In the glitzy headquarters of Sony Records, just off Kensington High Street, I am introduced to a tall dark-featured young man with unruly hair and angular features. He's matched skinny black jeans and black plimsoles with a white button-up shirt and black blazer, the rolled-up sleeves of which reveal a clunky leather watch on one arm and an array of star tattoos on the other.
This hip 20-year-old is Julian Perretta, a London-born-and-bred singer whose first single 'Wonder Why' is released on Sony's subsidiary, Columbia, on 30th August (the full album, 'Out of My Head', will follow later this year). Although he comes across like a younger Mika and long-lost Jonas Brother rolled into one, Julian is neither as flamboyant as the former nor as saccharine as the latter. His brand of melody-driven, piano-based pop plays it safe, perhaps, but it's a nice alternative to the synthesised, overproduced R&B that dominates the airwaves. It owes as much to 70s icons like Elton John as it does to the catchy 60s rock of bands like the Zombies and the theatrical pop of current artists like the Scissor Sisters.
The former drama student is all smiles and completely at ease despite the fact that he's due to headline his first London show (at Bush Hall) before heading Stateside to tour with Perez Hilton's 'new talent' showcase. He's on the cusp of taking off, so it's great for Spoonfed to catch him fresh-faced, enthused and not the least bit fazed about the media attention (and teenage adoration) he's sure to generate in the coming months...
Hi, Julian. First things first: you were born and raised in London?
Julian Perretta: Mm-hmm. North London, in an area called Winchmore Hill.
Your surname sounds Italian. What's your background?
JP: Yeah, my dad is Italian – very Italian [chuckles]. My mum's Irish; it's a nice blend of two countries.
You were studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. How did the shift into music come about?
JP: I was studying Shakespeare quite intensively and I was pulling my hair out because when you're at a place like RADA, it's very, very strict. I got really heavy into music at the time, because it was a way for me to get out and do something different. I met a couple of musician friends who were in Jamiroquai [Rob Harris and Matt Johnson]. We shared a love of 70s music, artists like Elton John and Stevie Wonder, and yeah, we just got together and started writing. I'd never really written songs before so it was a chance for me to experiment. We just really worked; the first song that we wrote is one of my singles now, four years later.
Are there any current artists who have also influenced you?
JP: I'm really into Outkast and I love the Scissor Sisters – big choruses, harmony layers and real instrument-based music.
Actually, the chorus in 'Wonder Why' reminds me of 'Ms Jackson' [by Outkast]...
JP: [laughs] That's what we based it around!
The result is very catchy. Another thing that stands out about the song is its use of the kazoo... I used to have one as a kid, so I'm a big fan. How did that idea come about?
JP: I heard the song 'In the Summertime' by an artist called Mungo Jerry. I came back to London, got together with the two guys from Jamiroquai and said, 'Remember Mungo Jerry, "In the Summertime"?' It was the summertime and we decided to write a tune like that.
Is it actually you, then, playing the kazoo on the track?
JP: [The] first time we tried to record that song, we got a kazoo and recorded it down, [but] we found it didn't actually work very well – it sounded a little bit like a duck. Pro Tools, which is what I recorded my album on, they have a vocal effect called 'kazoo' so I just sang my part, and that's what it actually is.
You recently toured with Girls Aloud. How did playing to a stadium compare to doing an intimate gig?
JP: Yeah, it was weird, 'cos obviously I jumped from playing to twenty people to playing to 25,000. Amazing experience... I loved every minute of it. What I've learned from that tour, and the memories I've got, I'll always have, 'cos it's something that you don't get to experience a lot.
Did you feel you had more liberties to play around because people weren't there to see you specifically?
JP: Yeah, I guess so. I've never really thought of it like that. You could let yourself go a bit 'cos you had nothing to lose really, and you just went for it because people don't know you and you're trying to get them into you and you only have about six songs to do that.
Tomorrow you headline your first London show. How do you feel right now?
JP: Really excited. I've just been rehearsing till quarter to one in the morning, just making sure everything's perfect – we're nearly sold out. It's very exciting.
You're then off to the West Coast of the States to do some shows there. Is it true this tour is backed by [celebrity blogger] Perez Hilton?
JP: Yeah, he's presenting it.
Have you met him in person?
JP: No, but we've spoken a lot in the last couple of months. He's an interesting guy. The thing that gets me about him... I've read a lot of articles that he ghostwrites for big newspapers in the States – he's a very intelligent guy. He speaks with a lot of intelligence when it comes to music. Obviously, he has got another side to him and he talks about celebrities and that's what gets 300 million views on his website. So he has two sides to him, I feel, but he understands all the elements in my music that I'm trying to get: the 70s sounds, and the influences and stuff like that. I'm proud to have his support.
Cheeky question now. The Guardian profiled you and tagged you as 'most likely to have an affair with Paris Hilton.' What's your response to that?
JP: [laughs] Um, I don't know if the opportunity would ever come around but if it did, yeah, who knows, definitely, why not!
Finally, Julian, since Spoonfed is all about London life and you are a Londoner, would you name one place in London that you really love?
JP: I absolutely love Hampstead. I've grown up quite near to it and it’s just a beautiful kind of untouched area. It’s lovely. And there’s a really nice cinema that is, like, three times the size of this room [i.e. not very big]. It’s an area that I always hang out in, really nice restaurants and bars and stuff. It’s really cool and relaxed.
Thank you, Julian, and good luck on your tour.
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