Meet Josh McCausland

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Josh McCausland a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Josh , appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?
This is a really loaded question. I think the thing that drives me most is that spark you get from something. Whether it be, watching, listening, or experiencing something, there is always that spark of joy you get when you know something is great. I try to run with those feelings to see how far I can take them.

My work is also very cyclical since I have my hands in so many mediums. When my music is burning out, I tend to lean on writing, when that starts to burn out, I push back into production work and photography and then the cycle repeats. It keeps me fresh and aware.

I also think listening is a huge factor for me. Not just musically, but to people. I find I am most inspired when others around me are absolutely thriving. If I read something my friend has written or watch something they’ve produced it’s so inspiring to me. It’s a feeling I can’t quite describe but it’s so motivating to see my closest friends and creative circle doing the best work they can.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I have had a pretty strange trajectory to creating. I grew up drawing and taking pictures at a young age. I was always very interested in music and played guitar, but it was sort of something I did in the dark. I pursued film throughout college and afterwards and it wasn’t until 2018 that I decided to learn piano and start scoring.

These days I spend my time balancing the two. Film and music go hand in hand and it’s nice to bounce between them.

Most recently, I scored a book project called “Color of a Mirror”, (http://colorofamirror.net) that released in November of 2023. I loved doing this. It was so unique and different. He had wanted me to create a world sonically, where the book could live in. Something to supplement the novel once it released. The album is out everywhere along with the book and it’s been really rewarding to spot things online from reviews to posts of people doing just what it was intended to do, listen and read. As a big reader and sci-fi nerd, this was sort of a dream project.

I also have a short film/ visual album releasing March 1, 2024. I am so excited for this one to release. We filmed this one in 2021, so it’s been sitting in the backburner for some time now. “Somnus” is an abstract journey between dreams and reality of a man who is navigating his struggle with life, and his isolation within it. It takes place in this dystopian-yet-far-too-real world following a man who feels the weight and dread that corporate lifestyle brings with it. I’m excited to share it with the world.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Listening, empathy and learning from failure. It’s really that simple. We all suck at everything we do until we don’t. So many artists are afraid of failure that it hinders their ability to just release work and grow from it. I hate most of the things I release. 99% of them and every single time (even now) I release something I am terrified. But, releasing it out, packaging it up and moving on is so so important to the process.

Listening and empathy… I don’t honestly know how to give advise around this. I learned the value of being quiet at a young age and I’m really happy that I had the skill to listen sort of engrained into me. But, as I got older I learned even more the value of listening to others, empowering people with my work and creating art that fostered a sense of community around it.

I mean, that’s the dream right?

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
Always. Always. I am always open to new collaborations and it inspires me the most. I am always looking for musicians, dancers and filmmakers to connect with.

Connect with me on my instagram @joshatiqflicks or my email [email protected]

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