We were lucky to catch up with Joshua DeGuzman recently and have shared our conversation below.

Joshua, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

The most meaningful project I’ve ever worked on is probably the album I’m writing right now. I started making music only two years ago, but writing has always been a part of my life. Music is one of the most important things to me, and now it’s becoming my most powerful source of artistic expression. It’s a blessing. I think through love and passion, we can make a real change in our communities. Whether perceptually small or big, those projects mean a lot in the grand scheme of things. And I’m really excited to share my work with the world. The album is called, “For When Things Change.” It has nostagic indie-folk tones and I talk a lot about the transformations I’ve undergone growing up. It’s been a long year, but this is absolutely one of the best pieces of work I’ve ever done.

Joshua, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I grew up always creating things. Shooting home movies, curating playlists, or drawing apparel designs. People would get frustrated when I wouldn’t know certain movies or artists, but that’s always been a part of my taste. I’ve never known a lot of media, but I’ve always made things. I went to school for directing and it’s still one of my favorite forms of artistic expression, but in the last two years music production has come into my life. In the industry, I’ve directed music videos which is great because I love helping artists bring their visions forward. But now I’m making my own music, and bringing all of my favorite artistic forms together. We just shot a music video for my first single, and I’m truly thrilled with the outcome. I think it’s going to connect with a lot of people, and that’s more than I could ever ask for.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I was having a really difficult time in the beginning of the year, I was experiencing a lot of uncomfortable change. However, in that really transformative space, I experienced a very surreal moment. I was writing about these feelings and in a wave of emotion, I started to hear an enormous crowd. What followed was the blinding lights of a stage. I was performing, for hundreds of people and they were crying with joy. It was unbelievable really. But in that moment, I realized why I’m here and I wrote it down. They were quite powerful words which read as, “Give me the stage and I will turn into light.” It was an overflowing moment, but felt so certain. I’m taking this thing all the way, and I’m not afraid to say that anymore. I really believe it. I don’t know how, but it’s gonna happen. My only goal, is the words that I wrote. Give me the stage, and I’m going to give the work back. With my music and art being so centered in emotional overcoming and healing, it’s everything I have to give back. And I will. In my time here, I’ve learned when one of us heals, we all heal. That’s what my work will do. I know it.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

This is going off my answer before, but the potential of reach. Everyday, every single one of us is participating in a community that’s connected to the rest of the world. That’s powerful stuff, your actions, your work, it all matters in this minute, yet large scale. I’ve had people come to me and speak about how a film I made or piece of art made them feel something. Honored, I realize how important that is. That person moves forward in life completely altered by that point, just from a few seconds of their time. It’s happening every moment. You hear about this from much bigger artists of course. How their music changed their life, helped them grieve a life event, or accept something unnerving. That’s what the work can do, it has a life of its own. To me that’s the most rewarding, giving back to a community of people who are all just trying to figure their own world out. Any help, even a second of time means everything. That’s what the work can do. And that’s what my art will do.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hey_jiro_/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@joshuadeguzman6259
• Other: Spotify (Paper Cranes Single): https://open.spotify.com/track/44VtE5HtyIV7aDlwCpDP50?si=fa16ba69298944f3

Image Credits

Alex Hrisanthopoulos