INTERVIEW: Julia Alsarraf and her Memoiric Concept Album
*This article originally appeared in our January 2026 print issue*
Photos by Debi Gustafson
“The biggest surprise in the recording process for me was how healing it was. It felt like I was more fully processing what had happened, and finding new ways to understand and work through some of the things that needed to be dislodged.”
In the wintry depths of January 2024, I was on my way back from a gig in New York City, Julia Alsarraf to my right in the passenger seat. It was one of those late night, ‘pound a Red Bull so no one dies’ situations that would eventually put us home after 2:00 a.m. At the time, Julia and I were friends in the way that occasional bandmates are friends, connecting deeply on a musical level but knowing very little about each other’s personal lives. Those three sleepy hours in the car together brought us instantly closer, conversation flowing like a fine wine with no awkward silences to fill. While I don’t remember most of what was said, I do remember what was coming through the speakers.
“Have you been working on anything new you can share with me?” she asked at one point. The question surprised me, but I hesitantly showed her a half dozen, unfinished instrumental compositions I had been working on for a few years, unsure of what to do with them. She listened generously and eventually said six words I haven’t forgotten: “I think you should release these.” It meant a lot.
After my own songs faded out, I asked her the same question and she began playing a new album she had recently demoed at home. She was particularly excited about the title: In Fidelity. For those of you that know Julia, this is a perfect representation of her sense of humor: witty, a tad dark, and oh-so-clever. (Her knack for pulling out dad jokes on the spot is unrivaled, and this is coming from an actual dad.)
“Comedy and levity seem to be the only ways that I can actually allow myself to open up some of those more serious topics,” Julia tells me, nearly two years after that road trip. “Mostly because when things are that heavy, it's just an easier opening to turn it into dark humor instead of just bloodletting.”
Listening to these deeply personal songs, I felt I was getting a rare, intimate look into an artist’s creative process that not many people get. I know how hard it is to share unfinished work with people, let alone in a one-on-one setting where neither person can escape. The music left me awestruck, and I felt like I learned a lot about Julia while listening — now it’s time for others to be let in on the secret.
Thanks in part to a grant from The Arts Center of the Capital Region, In Fidelity is about to finally materialize in pure, high fidelity audio (Julia will appreciate that, even if no one else does). But releasing it was never a foregone conclusion.
“Showing it to you was part of [deciding to release it],” she admits, “because I think there's something about letting it out even in a small way. Like, I showed it to somebody and I didn't die! But even after I showed it to you, I still wasn't sure that I wanted to release it. In fact, I went so far as to skip over it entirely and put out a pre-order for the next album that I was going to make.”
Wait… two albums? Yes, you read that right. Her prolificity is unrivaled. Amidst simultaneously recording these two separate albums, she’s also already released a series of one-off singles throughout 2025 that showcase a more raw, angst-driven side of her songwriting. You can also find her lending her talents to other local singer-songwriters’ projects either live or in the studio, fronting her band, Paintbrush Charlie, and even running sound or playing stagehand at various events throughout the region. It’s a mystery how she keeps it all straight, but the right level of chaos is clearly a source of comfort for her.
And In Fidelity, at its core, is an album born out of a chaotic time. She refers to the album as a “memoiric concept album,” best summed up with a series of words rather than any of your typical genre descriptors: “Raw, unhinged, heartbreaking, and raunchy.” Above all else, it’s a seamless story.
“I wanted to tell this story, but it has a lot of pieces that are specific to people I care about and that I don't necessarily want to have to talk about in full. The songs are what they are — I wrote them for me in a time and place that was very meaningful, but now I want the songs to have a life of their own and for people to be able to hear the album and let it mean whatever it's gonna mean for them.”
The whole thing starts with the upbeat rouser “Next Time” and the line “I don’t know who you are to me…”, a thesis statement of sorts for what’s to follow. Is she talking to herself? Someone else? Both? This dichotomy of perspective and vulnerability is at the heart of In Fidelity, begging for repeat listens to unpack the underlying truths.
