Sarah Julia

The familiar presence of the folk-pop pair Sarah Julia has long resonated among devoted followers of Dutch media programming. To international listeners, they distinguish themselves through an intimate and tender aesthetic built around acoustic strumming, harmonized vocal layers, and understated electronic pulses, all showcased on the 2024 debut EP How Do We Go Back to Being Normal? along with its standout track “Cairngorns.”

Sarah Nauta entered the world in Amsterdam during 1998, with her sibling Julia arriving three years afterward. From childhood onward, the sisters drew motivation from music and movement, each pursuing performance opportunities while still young. Sarah portrayed Jane Banks in a nationwide staging of Disney’s theatrical version of Mary Poppins and later appeared repeatedly on the youth-oriented series SpangaS, the Dutch counterpart to Canada’s Degrassi; Julia maintained steady work through supporting parts in multiple regional television productions. Their strongest recognition among adolescent fans, however, came as a pop act throughout the 2010s, delivering tracks in Dutch and English such as “Here Come the Girls” and “Dance Like Nobody’s Watching” that echoed the early output of Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez. In 2013 the song “Live Life” reached the finals to represent the nation at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, and three years later they received a special honor from Radio Disney’s Dutch operations, surpassing compatriot Martin Garrix.

The pair maintained a lower profile for much of the ensuing years before resurfacing in 2024 under the Sarah Julia moniker with the close-knit single “Cairngorns,” titled after the Scottish mountain range. Serving as the opening release from their four-track EP How Do We Go Back to Being Normal?, the project drew from the approaches of Phoebe Bridgers, Big Thief, Maggie Rogers, and similar folk-pop figures active in the late 2010s and early 2020s. A separate single, “Game of Pretend,” followed later in the same year.