Julius Black

Julius Black crafts his songs by intertwining precisely shaped melodies with immersive sonic textures, delivering them through a gentle and expressive vocal style perfectly suited to the introspective tone of his work. Balancing artistic depth with accessible appeal, he refined his fluid indie pop approach across early-2020s singles and EPs, drawing notice first with the Dopamine EP and its atmospheric track "Summer." Continued output, highlighted by the 2022 release Together We Go Down in the Dark EP and the 2024 single "EYE4EYE," gradually brought a brighter edge to his sound.

Born in Shanghai, where he spent his first thirteen years, Julius Black moved with his family to Christchurch, New Zealand, as he entered his teenage period. Early exposure to the Beatles from his father ignited a passion for music that soon led him to classical studies, while he simultaneously absorbed R&B, pop, and hip-hop. At seventeen he began composing original material and envisioned a professional path in music. Initial plans to enroll at the Berklee College of Music in the United States shifted when COVID-19 emerged; instead, after turning eighteen he relocated to Auckland and began assembling the songs that formed his first EP, Dopamine. Early work with Ezra Vine gave way to a close partnership with Struan Finlay, who served as the primary collaborator in shaping the supple textures of the 2021 project.

By late 2021 Black had released the singles "Do You Still Dream?" and "Boomerang," both of which appeared on Together We Go Down in the Dark, his sole 2022 outing. Three further singles followed in 2023—"Wings," "After You," and "Marionette/House of Cards"—before he opened 2024 with the reflective ballad "EYE4EYE."