Julia Minkin

A Chicago-based multi-hyphenate artist set to release her debut solo album Not Ready, Julia Minkin has reached her long-desired destination: making catchy music with deft lyrics, memorable melodies, and elegant vocals. “I wanted to have control and create something that was my own and that I was proud of,” she says of the album, conceived and produced alongside her French guitarist husband, Andrew Sudhibhasilp. Minkin first ignited her musical career in 2014 with the French pop band Kid Francescoli, collaborating on With Julia and Play Me Again. Their songs appeared in major ad campaigns, TV, and film, and the track “Moon (And It Went Like)” became a viral TikTok sensation with more than 118 million streams. With Not Ready, Minkin proves her chops as a solo artist. The album showcases her subtle humor, emotional resonance, and ear for sweet melody, drawing on everything from “French Touch” and 80s pop to her background in jazz and folk. The songs, she says, tell a story about moving reluctantly toward maturity. Her often tongue-in-cheek lyrics explore misguided attractions or reflect her complicated relationship with performing as a younger woman. Some songs look back at years spent trying to be pleasing at the expense of making work for her own enjoyment. “I’ve been slowly liberating myself from that,” she says. As she anticipates the release of Not Ready, her hope is simple: “My objective is for this album to have a life. I just want it to find its listeners.”