Julien Golubovic – 19 Bis

Julien Golubovic is a composer and producer who made his solo professional recording debut in 2022. In November and December he released the consecutive singles “Love Me” and “In the House”. Those records introduced a talented 23 year-old producer from France with a rich, organic and emotionally complex experimental electronic sound. 

“19 Bis” is the latest work from Julien Golubovic, released worldwide via all major streaming services on January 4, 2023. The 30:27 piece is a moving and ethereal tribute to the composer’s father, himself an experimental electronic artist who recently passed away. The record is an ever-changing landscape of thought and sound.

Distant memories give the piece a nebulous form as we move with Julien in and out of lo-fi hip-hop jams, experimental trip-hop moods, glitch beats and avant-garde classical movements. A melancholy and hypnagogic vibe remains constant throughout all the stylistic changes. This is a record of mourning and remembrance, but there is joy here as well. 

With a rich palette of gritty lo-fi samples and organic analog beats, Julien Golubovic paints a dreamy landscape. It is a somber, minor-chord kinda scene. But as in any dream, the nature of our reality alters with time and circumstance. Staccato strings lead to ambient soundscapes, where bass drums rumble and bells ring in the distance. 

There are voices throughout, but they are secondary components of the whole. The vibe is center stage. We dance slowly to old-school breakbeat grooves, wander warily down dark alleys, and sing along to old r&b songs which sound as though they have been transmitted from some far-off place in time and space.