About Julián

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Julián Muro is a musician and poet in search of a language that may inhabit the intersection of both disciplines, drawing from tradition and dissent. Through this exploration, he interrogates the boundaries between musical genres and sketches a poetics that dialogues with his life as a nomad and naturalist.

As a composer, singer, and guitarist, Julián is currently finishing his third album, produced by acclaimed musician Dave Douglas. The project features Douglas as a guest artist, the Bergamot String Quartet, and a band of accomplished jazz players. Simultaneously, supported by grants from Amarte (NL) and SGAE (SP), he is developing his fourth album, an entirely self-produced work. His recording history includes his 2016 debut Dingungu—a project highlighting the African presence in Argentine music—and his 2020 album Unterwegs, recorded in Germany.

A dedicated observer of sound and place, Julián received the 2021 Award for Excellence in Climate, Environmental Justice, and Sustainability from the Tishman Environment and Design Center. The honor recognized his multimedia project La Tierra, una criatura, where field recordings and poetry serve as a catalyst for improvisation, positioning the Earth as his primary collaborator.

His academic background spans three countries. He holds a Performer-Composer Master of Music from The New School in New York, financed by a Full Merit Award, and a Master of Music in Global Musics from Codarts University in Rotterdam. He is currently pursuing a Master’s in Folkloric Music of the Iberian Peninsula at the Escuela de Música Creativa in Madrid, supported by a Highly Specialized Scholarship from AIE.

Julián’s work has been recognized globally through prestigious residencies. He was twice a Musician in Residence at the Banff Centre (Canada)—where he performed with renowned musicians Dave Douglas and Caroline Shaw—supported by the Raul Urtasun–Frances Harley Scholarship and the John W. Kieley Endowment. In 2024, he was named a Lyseloth Scholar for a residency at Musikerwohnhaus (Switzerland), and he received the 2022 New Music USA Creator Development Fund.

In 2024, Julián performed at the North Sea Jazz Festival in the Netherlands. During his years in New York, he also performed at Roulette Intermedium, Little Island, and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden (as part of Metropolis Ensemble’s Biophony). He has performed in over 20 shows with Sofar Sounds across New York and Washington, D.C., and was selected for the fully-funded International Contemporary Ensemble’s Ensemble Evolution program. His stay in the city was made possible through the support of organizations, including MusiCares, Sweet Relief Musicians Fund, and the FoodBankForNYC.

Beyond his solo work, Julián has collaborated across borders and genres, appearing as a spoken word artist for viñu-vinu (Canada), a featured singer for Kenosha Kid (USA), and a poet in the Colombian anthology Breve Tratado del Viento Sur.

A naturalist and gardener since childhood, Julián has long found his home in the mountains, having worked as a porter and hut keeper in the Andes. In 2018, following the deepening socioeconomic crisis in Argentina, he left for Europe with only 400 dollars in his pocket—without a plan, instruments, or a safety net. This itinerant path led him to the Alps, where he continued his work in the mountains while reclaiming his artistic practice. Today, he inhabits the role of a contemporary troubadour, a traveler whose music and poetry are inseparable from the labor and landscapes that have shaped him.