Sense of Groove: An Interview with Juliaplaysgroove

Juliaplaysgroove

Tim Fletcher took some time to chat with nineteen-year-old Polish bassist Juliaplaysgroove, and she talks about her inspirations, her famous fans, and her aims for the future.

Juliaplaysgroove’s video play-alongs have been extremely popular, clocking up nearly 17 million views so far. It would be doing her a disservice to describe her work as merely “covers,” as they are far more than that; Julia brings her own inventive slant, adding flowing melodic fills and flurries to the bass lines. However, it is pleasing that the most praised aspect of her work has been her outstanding sense of groove – something to which we should all aspire.

How has the recent lock-down been for you?

It was tough in the beginning, but I got used to the situation – I finally had time to practice walking bass lines and sight-reading. I wanted to do these things for so long, but I never had enough time to do it.

What are you working on at the moment?

Right now, I’m just preparing some next songs to cover.

I understand you’ve only been playing since 2014 – what inspired you to play the bass?

My brother played me one of [Polish bass virtuoso] Wojtek Pilichowski’s albums and instantly fell in love with his music. I’ve listened to his whole discography. That’s the moment when I began to interest in the bass, and I thought to myself “Why won’t I try to learn how to play?”

Apart from Wojtek, who are your musical heroes?

I’ve been inspired by many great bass players, but the ones who influenced me the most are Stuart Zender, Flea, Pino Palladino, Sharay Reed, and James Jamerson.

Can you remember the first song you learned?

It was Nirvana’s “Come as You Are”. I remember that the main riff was really hard for me to play and I was super happy when I finally got it down.

Your first video was of “Hysteria” by Muse, but a lot of your videos feature more funky music – is that your favorite style?

Funk is really fun to play, so it’s one of my favorites. I also love playing R&B and Hip-Hop.

Some of your videos have had millions of views – the one for “Don’t Start Now” is close to 3 million – has that been a surprise?

“Don’t Start Now” is a great song with a great bass line, and I kind of expected that this cover would be popular, but I never thought it would get over 1 million views in two weeks!

You’ve certainly made an impact in the bass playing world – you have great technique, tone and feel – how did you reach such a high level of skill so quickly?

Bass playing came naturally to me. Music runs in my family. My mom went to music school and she plays the piano. I have two older brothers, one of them is an excellent drummer, while the oldest one plays guitar as a hobby. I simply believe I have some sort of talent, but of course, I wouldn’t play like I do right now if I didn’t practice and push myself forward.

Stuart Zender, Thundercat and Joe Dart have praised your playing – how does that feel?

I remember I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw Stuart Zender’s comment on my cover. Similar with Thundercat and Vulfpeck. I feel very honored to be noticed by such incredible musicians.

You get a great bass sound on your videos – what is your set-up?

My gear is nothing special. I use Zoom B3, it’s a multi-effects pedal that can also be used as an audio interface. I record the bass through the Zoom into Audacity and I add some compression and EQ to recorded bass track, but I just believe that tone is in the fingers.

In one of your videos there is a guitar in the background – do you play guitar or any other instruments?

That’s my oldest brother’s guitar but I can play some chords as well. I would love to learn how to play the piano, so I can also provide some synth bass playing.

You mainly play a MusicMan SUB, which sounds great. What made you choose that bass?

I always loved the MusicMan sound, and luckily for me one of my brothers had noticed that, and he bought me MusicMan SUB which I currently play on. Besides that, the SUB has good tone and build quality for its price.

What would be your dream bass?

I guess it would be a 5-string Lakland. I really like the sounds that Lakland can offer and I dream of having a 5-string bass.

Do you play in a band, and do you play live shows?

Yes, but it’s nothing serious, we usually only meet to play music just for fun, but we’ve played at some summer festivals. We mostly play alternative rock, but we like to throw in some reggae vibes too.

I was part of some other music projects too – for example, I’ve had the honor to play in The Stanislaw Moniuszko Academy of Music in Gdansk – my friend used to study there, and he asked me to play in his band.

What is the music scene like in Poland?

Music is awesome here. We’ve got many amazing artists and diverse styles. Mikromusic is one of my favorite Polish bands, their music is a mix of jazz, trip-hop, and folk.

What can we look forward to seeing on your YouTube channel?

