Jupita’s Julia Morris, the daughter of two Kiwi music icons, talks about being a Swiftie and the songs that make her miss home
BLISS, Th’ Dudes (1980)
I may be biased but this is one of the greatest NZ songs ever — and I’d still saythat even if it wasn’t [co-written] by my dad. I was lucky enough to perform this song with Th’ Dudes at the 2019 Aotearoa Music Awards and every time I hear it, it reminds me of life back home and how much of it I miss. Summer, fish and chips on the beach, having a couple of beers with my friends. It reminds me of my family and what they’ve passed on to me, and also how supportive the music community is. Everyone lifts each other up. Luckily, I’m surrounded by New Zealanders, even on the other side of the world, and I can always trust that someone will put on this song because it reminds them of home, too.
I discovered Courtney Barnett in about 2015 and was instantly in awe of her. Her lyrics are very blunt and to the point, and I feel like that’s how I am too. When I saw her at the Powerstation in Auckland, the person I was in a relationship with at the time said she’d never seen me look so happy. In Want You Back [the title song of Jupita’s debut EP], I talk about how it’s hard for me to listen to Courtney Barnett since my ex and I broke up because it reminds me of that time in my life. The new person I was seeing didn’t even know who Courtney Barnett was.
Morris says her single "Want You Back" is about being in a new relationship and realising you're still in love with your ex. "No one can even come close to them." Photo / Liam Costley
FEEL THE WAY I WANT, Caroline Rose (2020)
I was obsessed with this song during lockdown. I love the bass and the rising synth in the intro. It’s just so cool and groovy. One of the things I was most excited about when I moved to London a year ago was the number of shows I could go to by artists not quite big enough yet to make the trek to New Zealand. A couple of weeks after I got off the plane, Caroline Rose was playing in Hackney Wick, just down the road from where I live now. She was the first one I crossed off on a long list of artists I want to see play live.
BREATHE, Taylor Swift, featuring Colbie Caillat – Taylor’s Version (2021)
When I was a teenager, I learned every single Taylor Swift song on guitar. I played a Taylor Swift song for every music assessment I had in high school. She’s always been one of my biggest inspirations and I know almost every word to almost every song to this day. Breathe is one of my all-time favourites and I hope she plays it when I see The Eras Tour in London next year. She’s the coolest person alive!
TRUE BLUE, boygenius (2023)
The way Lucy Dacus explains her feelings in her lyrics is crazy and this song really demonstrates that. To me, as someone who identifies as queer, boygenius really capture what it’s like to be a queer 20-something with queer 20-something friends. A lot of their music is about their friendship with each other, the ups and the downs and the intense emotions. Very relatable to me. I love that True Blue sounds sad, and the lyrics sound sad, but if you listen more carefully, it’s actually super heartwarming.
— As told to Joanna Wane
* Singer-songwriter Julia Morris — the daughter of Ian Morris (Th’ Dudes/Tex Pistol) and Kim Willoughby (When the Cat’s Away) — is about to release her debut EP Want You Back as Jupita, one of her childhood nicknames. She’s currently based in London, where she works as a receptionist/assistant at Apple Corps, the company founded by the Beatles in the 1960s. “Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Olivia Harrison and Yoko Ono still own the company so basically I work for the Beatles, which is kind of crazy!” On November 17, she’s back in Auckland to play a launch gig at Whammy Backroom with Scotty Pearson (Elemeno P) and Jimmy Mac.
