A Chat with Julia Sommerfield (20.05.26)
Julia Sommerfield is an emerging indie-pop artist whose work transforms personal hardship into immersive, cinematic storytelling. With her debut single ‘Ratata’, she introduces a fully formed creative identity rooted in emotional depth and narrative precision. From early songwriting in Seattle to her current studies at USC, Sommerfield brings a multidisciplinary perspective that shapes her music into something both intimate and visually rich. We chat with Julia Sommerfield below.
OSR: ‘Ratata’ is such a cinematic and emotionally immersive debut. What made this the right song to introduce yourself to listeners with?
Sommerfield: I felt ‘Ratata’ was the right song because when taking it into production, it had a lot of room to become something bigger. I write a lot of music. In the past few months alone, I’ve written about 45 songs. However, I have high expectations for my music. Sometimes a song just sparkles. I feel more connected to it. I know it has more potential. ‘Ratata’ was one of those. I’ve always felt like it was a good song, but I knew by producing it, it would become better. It’s grown and changed so much since I wrote it last April. It is also personal to me. It speaks to experiences and my life, so I really felt it was a good starting point. It’s uniquely my style, while also having personal lyrics, it’s catching and yet serious. I’m glad people finally get to hear what I’ve been polishing for so long, and I’m really excited to continue to share more songs in the coming year.
OSR: You began writing songs at just 11 years old. What do you remember about those early songwriting experiences, and how have they shaped the artist you are today?
Sommerfield: My first songs were different, and yet I still feel like they will always be a part of me. I used to write a lot on the ukulele because I didn’t get my first guitar until I was a junior in high school. Those songs were light-hearted and fun. I wrote about sunshine, rainbows, and the types of things a kid that age thinks about. But I also wrote about serious topics. My music was part of how I expressed myself and dealt with the emotions of growing up and figuring out the world wasn’t always so kind, but my art is so ingrained in me. I used to make little tunes and just sing things all the time; I still do that. I would tell stories and dream big. My imagination when I was little was really vivid, and I don’t think that’s changed. I think that’s, in part, why my songs are so cinematic. I’m a very visual person. I can picture things to an extent that makes it easier to write about them, to describe. My writing is descriptive, so it makes sense my songs are too. It makes sense that they tell stories, because I’ve been telling stories before I could even read them. It had always just been a part of me. I feel like I was really just born a writer, and that’s what I was supposed to be.
OSR: Your music blends indie-pop with atmospheric alternative influences. How would you describe your sound in your own words?
Sommerfield: I think my sound is very versatile, if anything. I can write a lot of different songs, but I think they all tie back to my own style. I like to think it’s very personal to me, especially because I don’t actually listen to a lot of music. I’ve been trying to listen to more to learn about production styles I like, but growing up, I mostly listened to music when I was trying to come up with a story with books or scripts. It helps me think. That being said, my household was really musical, and everyone else played a lot of music. I feel I was influenced by what I heard, and that really ended up shaping how I play songs or what types of songs I write.
OSR: ‘Ratata’ explores themes of illness, survival, and resilience through metaphor. Was it emotionally difficult to revisit that experience while writing the song?
Sommerfield: I honestly don’t think it was emotionally difficult, just because the song is also fun. I don’t think about what it means as much as all the meaning it can have when I listen to it. Music’s polysemy (ability to carry multiple meanings) allows the audience to decide what it means to them. What ‘Ratata’ means to me is not what it will mean to someone else. For that reason, I feel like this song has so many different interpretations and meanings. The girl in ‘Ratata’ could be illness, self-doubt, another person, perfectionism, anything that holds you back. Because of this, I feel like ‘Ratata’ is extremely versatile. It is a song about overcoming something, and what that something is can be a thousand different things. Artwork has no true meaning; I write it with what I feel, but it will make someone else feel differently, good artwork should do. So, this is not emotionally difficult for me to revisit at all. If anything, it’s liberating and powerful. I hope the song can make someone else feel that way.
OSR: You study both screenwriting and songwriting at USC. How does storytelling across different mediums influence your music?