“It definitely shifts back and forth between fantasy and reality,” Julia says. “Being in the shit and also being blissfully, and at times maybe not so blissfully, ignorant of what's actually happening.”
To further the memoiric elements, In Fidelity was recorded and released in the exact order it was written and demoed in, the events unfolding in purposeful sequence. Sort of.
“I would say that worked accidentally,” she admits. “People can decide whether it worked as a happy accident or a bad one.”
Spoiler alert: the results are stunning. A song like “Beautiful Disaster” is enough to freeze you in your tracks, hyperfocusing on every word. (“Please don’t forget what a beautiful disaster we are / Let’s keep the change and make better mistakes now that it’s over…”) The dark and brooding “Holy” is equally captivating, with a melody that will haunt you in the best way, not to mention a refrain where Julia channels her inner Dolores O’Riordan. There are also surprises abounding throughout the track listing; “Hurts,” for example, features a fast-paced, spoken word section that Julia is quick to clarify is not entirely rapping.
Similarly, there are unique instrumentation choices that are best picked up on during repeat listens — pictures of Julia gleefully playing an old accordion and manipulating an old turntable from Goodwill can be found on Bunker Recording’s Instagram. These experimentations were thanks to a throwing-spaghetti-at-the-wall approach she adopted with producer Mike Dwyer in the studio.
“Mike and I arrive at decisions pretty quickly. We'll try something for however long it takes to know whether or not it's working. And if it's not working then we go, ‘Well, that was fun.’ Having that openness in the studio really helps because if I was feeling any pressure to have certain decisions already made coming in, that would be really difficult for me.”
In addition to Mike, she was also able to lean on local musician Brendan Tompkins (Zan & the Winter Folk, Milkshake Godfather) who recorded drums on the majority of the record. His presence also contributed to the positive environment in the studio, and Julia tells me he was instrumental (ba-dum, chh!) in making the album.
“There is something really special about having that shared understanding and being able to have efficient conversations in the studio. Finding someone you really connect with and knowing where each other's going makes the recording process so much more efficient.”
The album culminates in a devastating closer, “Still Breaking,” with the real life story ultimately culminating in finalizing a (perfectly amicable) divorce just days before we spoke. “Still Breaking” is the song that ties everything up in a neat bow with a building, orchestral-tinged arrangement but it’s the penultimate track, “Is This Thing On?” that Julia cites as the defining moment for recognizing the album’s identity.
“[In Fidelity] is in one of the lyrics, and I don’t think I really knew what this album was until I got to that line. (“I’ve been working faithfully on seeing clearly, in fidelity…”) There's so much nuance to the way that humans relate to each other that the same situation under different circumstances or with different people could have been interpreted differently.
“What's funny about this album is I'm still in somewhat regular communication with all of the pieces of it. What that tells me is that, while obviously all of this was really complex and heartbreaking in a lot of ways, healing is possible. That's probably the biggest takeaway from this whole process: healing is possible.”
To commemorate the release, Julia will be performing solo at Caffe Lena in Saratoga on January 27, debuting most of the new record in an intimate setting only a historic folk venue can provide. After that, it’s all about one thing: balance.
“Each year, I have been selecting a word to think about. Not so much an intention, but sort of a musing. ‘Release’ was 2025. ‘Balance’ is the word I picked for 2026. If you're too out of balance, then you're too fixated on what needs to get done and when, versus being able to really be present in the process of the thing that you're actually doing.”
Thinking back to that memorable car ride, I’m grateful I was lucky enough to get a glimpse into another musician’s creative soul before anyone else. It’s been two years since I heard those songs, behind the wheel, hyperfocused on not crashing a car. So it’s remarkable to me that, when “The Difference” came on the other day, I was immediately transported back, a vague memory of the song entering my ears. The hair stood up on my arms. “I remember this…” The power of music to conjure up memories and emotions is incredible. In Fidelity is no exception. Hell, it may even be a rule.
The album release show for In Fidelity takes place at Caffè Lena in Saratoga on January 27. Tickets are available now at caffelena.org.
