Inside the Mind of Julian Kenji: Chaos, Creation, and ‘RABBIT SEASON’ by Indigo Mapa

Mar 27, 2026by Milk Room Staff

Despite the heat wave currently hitting Southern California, I had the privilege of interviewing all-rounder artist Julian Kenji. We sat at Jackson Market’s patio in Culver City, sipping on iced coffee and strawberry juice, and had an enchanting conversation about him and his work. Hailing from San Francisco, he’s made his way to Los Angeles to discover his sound and identity, passionately creating art and music to build a community that dreams as big as him. Upon speaking with him, his infectious, chaotic good energy inspired me to delve deeper into his mind and share with Milk Room readers and the general public who Julian Kenji is.

Tell us about yourself, who you are, where you’re from, and what you do.

JK: My name is Julian Kenji, I’m from San Francisco. I am a multimedia artist, designer, producer. I just dropped an album called RABBIT SEASON, check it out. I’m working on another tape that’s gonna come out in July, as well as I just released a line of shirts to accompany the album. But all sorts of stuff, man.

What got you interested in making art? Has it always been a part of your life?

JK: Yeah. I mean, I’m super lucky. My parents both met in theater, ‘cause they were actors in the Bay Area. Yeah, they’re really cool people. I’m very lucky. My mom still does theater. They’re both still very active in that community. I grew up in a really creative household. I never really grew up playing instruments, but I always had guitars and pianos around me. I’ve been drawing my whole life. They always nurtured that. I went to a performing arts high school, and I went to school for art as well. I went to UC Santa Cruz.

Describe the genre and type of music you make.

JK: My friend called it “indie rave music.” So I thought it was fire. Yeah. Indie rave. Describe it? I don’t know. It’s pretty hectic. Pretty aggressive music sometimes, but it’s also very soft and very gentle.

I’m aware that you recently released your album, RABBIT SEASON, in January. What was it like creating and curating those nine songs? Walk me through your process and how you feel now that it’s out.

JK: I’ve never long-form talked about it like this. It was great. It took a year, honestly, start to finish. The earliest demos weren’t initially gonna be part of an album. But then I kind of figured… The deeper I got into exploring those sounds, and some of the songs are about similar stories or about certain people, from a certain period of my life, kind of… Moving into the house I currently am a part of and stuff. Inspired by past lovers, that sort of thing. But curating everything kind of came together in the last three months. I figured out… a storyline from song to song, the energy level from song to song, and arranged everything in the last three months. I make music so I can perform it, so it’s all about anticipating how it’ll play in front of people and leading people on the emotional rollercoaster.

Do you think you have a set plan before you make this music, or do you feel it as you go?

JK: Hell no. No. I mean, if I have like six songs, and I want to hit ten or twelve, or nine in this case, I’ll look at it, and I’ll think, “Okay, I need the banger. There’s like no banger on the project. Or there’s no slower, chill moment yet.” And then, I’ll try to go into the studio with that in mind, but no, when I’m starting out, it’s totally whatever sticks to the wall, you know?

I remember watching the video you posted on Instagram at the beginning of January, and I was enraptured with the story you told about your accident, your road to performing, and your album. But what really stood out to me was the fact that you said you didn’t feel like you were making music you didn’t really love. I’m sure many artists feel the same way you felt at one point in their lives. How did you find that spark and love again with your music?

JK: That’s a good question. Damn, dude. I mean, the accident, for context… I almost died, ‘cause I jumped off a bridge when I was eighteen, ‘cause I was really drunk, with a bunch of friends, and I wasn’t trying to kill myself. I just jumped off a bridge. And I’m good! But… For a long time after that, all the music I was making was just the warm-up to this past year, you know? I think it was like getting my reps in so that I’d be skilled enough to make music I was really proud of. I’ve had periods of imposter syndrome and self-doubt, where I stop making music for a few months, but… I always know I need to return to it, because it’s- it sounds cliché, but it is like a calling. Yeah, I’ll get depressed, or I’ll get bummed out if I don’t make music for a certain amount of time. So after taking healthy, I think, steps away from it, and returning to it, year after year. I feel like I’ve finally become very confident in my ability to make music I’m really proud of. And that took seven years.

What and who inspires you when it comes to your art and music?

JK: Dude. I got a list on me. All the zeitgeist of electronic music right now. Electronic music is so sick. Obviously, Fred Again, Skrillex, Odd Mob. They’re sick. Just everyone who’s headlining festivals right now, they’re so cool. But also like Brian Eno and really early electronic pioneers. Popular… I love Queen. I love a dramatic kind of storytelling music. If there was an album recently that’s been really inspiring… I revisited Dominic Fike’s What Could Possibly Go Wrong. I thought that was a really underrated kind of story that it told. I thought it was a really cool emotional journey. My mom inspires me ‘cause she’s still a practicing artist, you know? She’s all over the place like me. She directs, makes costumes, right now, she’s in Japan doing intensive classes out there.

