Daily Dose: Julien Chang, “Butterflies from Monaco”

Daily Dose is your daily source for the song you absolutely, positively need to hear every day. Curated by the Paste Music Team.

To put it bluntly, Julien Chang is good at music. Previously studying classical and jazz performance at the Baltimore School for the Arts—and currently enrolled in college—the 19-year-old Chang recently showed off his synth chops on last month’s “Of the Past,” his debut single for Transgressive, a groovy upbeat Neon Indian-inspired track that gives way to a jaw-dropping piano solo.

Chang returns with “Butterflies from Monaco,” a much slower, but gorgeous cut off his first LP, Jules, announced today for an Oct. 11 release. Trading the shimmering keyboards and distant vocals for an acoustic guitar and glowing harmonies that would make Robin Pecknold or Brian Wilson smile, Chang plays every instrument this time around, creating a gorgeous soundscape before a Beatles-esque guitar solo rips through the mix, only to eventually give way to a jazzy, warm keyboard line. “Butterflies from Monaco” goes through loads of different movements, each showcasing Chang’s unique approaches towards instrumentation. To put it another way, he’s extremely talented.

Chang began slowly releasing music under-the-radar his senior year of high school, which in turn made waves across the Baltimore music scene. Transgressive took notice across the Atlantic, offering him a record deal at age 17. He had this to say about his upcoming debut:

“I wanted to shock people. I wanted to make something in secret, with no expectations, something that would challenge an image of me that people had become familiar with.”

His two singles thus far, both completely different from each other, highlights his extreme music talent and multi-instrumental abilities, proving that no genre really defines him. If anything, he’s definitely one to watch out for going forward.

Chang has also booked a short international tour. Find the dates below, as well as Jules’ tracklist, and pre-order the album here.

Jules Tracklist:

01. Deep Green
02. Of the Past
03. Two Voices
04. Moving Parts
05. Candy Cane Rainbow
06. Dogolouge
07. Memory Loss
08. Somerville Demo
09. Butterflies from Monaco
10. A Day or Two

Jules Album Art:

Jules Chang Tour Dates:

October
15 – Brooklyn, N.Y. @ Baby’s All Right
28 – London, U.K. @ Bermondsey Social Club
29 – London, U.K. @ Servant Jazz Quarters
31 – Brussels, Belgium @ Botanique Witloof Bar

November
01 – Berlin, Germany @ Musik & Frieden