Sommerfield: Storytelling influences me with the fact that I promise in my songs. I want my songs to take the listener on a journey. When I listen to music, I want to feel something. The goal of my songs is to walk you through feelings, just as my stories do the same thing. I’ve written a lot of content, I recently finished a feature script and pilot script, but I’ve also written novels and poems. All this practice has made songwriting come more naturally. I’ve gotten faster at coming up with lyrics, and sometimes I can just turn on voice memos and sing, coming up with a song in one take. It’s almost mindless sometimes, other times it’s harder. However, all the stories I’ve told, both in school and out of, in writing or with singing, are meant to carry you on a journey, are meant to make you feel what the character feels, or the song calls you to feel. The more I write, the better I’ll get at doing this, the better my music and writing will be.
OSR: Artists like Billie Eilish, Laufey, Lizzy McAlpine, and Bob Dylan have inspired your work. What is it about those artists that resonates with you creatively?
Sommerfield: I think the styles influence me the most. I write pop that’s less dance around a room, and more sit and listen. I like other artists who do the same. I like artists who have pursued their career with or without anyone helping them, but mostly, I like artists who can tell stories. What the artists who inspire me do is tell stories. The same way I strive to do. I want to look up to people who do their own thing and tell the stories that matter to them. Laufey was very big on doing music that was out there for the industry. She is not like anyone else, and that’s what makes her good. I also want to be myself and trust my art will do well. I don’t want to force myself to fit into a Hollywood mould, so I like to look up to artists who are true to themselves and do the art that they love, instead of what is expected of them.
OSR: The production of ‘Ratata’ feels haunting and dreamlike. What was the creative process like working with producer Brian Squillace?
Sommerfield: It really was just sitting down and talking about what the song could be, then trying things and seeing if they worked. ‘Ratata’ came together pretty easily. Brian and I would try things, and if we both liked it, then it would stick. Sometimes we’d just play the song, and I’d sing along and see if I could find harmonies or cool sounds; other times, it’s playing an instrument or trying something. I feel like Brian and I work well together, which definitely made this a lot easier. I’m excited to keep working with him. I love being in the studio because I can write a song, but I don’t know a lot about production, and it’s really exciting to be able to take something rough and turn it into a finished product.
OSR: There’s a strong visual quality to your songwriting. When you write music, do you picture scenes or imagery in your mind first?
Sommerfield: I picture things when I write songs. I am very visual, I have a good imagination, and I feel like I can really see things when I imagine them. I get really into the song when it’s working, and so I find myself just lost in the words. ‘Ratata’ was one of those. But sometimes I don’t really think about it that much. When I write songs, I find chords, then I record on my phone and just sing stuff. Sometimes I don’t get anything interesting, something I sing and suddenly I have a whole song. That’s how it was with ‘Ratata’. I was sitting with my friend, it was late at night, and I started playing these chords. I thought they sounded funny, and I liked the idea of a chorus that felt alluring, not real words. The next thing I know, I start singing, and my emotions pour into that. I was really a few months out of having been pretty sick. I tried my best to go on with life like nothing had happened, and I was starting to feel normal again. I guess all of that was kept in me, and it just spilled. When I listened to the recording later, I realised I had made something really cool.
OSR: You’ll be performing in London this summer with your band Andromeda. What are you most excited about when it comes to playing your music live internationally?
Sommerfield: I’ve never traveled overseas before, so I’m really excited to explore a new country, as well as learn more about the music industry. I’ve always written music, but I’ve never been involved in the music industry until now. Going to London is going to be my deep dive into what the music world is like, and I’ve never played with a band, so it will be a learning curve that I can’t wait to get into. I’ve wanted to play with a band for a long time, and we are going into this never having played together. We’ll have to learn really quickly how to put on our sets and how to work as a team. We will be performing in a lot of cool places where a lot of historically very famous musicians played, and I think it will be very memorable.
OSR: As you officially step into this new chapter as a recording artist, what do you hope listeners take away from ‘Ratata’ and your music moving forward?
Sommerfield: I just hope my listeners are able to connect with my music. I hope they find something that makes them feel heard. Or maybe they just like the song and connect with it. I have more songs coming out soon, and with a wide range of content, I hope at least there is something for everyone in the EP I plan on putting out. I really loved writing and working on my songs, and so I hope everyone loves them just as much as I do.
Many thanks to Julia Sommerfield for speaking with us. Find out more about Julia Sommerfield on her official website, Instagram, and Spotify.
