Yulia – «Virgin Mary»

Yulia (Julia Czub) is a Warsaw-born artist, lyricist, poet, writer and journalist, now set to electrify the European alt-pop scene.

Her sound aesthetic channels the raw dark ambience of the post-Eastern Bloc music underground supported by fresh and naturalistic vocals. Yulia now arrives with her most personal and political song to date, «Virgin Mary» taken from her debut EP «Warsaw Mule». The edgy and energetic alternative-pop track features fierce synths contrasted with Yulia’s silky-smooth vocals as she tells the story of her identity crisis being a Polish girl living in London.

Yulia reflects on the themes and inspiration behind «Virgin Mary»:

«While writing ‘Virgin Mary’ I was determined to grasp the essence of my identity crisis and a struggle of living a double life in Warsaw and London, while still being authentic. It’s about trying to be true to myself despite the stereotypical attitude of some people I’ve met while living in London and despite the many challenges that progressive young people have to face in recent years in Poland. This song is not just about being more than just ‘the Polish girl’ but dissecting what being the Polish girl means to me in this socio-political climate».

Yulia recently became a part of the Pride Poland initiative by Spotify and is included in their playlist Pride Polska which helps to highlight Polish queer artists.

«Poland has been recently ranked the most homophobic country in the EU, so I think that initiatives supporting LGBTQ+ artists are extremely important. In a country where a lot of people are afraid to be themselves, as a bisexual person I feel incredibly honoured to be able to be spotlighted by Spotify this year. I hope that even small initiatives like that will bring us closer to a better reality».

Yulia received a BA (Hons) degree in Politics at King’s College London and MA degree in International Journalism at City, University of London, which is reflected in her observant and socio-politically conscious narrative.

Her debut EP «Warsaw Mule» is a nostalgic ballad about an identity crisis induced by living in two highly polarised cities – Warsaw and London. Yulia, as a protagonist, is guiding the listener through the stuffiness of Hackney bars, the rawness of Warsaw after parties and the melancholy of painful, hungover flights. ‘Warsaw Mule’ is Yulia’s audio-visual project, which she is creating in collaboration with the most exciting, rising Warsaw creatives. By inviting her friends and friends of friends, who work in various creative fields such as photography, music and film production, fashion and graphic design to help her build a multidimensional concept project based on her songs, she wanted to reflect the authenticity of the storyline, which directly relates to the magnetism of the modern Warsaw bourgeois bohemian community.

Photo by Lola Banet