Julian Storer: Creator of JUCE C++ Framework | WolfTalk #032

Julian “Jules” Storer is the creator of the JUCE C++ framework and the Cmajor programming language dedicated to audio.

He created JUCE in the late 90s, and it grew to become the most popular audio plugin development framework in the world. Apart from audio capabilities, it is a general-purpose cross-platform application development framework (Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, and embedded platforms). Most plugin companies use JUCE; whether you like it or not, it has become a de facto industry standard.

You know that I love JUCE; I created the official JUCE audio plugin development course with them, and they are the sponsor of the podcast. So naturally, I was super excited to be able to interview Jules!

His next big thing is the Cmajor programming language. It is a C-like, LLVM-backed programming language dedicated solely to audio.

He has also given many talks at the Audio Developer Conference, so I encourage you to check them out as a way to relax and get inspired.

Jules is known for his strong opinions and dry humor, so I guarantee you’ll find yourself chuckling every few minutes 😉

Note: If you like the podcast so far, please go to Apple Podcasts and leave me a review there. You can do so on Spotify as well. It will benefit both sides: more reviews mean a broader reach on Apple Podcasts, and feedback can help me improve the show and deliver better-quality content to you. You can also subscribe and give a like on YouTube. Thank you for doing this 🙏

Episode contents 

From this episode, you will learn:

• How Jules created the JUCE framework and distributed it initially
• How to maintain such huge codebases as JUCE
• Julian’s coding principles that will make you (and me) a better dev
• What problem does CMajor solve, and how
• Which tools is Jules using when coding, especially when it comes to AI
• His exact everyday work routines and relaxation strategies, and
• Does Jules really hate CMake?

This episode was recorded on January 30, 2026.

00:00:00 Intro

00:00:33 Introducing Jules Storer, Creator of JUCE

00:02:37 Meet Jules

00:03:11 How Jules Got Into Audio Programming

00:04:41 University: Computing & Psychology

00:05:28 Early Career

00:07:46 Why Jules Built the Tracktion DAW

00:11:04 Sponsor: JUCE Audio Plugin Course

00:12:52 The Mackie Deal & the Birth of JUCE

00:16:35 10 Years Solo: Bootstrapping JUCE

00:18:59 ROLI Acquires JUCE

00:20:56 How the Audio Developer Conference Began

00:21:38 From ROLI to C-Major

00:23:33 Cmajor: DSP Language for Any Hardware

00:28:58 Cmajor Licensing & Commercial Plugins

00:32:57 Cmajor Stability & AI-Written Code

00:36:04 What Building a Compiler Taught Jules

00:39:31 Jules' Dev Setup

00:41:59 Jules' AI Coding Workflow with Claude

00:47:23 Reviewing AI-Generated Code

00:50:18 AI Coding: Where Jules Draws the Line

00:52:22 Cmajor's Language Choice: C++, Go, and Rust

00:54:36 Why Jules Hates CMake

00:59:01 Clean Code: Structure, Files & Naming

01:04:25 API Design Other Developers Won't Hate

01:07:11 Code Review: Excess State & Verbosity

01:11:35 JUCE's Inspiration from Java's JDK

01:14:24 Why JUCE Dominated the Market

01:15:48 Challenges with JUCE, Waveform & C-Major

01:19:56 TDD and the Pain of UI Testing

01:23:06 How to Start Learning Audio Programming

01:26:42 Jules' Daily Routine

01:31:52 How to Contact Jules

01:32:42 Outro