Josh Menon is a Bangalorean multimedia artist based in LA who leads creative projects across different mediums. Menon was 16 years old when he debuted his first musical project, a 6 track EP titled “All Greek to Me” which showcased lots of potential with its infectious melodies and silky vocals.
Speaking to the editor of Filmykeema Josh said, “The first instrument he started learning was a classical guitar in school. Filmykeema editor sat down with this young artist who is carving a niche for himself in the music industry at the global level to know what future holds for him.
Tell us about your evolution as a songwriter, singer, composer. What were your early influences?
I took some acoustic guitar lessons with Thermal and a Quarter in Bangalore, but YouTube was my main source for learning how to sing and play at the same time. I wrote and composed this EP entirely on the guitar, and it was produced by Navdeep Singh, who introduced me to the world of production.”
Further, I led all aspects of his process, from composition and performance to producing, mixing and mastering. “I pushed myself to learn about all aspects of making music because I wanted the ability to execute an idea as soon as I had it, instead of having to rely on anyone else.”
Menon goes on to say, he directed and edited music videos for the songs on his first project, including one for “16/10” which was featured on Pepsi MTV Indies and made him the youngest artist on their set list. “It was very exciting.
One of my early performances the musician was a set for The Gig Week in Delhi, and the reason they contacted him was because they saw a music video that I directed for a song called ‘I Want’ and loved it. It was encouraging to hear that sort of reaction to not just the music, but the visuals as well.”
Tell us about your filmmaking journey
Now, having studied filmmaking in Chicago and with loads of experience under his belt, Josh Menon is making his mark in Los Angeles, where he works at a company that creates digital media for video game franchises like Call of Duty, Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and many more. “Visual media was always a passion of mine even before I started directing, shooting or editing.
My parents were both in that space when I was a kid, and they have been my biggest supporters. I must’ve been 6 or 7 when my dad gifted me a camcorder, and I couldn’t have been happier. I shot a little film in which I played two different characters, all while holding the camera in one hand.
I showed it to my dad, and he was so proud, but at the time I was so worried he would show it to someone else, so I deleted the only copy of it out of embarrassment. He still tells that story to this day and talks about how impressed he was by the film, and although I know it was probably terrible, I really wish there was another copy of that file so I could look back on where the journey started.”
Josh Menon has shot and edited promotional media content for companies like Women’s Startup Lab, Häsi Bread, OVO Vodka, and more. He has also worked in the art department on commercials for Tide, GameStop and ENT Credit Union, for which he flexed his production design skills by helping to create the mise-en-scène. As a cinephile, his goal of directing a feature film remains strong.
How influential is your music to your filmmaking sensibilities?
“Highly. Music is the foundation of my projects whether I’m in pre-production, production, or post-production. I let the music steer the emotional beats of a scene or dictate the flow of an edit.”
Josh Menon’s newest project is a music video for the song ‘Pugwash’ from his album ‘My Only Platonic Love,” which was met with great reviews after being released in 2021.
“When I wrote this song, the first line came to be before anything else. ‘Why do you always take him to the places that I show you?’ I kept singing that over and over in my car and I knew I had to do something with it, because it hooked me immediately. I ended up creating this laidback, alternative pop tune in which I’m singing about sad stuff, but in a nonchalant way. It’s like I’m shielding myself from really experiencing those feelings by pretending to be cool about it.”
Pierre Hamelin directed the music video for this track, with Menon in the lead. The singer/songwriter stars as an office worker who is being followed. Things continue to escalate and eventually become surreal. It’s a well-crafted depiction of what it feels like to be trapped in an uncomfortable situation. “I’m really happy with how the video turned out and excited that people finally get to see what we worked very hard on.”
What is next in your future?
Going forward, Josh Menon hopes to do more collaborations. He recently released a single called “Uglyboy” which he co-wrote and produced with artist Ovvl Eyes. “I loved working on it because Andrew (Ovvl Eyes) brought a whole new energy and feeling to the track. He’s so good on the guitar and you can really hear the passion in his voice.
I initially wrote my verse and the chorus for the song but felt like it was missing something. I thought the genre was right up Andrew’s alley, so I reached out and he was super keen on being a part of the project. We didn’t plan for the guitar solo or the explosive chorus at the end, but he was freestyling a melody and I loved it so much that I recorded a few different versions of it.
It all came together so well when I was mixing the project. It’s definitely one of the tracks I’m most proud of.”
Menon is also especially interested in collaborating with artists in the Indian music industry, so that his songs can feature “a variety of different influences.” We look forward to seeing what’s next in store for the multi-talented creator.
Links:
Pugwash Music Video: https://youtu.be/VDzsUvDCGDo
Josh Menon’s Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3L85mFi
Josh Menon’s Apple Music: https://apple.co/35LQcFu
Josh Menon’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/joshmenon