There are few people lucky enough to have been born with an absolute understanding of their place and purpose in the world. One such person is Toronto-born singer/songwriter Julie Shephard. Since the age of three she has been playing with words and sounds, entertaining herself and those around her. Music seems to flow from her. It’s a natural exercise through which she produces lush and intricate folk/pop harmonies.

Julie wrote her first song at the age of 17 and began to explore the world of live performance. For her, music and performing are about exposing your soul and freeing emotions. Whether busking or performing on stage, Julie finds the experience intense and intimate, as thrilling for her as for the audience.
In 1993, she received FACTOR’s Canadian New Talent Demo Award, and began her recording career, releasing her first CD, Into The Green, in 1994. The first single, also titled "Into The Green", received national airplay on CBC, as well as local airplay on numerous stations across the country.

Shortly thereafter, she co-wrote and recorded two songs with French producer Michel Le François at Star Records in Montreal. In fact, they were the only vocal tracks on Soul Of You, an otherwise entirely instrumental compilation of over fifty songs.
She has had the privilege of working with some very talented people in the music industry on both sides of the border. In 1996, she went to New York City to work on an 11-song demo with producer/engineer Richard Oliver (Rolling Stones, Amy Grant, B-52s and Yes) at Back Pocket Studios. For her CD single Captured, she worked with Canadian producer Frank Levin and producer/engineer John Holbrook, who has worked on projects such as Natalie Merchant’s triple-platinum CD Tigerlily and Jewel’s single Foolish Games, from the Batman & Robin soundtrack.

Her love of music is matched only by her love of language. Julie moved to France at 18 to study French and then returned to Canada to continue her studies at Laval University in Quebec City. The years she spent in Quebec brought her two things: Fluency in French; and a musical partnership and friendship with Serge Laporte, acclaimed producer and multiple-SOCAN Award winner.

In 1998, Julie returned to live in her hometown of Toronto. Despite the distance, she and Serge continued to work together, most recently on Julie’s latest CD, Completely And Off The Floor. Co-produced by Jason Scott Alexander, the CD was released independently in January 2000. "Many of these songs were written and recorded spontaneously in the recording studio, a rare and joyous experience," says Julie. Her voice, rich and unreserved, carries smoothly from intimate acoustic tracks like "Rain" to up-tempo numbers like "Little Shadow".

Completely And Off The Floor is the perfect compliment to Into The Green. There are new sounds to appreciate and, as always, there is Julie Shephard, ready to share her passion for language and music with the world.