Q&A: Julia Pratt’s “Carolina” Echoes the Heartbreak of Returning to a Changed Home
MARKING A PROFOUND EVOLUTION IN HER MUSICAL JOURNEY – Julia Pratt has released “Carolina,” showcasing a fusion of R&B techniques within the realm of indie-folk while delving into deeply personal themes. Through this haunting single, Pratt exposes her rawest emotions, drawing from her own experiences as a woman of color and the tumultuous disintegration of her family.
On “Carolina,” Pratt folds all of her history into a haunting song about returning to someone, something, someplace you used to love, but just can’t seem to recognize anymore. The song’s layered exploration of identity, of what it means to be a daughter grown and changed, of searching for home, matches the echoey wordless harmonies and loping guitar. With her youth full of questioning and conflict, Pratt now turns inward for her present conviction of identity.
Reflecting on the inspiration behind the track, Pratt reveals that "Carolina" originated from a moment of reckoning upon her return to North Carolina, where her family's story came to an end. This return stirred a profound realization within her—that she had evolved beyond recognition, and the place she once called home may no longer hold a place for her.
“‘Carolina’ is about returning to a person/place that was once called home and realizing that it is no longer that,” shares Pratt. “The song that spawned this project, ‘Carolina’ recounts a moment when I returned back to North Carolina, the place where my family ended, and was hit with the true realization that it was all over. I struggled to accept that I am not who I was then, and it pained me to think that this place, that has held so much significance in my life, may not even recognize me anymore. ‘Carolina’ is about belonging, loss, grief, and the concept of home, told through the eyes of a woman who feels she has no place in this world.”
The single also arrives with an official video, the first part of what will become the EP’s short film. Directed by Samantha D’Alessio and filmed in isolated landscapes of nature, Pratt conjures up the same level of vulnerable intensity in her physical portrayal as she does in her lyricism.
LUNA: Thank you for sitting down and talking to Luna. Our readers would love to get to know your newest music more. You just released “Carolina” which is the lead single off your upcoming EP. I really love the vulnerability in the lyrics and truly how therapeutic the energy is. What is the inspiration behind the single?
JULIA: I was on a road trip to North Carolina in the summer of 2022. I spent some time in North Carolina as a teenager and it's a place where my parents got divorced. My family split apart and I hadn't been back since. On that road trip, I stayed at this goat farm in Nashville and it was so calming, and I was looking out over the hills and it just hit me that this is the first time that I've been back home and it wasn't home anymore. I got really emotional about it and then I wrote the song and that's how it came to be.
LUNA: I would love to know more about the creative process. How did you go through this experience and has “Carolina” helped you express feelings or let off any steam?
JULIA: I wrote the song on my own in my room after I got home from the road trip and then I sat on it for like a year and it was one of my favorite songs I'd written, but I just didn't think that I was really ready to process those feelings in full yet. I went on making other music and then I circled back to it last year and realized that there were a lot of unresolved feelings that came with it and I wrote a bunch of songs around it and then got to recording those. Recording it was pretty difficult for me. It took a bunch of tries which is rare. I think because of the nature of the song, it was a little bit more difficult to get in touch with that side of myself and allow myself to express it. But it was really cathartic. I think it led to a lot of therapy which was great and necessary and it definitely helped me process a lot of feelings that I didn't really know I had living under the surface.
LUNA: “Carolina” touches on returning to a person or place that you once called home. How does it feel to release such intimate and personal confessionals out into the world?
JULIA: I was a little bit nervous. I showed it to all of my close family members before it came out, and I think that helped alleviate some of my anxiety, knowing that they were okay with it, that we could talk about it. I knew that it was going to be a song that other people would connect to and everyone has a family and everyone has grown up somewhere. I felt proud to put it out and I felt like it was necessary.
LUNA: I absolutely adore the natural elements in the “Carolina” music video. It gives the energy that nature is very healing and always calls us to ground ourselves. What is the inspiration behind the video and how was your experience filming it?
JULIA: Nature is such a grounding, healing force. I remember when I lived in North Carolina, I just loved the nature there and it's such a beautiful state. There's so much so much different geography there and I remember hiking in the mountains and then there were all the cattails by like creeks and rivers and it was really healing for me. I knew that I wanted to emulate that in the music video. We wanted some isolated landscapes that mimicked those landscapes that I really connected to as a kid and it was really fun. We found the perfect location in Malibu. It really gives me the same feeling that I had when I was a kid and it highlights the aloneness that I felt, but also the sense that there's this greater force that's backing me up. We all come from Earth and we'll return to Earth. That's a comforting feeling for me, so I was really excited to be able to capture that in the video.
LUNA: “Carolina” is the first single from your upcoming EP. What can listeners expect from this new era of music?
JULIA: I think that they can expect a lot of natural organic sounds. We have a lot of fun, really creating this sonic landscape that mimics all of the emotions in each of the songs. I think they can expect a brutally honest take on childhood, family and forgiveness, but also balancing that with the pain and betrayal that sometimes we feel from our caregivers and our parents growing up. I think it's really honest and a true take, but with some perspective from being an adult myself for the past couple of years now.
LUNA: Did you take any creative risks or experiment more either lyrically, emotionally or instrumentally with this project since your Two to Tango EP, and if so, how would you describe that growth?
JULIA: I think that this project, I really tried to record it in a similar way that I would perform it, which is different from some of the older music that I have out where I was really focused on perfection and everything had to be the best that it could be. With this project, I tried to let the emotions shine through and have it sound exactly how I perform it live vocally, which was a little bit scary but also a really fun challenge. I also think that it's a little bit more strict production-wise, and we really let the lyrics shine because they are the foundation of this project.
LUNA: What’s the best environment to listen to the EP?
JULIA: I'd say outside with headphones on to fully get the experience, but I'd probably say alone. I know that for me, I don't like to listen to the songs around other people because a lot of emotions come up. I'm curious to see how other people connect to it. Listen to it by yourself and give yourself some chance to reflect and have a journal or some calming tea. Anything to process your feelings in a safe spot.
LUNA: What is the biggest lesson or breakthrough you’ve had while bringing this project to fruition?
JULIA: I think the biggest breakthrough was a personal one for me, which was that I need to continue moving forward in my life. This project really showed me that I was holding on to so much feeling from the past, and it's not necessarily a negative thing, but I think that some of the things I was holding on to weren't really serving me. I'm still in the process of letting those live and not holding them so close to the chest. Through making the project, I realized that I have so much to say about myself and about growth, and those are experiences and lessons that I'm going to be putting into my future songs.
LUNA: How are you feeling in this current era of your career and what does the rest of the year look like for you that you would like to share with Luna?
JULIA: I'm excited. I'm getting to a spot where I'm releasing music that I'm really connecting to and really proud of. I think that this EP is the next chapter of showcasing that and I have a lot more music that'll be coming out after that and I have a lot of amazing dates on the road. I'm currently on the road with Angie McMahon, who I love so much, and I have a show with Flipturn and I love them as well. I have a lot of show dates. We're really excited to get to play the new music and release even more stuff.