You’re also a graphic designer, illustrator, typographer, and tattoo artist. Tell me about how that bleeds through your music and music videos like WHATS UP and ILY SO MUCH.

JK: Touching on a tangent I’ve been having with all of my friends… So much of modern music, marketing, and the whole TikTok space is like… World-building, quote unquote. I’m really fortunate that I do have those skills, because dude, outsourcing it all must be such a pain in the ass. You need to be able to visually communicate what’s going on in your songs. And obviously, if it’s really eye-catching, that helps too. In so many ways, I create the visuals I project behind myself when I perform, and it’s all portfolio pieces as well for my design website. I see them as totally interchangeable. Whenever I design something, it’ll inspire me to make a song, and vice versa. And then, just in the act of making music requires so much design and so much visual language.

Do you have any advice for aspiring artists and musicians who want to do what you do?

JK: I think, especially, you know, people like me, kids who are anxious and unsure where to start… It took me years to develop the confidence to put out one song. I truly am a testament to how much you can learn just by being an interested kid in front of your computer. You can teach yourself so much on YouTube. Pretty much everything I know, from mixing, mastering, production, and I’ve learned Blender. Like, I don’t really have a degree in any of this shit. I know I went to a fine arts program, to paint, but I taught myself, and I kind of do day to day now. Everything that’s making me money, everything that’s a part of my music career, just by myself. I think a lot of people put that wall in front of themselves; they aren’t willing to get out of their comfort zone to teach themselves new things, but it’s a lot easier than you’d think, and it’s really fun.

Describe your style to me. What are the staples in your closet? What are you trying to achieve when you put pieces together? Do you have an article of clothing you cannot live without?

JK: It’s usually thrifted jeans. I have this one pair of vintage Docs that I’ve been wearing since I was like twenty, twenty-one. Everything is secondhand. There is nothing wrong with buying shit out of the store, but I just think it’s more fun to go to flea markets and especially, big, hectic ones. I love to go to the bins, and I’ll just see what I can find, you know? Even my cooler, niche stuff is all secondhand, just ‘cause it’s fun. I love embracing the community around it. My staples… I have these really cool Fluevog boots, and they’ll have stories behind them. Like, I was at the bins, and I found one half of the pair, and I was looking around, frantic, for the other pair, because I was like, “These are sick!” And they were in some other dude’s cart. We flipped a coin for them. (Spoiler alert: Julian won.) I’m just getting into newer brands and buying sneakers, but everything I have is secondhand and kind of funky.

What can we expect from Julian Kenji in the future?

JK: Dude. All kinds of stuff. I’m really hoping to be able to perform abroad this year. That’s on my bucket list right now. Maybe in the summer, who knows? Got some stuff behind the scenes. I would really love to go on a mini RABBIT SEASON tour. I’m not really sure what that would look like, but just even UC campuses or something along the coast would be really fun. I’m making a lot of new stuff, and I’m hoping to put out another tape this year, maybe, on my birthday in July.

Is there anything you’re currently listening to?

JK: I just found this guy named jigitz. It’s like that super dancy, clean, house, drum and bass. Mixy stuff. There’s that one song called “you’ll be back”, I’ll daily that. OCTANE, the new Don Toliver tape, listen to that front and back, every day. I’m also someone who’ll wear something out. Like I said, I’ve been listening to a lot of Dominic Fike, too. My taste is kind of eclectic. It’s all over the place. A lot of soul music, there’s this song “You Can Exit” by Gloria Gaynor.

As we come to a close, is there anyone you’d like to shout out, anything you’d like to add, or any closing words?

JK: Shout out to my beautiful parents, who inspire me to make music in the first place. Shout-out to my friends, Jonah Steuer, Cam Okoro, Keshore, and my manager, Nico, for just inspiring me and pushing me. There have been so many points where I felt like, “This is bullshit. I gotta stop,” and they’ve kind of pulled me out of that hole and kept me going. It’s always right before some really exciting opportunity comes my way or something, too, or the final piece of the puzzle locks in, and then I release a tape… That’s really big for me. So, you know, your community and your friends surrounding your art are hugely impactful. I would just encourage people to be curious. Take risks. Get out of your comfort zone. If you want to try your hand at making music, you can do it. It’s not impossible. I taught myself how to sing off YouTube. You can do anything.