Introducing: Juliet Ivy and her 'tiny but scary' EP.

It's raining and Juliet Ivy is welcoming you inside her house with her sophomore EP, 'tiny but scary'.

If the born and raised New Yorker could describe it you in three words, she would use "indie-pop existential girlhood". Speckled with trojan horse lyricism and relatable honesty, Ivy has immortalised the complicated and ever-changing emotions that come with girlhood in the 21st century. 

COUP DE MAIN: How did you get your start in music?
JULIET IVY: I started by playing this video game called SingStar everyday after school. It was basically just a karaoke machine, but it was my favourite thing to do because I’ve always loved to sing. I dreamed of being an artist my whole life but I didn’t really understand how to make that happen. I did open mics in high school, joined chorus, and tried to be involved in music as much as I could. Then when I found out you could study music in college, I was like, “Oh my god, this is actually possible.” I started learning how to produce, working really hard at songwriting, learning from my friends, putting myself in sessions, and really trying to find the path that felt authentic to me as an artist. I started building my network in New York and LA and making the music I wanted to make, not the music that I thought I was supposed to make, and that’s when I made my first EP, 'playpen'.

CDM: You've described your track 'is it my face?' as a song about "everything at once" - what was running through your mind when you were writing this track?
JULIET: When Audrey Hobert and I wrote 'is it my face?', we had such a natural and magical bond about what it’s like to feel unwanted. There are so many layers to feeling insecure and different dynamics that come with being a girl, so we really tapped into all of those to create this relatable and authentic song about not feeling good enough and just wanting to be wanted.

CDM: I love the way you describe your songs as Trojan horses where the lyrics slowly creep up on you. Has this intentional way of songwriting always been something important for you when creating music? 
JULIET: This honestly hasn’t been intentional, the songs that are “Trojan horses” just end up being my favourites! I think it's a very natural way for me to write songs because I have a lot of deeper thoughts that I like to explore in my lyrics, but sonically I do love sweet-sounding music. It’s so much more exciting and interesting to have lyrics that make you think, and when I get really inspired and am able to tap into that, I think that’s when I make my best songs.

CDM: What was the experience like getting to make the '4 foot 2' video with your cousin Ashley in your hometown?
JULIET: It was the most special, raw, and real video we’ve made because it was truly DIY and all done at home in New York. Ashley is so talented and perfect and I’m so lucky to have her as my cousin. We had so much fun running around the park and biking through my neighbourhood.

CDM: You completed your first ever headline tour earlier this year - do you have a favourite song to perform live?
JULIET: It’s so hard to choose but I of course love playing 'we’re all eating each other', as well as a little mashup that we made of '4 foot 2' that goes right into a cover of 'Unwritten' by Natasha Bedingfield. It’s always so fun to surprise the crowd with!

CDM: Do you have a personal favourite track from the EP? 
JULIET: It changes everyday because I love all of them but I think right now it might be 'kid'. It’s a love song to my parents about how grateful I am to be their kid. And I really am! <3

CDM: You've shared previously about the EP that “on 'playpen', people saw the house. Now, I'm welcoming them inside when it rains” - what room of the house do you envision each song on the EP? 
JULIET: Ooo, I’d say '4 foot 2' is the bathroom, 'is it my face?' is the closet with a big mirror, 'kid' is the dining room with my family, 'sweet dreams' is my bedroom, and 'girl talk' is the entire house.

Juliet Ivy's sophomore EP 'tiny but scary' is out now - watch the video for 'girl talk' below: