Julia Gjertsen is a pianist, composer, and producer based in Oslo. Her music navigates a sonic landscape of both acoustic and electronic elements, often centered around the piano. Using layers of piano, keys, and synths, she creates compositions that are both spacious and detailed, shaped by intuition, repetition, and a deep interest in sound as texture.
Her arrangements usually unfold with melodies and patterns that shift gently between ambient atmospheres and modern classical expression. Nature often influences her work subtly, as do feelings connected to memories and places. Many of her compositions grow from small fragments or impressions, unfolding gradually with delicate and nuanced development.
Since 2012, Julia has released three solo LPs and one EP. Her debut album, Fragile (2019), introduced a pared back, subtle and intimate sound. On Formations (2022), she broadened her sonic palette with flute and electronics, exploring looser structures and wider spaces. In her third album, Shadow Light (2024), she revisits a more acoustic piano palette while reflecting on the contrasts evoked by light and shadow.
Collaboration is central to her practice. She has worked with artists across genres, including Chilean composer Nico Rosenberg (Distant Fields, 2020; Paisajes Imaginarios, 2022) and Finnish composer Juha Mäki-Patola (Dive, 2023). Julia has also contributed solo works to several Piano Day compilations and single releases.
Reviews:
Oslo based composer Julia Gjertsen has an uncanny knack for creating some of the most soothing and lightly melodic compositions I’ve heard over the last decade. On her new album “Formations”, she brings in flutes, synths and textured ambience to her piano work and it feels like music for clouds. Delicately poised between texture and melody and bursting with ideas that are realized with equal portions of precision and zest, Formations becomes a buoyant listening experience with an underlying cleverness that demands it be taken seriously. That is not an easy balance to achieve in this medium and is a testament to the creative talents on display in this thoroughly pleasant and uplifting album.