Today we’d like to introduce you to Juan Dussán.
Hi Juan, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I started as a classically trained pianist when I was nine while also studying and playing all sorts of different genres like jazz, tango, progressive rock, and pop. I’ve always been curious about improvisation, synthesizers, and electronics, so I adopted all of these skills into my own craft.
Creating my own music was always something I wanted to do that I didn’t have a chance to try when I was in the conservatory. Moreover, when I was younger I was always passionate about the filmmaking process – I would spend days shooting and editing videos with my friends as well as analyzing my favorite movies from my childhood like Harry Potter, The Matrix, to name a few. The combination of my passions for music and film ultimately resulted in me finding media composition the thing I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
Having excellent academic musical training in my home country, Colombia, as well as exceptional mentors at New York University, where I did my master’s in Screen Scoring, I found myself equipped with very unique and special skills that have helped me stand out in this industry as a diverse composer for film.
Today I am living in New York City, where I work and specialize in writing original scores for films. I love telling stories through music and collaborating with the filmmakers who bring them to life visually.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Definitely not smooth! I would say the main struggle for me has been moving from another country and all the obstacles that come with that.
Since I was a kid, I always wanted to live in the US. I’ve been a fan of the culture and the high level of talent and diversity that exist in cities like NYC and LA. Immigration wise there are many steps that I’ve had to take to get where I am today, which also has represented limitations when it comes to the type of work I’ve been allowed to do.
On the other hand, the film industry, and more specifically the film scoring industry is a tough field for composers of minorities and diverse backgrounds. Even though I haven’t seen direct negative effects from this issue in my own career, I definitely want to continue being a voice that advocates for inclusiveness and equality in this field.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a composer for film and media. I write the original underscore for films, short films, shows, and other types of media like commercials, podcasts, and art installations. I specialize in narrative films with a focus in drama, fiction, and world-building.
I’ve had worked with Wells Watson Jr. on his comic-book short adaptation of Red Hood and Francesca Scorcese’s Crimson Ties, a shorts selection of the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival. A project I’m really excited about that I’m currently co-scoring is a pilot (The Heist) for an original independent “fan-made” Star Wars series that will take a more mature character-driven approach to the franchise.
I’m also the co-founder DEKATU Scoring, a boutique ad-scoring house dedicated to working with artistically-driven brands. In addition to these things. We’ve worked on campaigns with brands such as Hourglass Cosmetics, ILIA, and Air Company. I do some more freelance ad scoring with a few music houses in New York, and we’ve done some pieces for Icy Hot and Novartis.
Additionally to all of this, I do some music editing alongside Todd Kasow and have had the chance to work for HBO on their TV series Winning Time and composers Nicholas Britell and Robert Glasper.
All of my work can be found in my socials Instagram and YouTube, @jpdussan, where I also work alongside the biggest brands in my industry such as Native Instruments, Universal Audio, and ROLI.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
In my opinion, reliability and professionalism are at the core of my success.
By being the head of the music department and the main communicator among the artists, I create trust by being accountable and respecting everyone’s talents, skills, and values.
On the other hand, I always strive to deliver the highest quality music I can produce for a given project with the available budget. I prioritize recording live instruments that breathe life into my compositions and give special treatment to both the composition and production areas of my work.
I feel like the combination of these two values is what has made my collaborators build long-lasting relationships with me, as well as recurring work opportunities.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jpdussan.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jpdussan/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/jpdussan
- SoundCloud: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6NR8XVAbbZNesqp0FMQMkU?si=CWmgXlr6TnKUOVLOIGLetg&dl_branch=1
- Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10853983/
Image Credits
Joel Henderson (for conducting photos), Mariah Barrera (for Bunker Studio photos), Argo Stories (for still of Star Wars Shattered Faith)
