having a band [Julieta was part of Tijuana No! and La Milagrosa]. Nevertheless, at the same time, I was writing my own songs on the piano. Around that time, I couldn’t even see myself as a musician, but really, I already was one.”

Journalist Marta Salicrú, director of Radio Primavera Sound, moderated the talk between Julieta Venegas and Judeline.

Reality as a source of inspiration
When writing, both Julieta and Judeline make sure to touch base with reality to then let their imagination take flight. “I —Judeline declared— idealise or romanticise situations that have happened to me. Any minor detail is enough for me to create my own stories and then, when I start to write, they come to mind, and I pin them down. Fantasising about reality is very stimulating and gives me freedom.” Julieta’s passion for literature is well known and, she confessed, it is also a source of inspiration: “I enjoy reading a lot and I love words. I can base my writing on personal things, on moments that inspire joy, sadness, or anger in me, but I wouldn’t say that it’s autobiographical fiction; rather I visualise scenes and imagine what I would say or do in that situation. That being said, every time you write, you tell a story about yourself, even unconsciously.”

And talking about inspiration, we cannot forget about the regions each of them come from. The accordion, which alongside the piano has become an inseparable instrument for Julieta, is typical in Northern Mexico, the region the artist grew up in. “When I started playing the accordion —reminisced Julieta—, I didn’t associate it so much to folk music, but was thinking about the theatrics of it, like Tom Waits. But over time I have discovered its more Mexican and festive side, more connected to my childhood memories.” As an Andalusian artist, Judeline grew up listening to flamenco and, even if not intentionally, some of it shows in her music: “I don’t feel like I do flamenco because I don’t have the knowledge, but I grew up listening to it and some influence is there. Lole Montoya, from the duo Lole y Manuel, but also Camarón or Andalusian psychedelic rock; people who played around with it and at the time received a lot of pushback for it. Haters will always be against novelty.”

“Julieta has influenced the way I write, the way I create stories for the listener to imagine” — Judeline

To bear the haters of yesterday and today, it’s important to surround yourself with the best team. “My career as an artist has led me to choose the people I work with —Julieta admitted—. I’ve learnt to build a team and delegate, even though I like being present in all processes. Before, to release an album, you had to be with a multinational record label. Now it’s not indispensable and that allows you to build yourself as an artist. Even if it requires more attention, I want to do things the way I like.” Judeline, who will shortly release her first album, feels a bit overwhelmed: “I’ve always known the steps I want to take in my career, but everything that isn’t making music is hard to manage. Until recently I used to delegate everything and didn’t really know what was happening, now I’m starting to learn how to get organised.”

While Julieta faces the last leg of her latest tour and admits that she’s looking forward to stopping and writing, Judeline is dreaming of her first tour: “I need to reconnect with the music because, even though the album’s creative process has been lovely, it has also been exhausting and I’ve ended up burnt out. I didn’t know how stressful it would be... I’ve laughed, cried, loved music more than ever and also wanted to quit (laughs). It’s been a whirlwind of emotions, but I’m incredibly happy and in love with my baby.” The dozens of music fans who attended the event at Espacio Iberia left excited to listen to Judeline’s debut and, of course, to continue enjoying Julieta’s work.