Julz Janzen is a local rapper who has utilised Facebook to release his music and generate an ever-growing fan base.
Julz’s received a strong, positive response for his mixtape ‘Look What I Found // A Song For Me' that he dropped online in April. Julz followed this release by dropping his newest mixtape, ‘Julz Janzen X Adele - 52’, last month. He has tackled Adele’s mega-successful ‘25’ album by remixing 7 of the 11 songs from that album.
A social-media warrior, Julz is a massive fan of the platform. "I really think social media is taking over. It allows anyone to have a platform to express themselves. Facebook has really allowed me to begin generating noise around my music. For people on my level [musically] or just starting out Facebook is such a platform. The ease and speed of sharing things and getting responses is incredible.”
Releasing music was once a stressful process for Julz, although he has reached a place where worries no longer hold him back. “I used to worry a lot, but now I don’t. I just think 'who cares' and put things out.
"With the songs on ‘Adele 52’ I thought it would be funny to see people's reactions. A lot of people where like 'what is he on?'. I had really good responses though; a lot was from interstate, which was pretty cool. People from the Adelaide scene didn't really get it as much as because they know me a bit better and don't really know what the fuck I was doing."
Julz explains the idea to remix Adele’s album with a hint of laughter in his voice. “I've liked Adele for a long time. I heard a few songs off that album and liked them, so eventually my girlfriend brought it," he says. "It really started as a joke. I said about remixing some of her songs and then I actually sat down and started playing around with the music. So basically it all evolved from this joke, I was waiting to release my EP; this was a side project while I sat on that.” With upcoming shows in Adelaide and Sydney, Julz explains he is excited to get back on stage. "I'm really looking forward to performing. I've taken a break from performing, there hasn't been a lot of opportunities and I haven't really gone for any either. This came up and I'm really looking forward to it. The audience will have the best night of their lives.”
The joy that Julz experiences from performing live predominately comes from the crowd. "When people know your songs and you see then rapping or singing along it’s amazing. I love the crowd interaction! I love firing them up, but I also throw in some a cappella bits as well just to break up the set, so the audience doesn't just get screamed at for the whole time. That shared experience is one of the best feelings."
Julz’s future involves music full time. "I’ll play more shows in Adelaide and Sydney. I'm still sitting on my EP. I'm just in the end phases of that, so hopefully that'll be released late this year or early next. I just want to keep dropping singles and building my base."
Julz Janzen plays Adelaide shows at the The Edinburgh Castle Hotel 14 October and The Producers Bar 18 November. He also travels to Sydney to play The Valve Bar 4 November.
