Julia Cunningham emerges from the depths of adversity with EP "Dive Deep"
WRITTEN BY: KATIE GORDON & MITCHELL JODREY // THE BOOM AT NOON
Rising above tough challenges Halifax singer-songwriter, Julia Cunningham refused to let anything hold her back. After enduring open heart surgery and a paralyzed vocal cord, she found her way back to the stage. Now, her debut EP, "Dive Deep," is set to release on August 25.
Julia's health challenges began with open heart surgery in June 2020 which resulted in a paralyzed vocal cord that left her unable to sing. “At one point, I was told that it was probably done healing and at that point and my voice wasn't recovered enough for me to really be able to sing. So I kind of left the doctor's office and had this moment where I was like, I don't think I'm singing anymore,” says Julia. “A lot of points in that journey of healing are hard but that was the saddest one.”
Following her open heart surgery in June, months had gone by and her vocals still hadn’t recovered. “It was a solid five or six months, where it was sort of a question mark, kind of looming over me for a bit,” she recalls. “I had met with a specialist and he made a joke like, ‘Yeah, I don't know - I hope your big dream isn't to sing’. It was just too comedic. It kind of almost made me laugh, but I guess it was just a bit of a dark humour moment.”
But her voice did continue to heal. As she reflects on her journey to vocal healing, she describes a moment of realization. "The moment of realizing that I could kind of do it again was just a quiet one at home plucking away at the guitar,” she shares. “When my voice was healing, it would almost kind of get worse and kind of raspy before it would have this moment of getting better in increments.” But Julia’s voice eventually did come back. "I remember being tentative, like, 'Is this actually a thing?' And then finally, I realized that it was.”
Following her vocal recovery, Julia felt inspired to take the leap and record her long-awaited EP. "I really need to do this now, this whole recording thing and releasing thing, because it was definitely this pretty stark reminder that you don't have all the time in the world," she confides. With this newfound urgency, Julia dove deep into the creative process, assembling an EP including songs about big conversations, cherished memories with lost friends and debating between setting down roots or heading out to explore new horizons, the songs capture various snapshots of Julia's life over the past several years.
Working with seasoned professionals like Lil Thomas at Sonic Temple and Paul Aarntzen, formerly from Hillsburn, Julia found herself navigating a multitude of possibilities for each track. “Just the sheer amount of choices you can make and just how many different ways you could make like a guitar sound,” she laughs. “I've done a lot of demo recordings where you're not locked into anything, you're just able to leave it as is, to a certain extent. And so, in doing this and being like, well, do we want it to be this mic or this mic, miked in this way? Or this way, and it was just almost too many choices.” However, amid the array of choices, Julia received some invaluable advice from her friend Steve. "At the heart of it, if the songs are good, then that's what's most important and things you add in should complement it. If you just let that song shine through then almost to a certain extent those other choices don't matter as much."
In March 2023 Julia got back on stage for a full show for the first time since her open heart surgery. “It felt overdue - finally, we were back, doing the thing. That was really amazing," she recalls. Her return to the stage was an emotional and memorable experience, as she graced The Carleton with a sold-out show, surrounded by friends, family and fans. "It was a really lovely moment of feeling like I was back and able to do it confidently and have a lot of people behind me.”
This November, Julia will be performing her own music for the first time at Nova Scotia Music Week in Yarmouth. “I’m excited about the idea of meeting some folks that can kind of help me grow. I’m keen to do that,” she says. More information about her showcase will be made available in the coming weeks.
Julia’s debut EP, “Dive Deep” is coming out on August 25. “It's been a goal of mine for a long time to have a complete project out in the world,” she says. “I'm really excited for the whole thing to be out there for folks to hear. It feels like both an accomplishment and a beginning.”
When the EP is released, you can stream the EP everywhere you listen to music. Physical copies of the CD will be available through her website and Bandcamp. Stay up-to-date with Julia by subscribing to her mailing list and by following her on Instagram, Facebook and Youtube.
