“Music is the greatest form of connection we have. It inherently is communal. It brings us together. It makes us feel empathy. It makes us understand people and communities and worlds that we wouldn’t otherwise.”

Julian Harper isn’t exaggerating when he describes his work as having a “grandiose, starry aesthetic.” His disposition in person quite literally beams as well — carrying the same starry, effervescent energy that pierces through his pop music.

Harper’s work, particularly his sophomore EP “Perversions & Reversions,” is a powerful, introspective ode to youth. Harper writes from a place of wishing to be authentic, in touch and unabashedly queer throughout the convoluted and murky teenage years, which often convinces us to not listen to our instincts. But instead, Harper chooses to listen — and what he finds, along with themself, is an evolved and empowered path of unyielding, sensational pop anthems. 

As a junior at NYU’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music, Harper holds the roles of singer, songwriter, producer and performer all in one hand. And at the very root of all these labels, he is simply himself — an embodiment of thoughtful, honest artistry, and a musician aiming to contribute to beloved music. And he’s only 21. 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

WSN: How long have you been interested in making music?

Harper: I’ve been making music since I was six or seven. I started on GarageBand and I would make terrible songs by recording my music lessons and sampling them into my songs. But I started taking it really seriously when I was 14, and it’s been the focus of my life ever since. 

WSN: How did you decide to go to NYU to study music?

Harper: I always knew I wanted to be in New York, and in terms of college, for me, that meant going to NYU. I didn’t know Clive existed until I was a freshman in high school and I was a big fan of Maggie Rogers. I found out about Clive through her and her story, and then I was like, ‘Oh my god, this is something I could actually do. This is exactly what I want to do.’ From then on, I always had it in the back of my mind. 

WSN: Over the trajectory of your music making, when did your work start to take shape into what you would now consider your distinct sound? 

Harper: Wow, that’s a great question. A big part of my sound came about in the past two years, I would say. Last year, I was recording my second EP, ‘Perversions & Reversions,’ and doing a lot of live shows and going to a lot of my friends’ shows. That really changed how I thought about music, in terms of how I wanted to write, produce and record it. Being in New York and having such a broad community of musicians around me shifted my perspective on the music-making process. 

WSN: Speaking of ‘Perversions & Reversions,’ could you walk me through the timeline of writing and recording that? How long did the project take? 

Harper: I started writing that project, technically, on my last day of high school. It was like I woke up in a fever dream. I wrote this whole poem about growing up, relationships and sex and then nothing happened from it. But later, I had written a bunch of songs that fell within the same theme of the poem — exploring queer identity and queer relationships, as well as the trauma and fear that can come from that. I didn’t know it when I wrote it, but that poem was exactly what those songs were about. In terms of songwriting as a whole, my process is varied. For those songs, most of them were very stream-of-conscious, all in one go. 

WSN: That’s the absolute best feeling. 

Harper: Yes, but also very weird. ‘Julie,’ which is one of my favorite songs I’ve ever written, I wrote in one sitting, exactly how it is now — I didn’t even change one line. That’s a really weird thing because it’s not usually my process. But I find when you’re in that zone, it’s almost like being in the womb. It’s amazing. I wouldn’t say I have just one process, because I think inspiration and ideas come in so many different ways. I kind of just chase it wherever it leads me. I usually start with lyrics, but lyrics with a melody. I’ll sing it to myself as I write. But I’m definitely a lyrics-first person. 

WSN: You said when you wrote that poem, you didn’t know at the time what it was about. What do you mean by that? 

Harper: I had a lot of growing up to do and a lot of genuinely engaging with myself and being honest with myself to do. As an 18-year-old in high school, you just don’t really have the facilities to do that yet. A lot of the time, I find that when I’m writing I have these truths that come out which I don’t realize until later. That poem was a really interesting example of that. Inside, subconsciously, you know yourself a lot better than you think you do. And when you just let that flow state happen, some freaky stuff comes out. 

WSN: And when you decide to pay attention to it, too, because it’s so easy to not sit down with yourself and your feelings. In writing, when things come out in that particular, indescribable way — almost as if they’re just demanding to be said — there’s no room for lies. There can be no lying to yourself when you’re writing in that way. 

Harper: No, not at all. There’s definitely no room for that. That’s what that project [‘Perversions & Reversions’] was about — just raw, unbridled honesty. It was really tough at first, because it took me [being] honest enough with myself about things I never wanted to share with anybody. And then, all of a sudden, I shared it with everybody. But I guess that’s what being an artist is. It was very cathartic … I listen to those songs now, and I’m like, ‘Who is that person?’ I cannot recognize the hurt and the pain that’s so there on every single one of those songs. I feel very removed from it, which is such a great feeling. 

WSN: Yeah, to not entirely resonate with the version of yourself from two years ago. How would you say you evolved? Where do you feel you are now? You have a new single coming out soon. Who is that new version of yourself on ‘American Heart’? 

Harper: I think the version of myself I’m writing about is a lot more gentle, and, hopefully, a lot kinder to themself. The next thing you’ll hear from me is a lot more pop. That’s where I’m headed. That’s what I’m excited about. The next song I have coming out, ‘American Heart,’ is probably the biggest pop song I’ve ever released. That’s the direction I’m running toward — just big, anthemic pop. 

WSN: Who are some of your pop idols?

Harper: Oh! I’m loving the new [Lady] Gaga. She’s been my North Star for my entire life, and to see her have such a great comeback is so inspiring. Always Lorde, Robyn, MUNA, Isaac Dunbar, oh — The 1975 is a big one. I could go on and on. 

WSN: Please do. What is the pop scene like within Clive? Are there a lot of other students making pop music?

Harper: Yes and no. A lot of my closest friends and collaborators are a lot more rock, and recently, a lot more electronica-orientated. But those genres lend themselves very well to what I do. I’m a huge fan of so many Clive musicians, and they also happen to be some of my closest friends. I use a lot of backing vocals from two of my closest friends, Noor Hila and Ava Leslie. Collaboration is so fun and brings so much life into the music. 

WSN: That’s exciting. I know you use a lot of synths in your songs, how do you recreate that in a live performance setting?

Harper: I don’t try to. I try to make the live version of the song its own entity. There are specific moments in songs where I’ll change a lyric here and there to make it fit better in a live performance. I do a ton of rehearsing to get the songs in my body — with the band and a lot by myself — and see how they feel, and sometimes that means changing the songs a little bit to make the experience more unique. 

WSN: Playing live for people must be such a high. How does it feel for you? 

Harper: It’s definitely an experience of its own. I grew up doing theater, so I think in a lot of ways that prepared me for performing my own music. When I’m performing live, I have to get into the character of Julian Harper, which is kind of a strange thing to do. But it’s really fun. Very special. 

WSN: What does getting into the character of Julian Harper entail?

Harper: It’s in the glam. I don’t walk around in a full-glam moment, in six-inch boots every day. It’s a mindset of abundance, and of love and respect for the work. It’s also being okay with being a diva. That’s a big part of Julian Harper, the character — being a diva, a big personality and larger than life. I definitely hope I’m not a diva in my day-to-day. I have too much work to do. So it’s definitely a switch, and I have to turn it on and be one-thousand percent. 

WSN: What does music mean to you? 

Harper: I think music is the greatest form of connection we have. It inherently is communal. It brings us together. It makes us feel empathy. It makes us understand people and communities and worlds that we wouldn’t otherwise, and I think that is something that we’re all in need of at this time in this world.