I think I will stick with bass covers for now, but I hope to upload some videos of live playing in the future!

What are your future plans as a bass player?

I would like to go to music college, and I’d love to work as a session bassist. Pursuing bass playing as a career would be a dream come true.

If you’d like to check out Julia’s videos, check out her YouTube channel.

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Leave a Reply to Tim Fletcher Cancel reply

  1. Przemys?aw Utrata

    It’s so wonderful to see young talents! Congratulations and all the best !

    • Tim Fletcher

      She’s certainly got a huge talent. Amazing feel and groove.

  2. Stephen

    Thanks for this interview.Its nice to hear Julias expierences and thoughts in print .

    • Tim Fletcher

      Thanks Stephen. I think I may have been the first person to interview her…but definitely not the last!

  3. jerry

    What a talented person to spotlight! Julia inspired me to purchase my first bass last winter. I’ll be 50 in July and always wanted to play. She made it look so fun :)

    • Tim Fletcher

      Hi Jerry. That’s great! She is inspirational – even to me, and I’ve been playing for ever!

  4. Scott Cannon

    So many of us are hungry for any information about Julia. Thank you! (I wish she had said what town she’s from.)

    • Tim Fletcher

      Hi Scott. Julia is a very private person and doesn’t want that information to be widely known.

  5. Rob Chang

    Thank you

  6. Rob Chang

    Thank you for this interview and shedding some light on the enigma that is Julia. It answers a lot of the questions the bass community had about her music background and future plans.

    • Tim Fletcher

      Hi Rob, Thanks for your comments. It was great to be the first to interview her, but I don’t think I’ll be the last!

  7. Antu

    Thanks for the interview. Want to listen her voice too. She is just amazing

    • Tim Fletcher

      Hi Anti. Thanks for your comments. I think Julia has the potential to become a great player I’m the future – she already has great skills, and with time she should develop into an outstanding musician.

  8. Marc Guirao

    Thanks to her, i now know what brand i would like to buy as my first bass guitar.

    • Tim Fletcher

      Hi Marc. Thanks for commenting. Her tone is great, and I’m certainly going to be including a SUB on my shopping list next time I look for a bass!

  9. Joe L. Whitfield

    To think that you’re inspired by James Jamerson, WOW! It’s no wonder that you’re so awesome. He’d be so proud of your accomplishments. He was one of the best to ever pick up the bass and I pray that someday the world will say the same about you. Blessings!!

  10. Dani

    Recientemente Youtube me recomendó uno de los videos de Julia y me bastó unos pocos minutos para volverme fan de su música y querer conocer más acerca del mundo del bajo.
    Ella es muy talentosa y espero poder seguir escuchándola crecer.
    Gracias por esta entrevista Tim!

  11. Oliver Jackson

    I saw you without the audio on and knew you have “IT” You see I to choke the neck too (I am a Bass Player and choke the neck is an expression to ID us) and saw your little finger working with the memory finger (thumb) as only a few do. Who taught you this?
    Your timing is outstanding. You must be a good dancer!

  12. Raymond Pagan

    I love listening to Julia. She’s a beautiful bassist as well as a beautiful person. I wish her all the best.

  13. Jennifer

    Julia YOU are AMAZING!!! I couldn’t stop watching you play!! Your technique and musicality are something else. You are a VERY gifted musician. LOVED watching you play!!

  14. Loran

    What does she think about Kinga G?yk ? another polish bass player ?

  15. Joanna Lewis

    She is just great

  16. Jason Studd

    I have been watching Julia for years, she is one of the most amazing Bass Players in the world, its like she was born with the Bass Guitar in her hands… So talendted, so enjoyable to watch her play as she really feels the music and you can see she really enjoys what she is doing !!!! She is an inspiration to me as whatever you wanna do it in life you can achieve it with alot of practise and hard work !!!! She examplifies that !!!! I wish her all the very best in her musical pursuit !!!!

    • Tim Fletcher

      Thanks for your comments Jason – I think we’ve got a lot more to see from Julia in the future!

  17. Steve Cook

    I love when she gets that bass “stank face” when she hits a difficult run perfectly. The mischievous smile she adds onto it is what makes her a joy to watch!!!
    Do you think she’ll ever let her hair down and add that little bit of flair when bass players Bob their heads and we see the rhythm of the hair swinging back and forth???