Throughout his life, Julian Petrin has combined making music and urbanism, where he is working since more than 25 years with his own boutique consultancy „urbanista“. After founding his first band in Düsseldorf in the 1980s, he moved to Munich in the early 1990s, where he wrote electronic stage music for independent theatre groups. "Are We Ok?" is the first single from his planned album "Hello Infinity". The atmospherically dense and timeless instrumental song evolves around a catchy musical theme that sonically borrows from early eighties synthpop.
By Kamil Bobin
Discovered via Musosoup
Hello Julian Petrin. What made you want to become a musician?
My father was a jazz musician in his early career and my parents both made also music together – so I grew up with music all around me and it felt very naturally to try to make music actively myself.
Who helped you most in your musical journey?
Hard to say – maybe friends that introduced me to new music… and of course it was good to take classical and jazz piano lessons…
Your latest release is 'Are We Ok?'. Can you share with us the background of its creation and did any unusual things happen during its creation?
"Are We Ok?" is the first single from a planned album Hello Infinity. I tried to create an atmospherically dense instrumental song around a powerful musical theme that sonically borrows from early eighties synth pop – maybe it reflects some of my first experiences with synth based music in the 80’s. What surprised me: The song is not so complicated it’s structure and instrumentation compared to other tracks I released before, so did not expect how hard it would be this time to achieve the right mix.
What social issues are you most passionate about?
Of course climate change is an issue, I am very concerned about – also with all its social implications. But I am also very interested in concepts how to overcome social unequality, like the idea of a basic income…
How do you stay up-to-date with the latest musical trends?
I am generally pretty open to new music, exploring articles, "strolling around" in the internet. And of course a good recommendation from a friend is always inspiring.
Is there a hidden meaning in any of your music?
My music is instrumental, so it speaks more to the level of emotions. In my music it is about creating space, space to develop its own images. I think that's often the case with instrumental music…
What’s an average day like for you?
Since I don't make music full-time, I often sit on my releases in the evenings or on weekends. That's a good balance to the stress of work - although it can also be quite exhausting to finish a release.
Please discuss how you interact with and respond to fans.
Since my music doesn't fit one hundred percent into classical genres, it's very important to be active on social media - as for many musicians, especially instgram is an important medium. But Soundcloud is also a good platform, especially because you can comment directly on the music.
What advice would you have for someone wanting to follow in your footsteps?
Be patient and don't be tempted to write for genre pigeonholes.
What are your plans for the future?
I have a long list of unreleased tracks and music themes - this year I want to try to release 10 ... so stay tuned :-)