Julia Toaspern
Biography Julia Toaspern
Julia Toaspern
spent the past years gigging around Europe and the East Coast, played in Cuba and recorded in NYC - but she feels at home in the Scottish highlands where she makes music, tends sheep, milks goats and is inspired by the clarity, even when it’s foggy.
As she sings of traveling she takes the audience along on the journey - an evening filled with songs and tunes. Julia’s own “folk jazz” mixed with Irish, Scottish and American roots in a vivid variety of desire and delight, longing and yearning.
Since the release of her acclaimed debut PENNY, Julia Toaspern has been all around the world sharing her music. These travels and new experiences have nurtured the songs and tunes on her second album ONE STEP AT A TIME.
From a starting point of classical training in both voice and violin, her horizon broadens to include traditional Irish music on flute and banjo and original songs of great passion infused with a deep love of jazz on the guitar. She sings of love and loss, survival and hope, turning the personal into a heartfelt truth for all of us.
Her journey is ongoing and beautifully unpredictable, she consciously returns to the source, both musically and geographically, reinventing an old German vocal canon with her improvising, pianist grandfather; she takes us slowly climbing up the Irish mountain of Cua before her flute dances a reel to get us down again; weaves a tale of a talking dog to amuse and educate kids… and all of this driven by insatiable musical curiosity and huge, innate talent. You are all invited along for the ride though not limited tp “One Step at a Time”.
On the album Julia is accompanied by her wonderful band, including electric guitar, bass, drums, ukulele, acoustic guitar, beatbox and piano.
These days Julia is touring the world with the wonderful celtic guitarist Tony McManus, who has just been named one of the 50 most influential acoustic guitarists of all time by Guitar Player Magazine.
Julia has been featured on Berlin based radio stations such as rbb Fritz and Radio Alex. She was named artist of the month on detektor.fm and her new album was CD of the week on rockradio.de.
“Julia Toaspern awes her audience not only with her youthful vigor, but with her both delicate and driving jazzy folky guitar playing.” - Folker Magazin
“Julia Toaspern’s bell like voice and her filigrane fiddle playing are thrilling. She moves effortlessly from fiddle to guitar, her solo is impressive.” - Das SalonFestival
“She has a voice like clear water - refreshing, pleasant, simply beautiful. Fetchingly and openly she presents to us her unique melange of folk and jazz. Her songs tell of love, of longing and of being held. Julia’s distinctive style, her musicality, but most of all her heart warming nature make her concert a special experience: a wonderful encounter that will stay with you long afterwards.” - Lars Steitz, Die Buchbar, Dresden
