Today we’d like to introduce you to Jon-Joseph Nepaul.
So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I started my musical career when I was only ten years of age. Back in the year 2000, I was known in the little island of Jamaica, as the kid who played everything. I didn’t care what instrument it was, nor the type of music. It was at this early stage when my parents started to really recognize my passion for music and did everything they could to support my gift.
I was always bold. I suppose some people would call it pushy hahaha. But it was this fearless attitude that allowed me to instigate my high school’s “Big Band” club at Munro College and soon after, become the president of the “University Pop Society” as well as a Co-founder for the Classical and Jazz Ensemble at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Jamaica. While studying at UWI, I took on the role of Assistant Music Director for the television show Rising Star (Jamaica). Here I produced music for the contestants on the show every week.
After completing my Business Management Bachelor’s Degree at UWI, I decided to pursue music as my full-time career. I enrolled in Full Sail University and graduated valedictorian of my class in 2015, with a degree in Music Production. While studying at Full Sail, I composed the music for about ten student films. This was the start of my film scoring journey. I would use all of my free time working on my compositional skills, and it paid off nicely. I discovered a new side to the music business and wanted to know more about it. I went to Berklee College of Music to pursue a Master’s Degree in Scoring for Film, TV, and Video Games. I graduated in 2018 Magna Cum Laude and then moved to Atlanta to continue my music career.
Here, I am somewhat known as the “Strings Guy”. I am a music producer who worked with many artists as well as a trained composer who have scored many films. But as a result of my extensive knowledge and training in writing for an orchestra, I have been contacted by a lot of producers and artists around the globe to enhance their music with strings. It’s a pretty interesting niche that I’m in. I’m even being asked to add strings or an orchestral sound to trap music and other contemporary genres.
I still compose music for many different film projects, as well as instrumentals that have been placed on varying tv networks. I try not to enclose myself in a single aspect of the industry. I do whatever is needed. This really allows me to meet a lot of cool people and it really allows me to improve holistically in music.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I think everyone goes through some level of hardship(s), especially when you’re in a dynamic industry like music and film. One of the challenges I faced was the obvious one. Making enough money to take care of my expenses. It’s very difficult to gauge how well you’re doing financially when you just start out. And money was a bit of a taboo topic, so it was difficult to ask mentors about it. The worst part about this is, as a musician and music producer, your instruments and tools you need to create music can be very expensive. I did what I could, Saved every penny I made and reinvested every bit of profit back into my business. In fact, I wore the same set of clothing for about five years. But having the best quality production was all I thought about. Even now, that’s ultimately my main priority. My days today are pretty great. I’m working of a number of interesting projects. I found that in this industry, consistent networking is the only way to get consistent pay.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
Firstly, I pride myself as a composer. I compose scores for film, as well as compose and arrange music for media purposes. I also produce music for recording artists and also other music producers. I have also been the mixing engineer for a number of Albums and singles. But I think what I’m mainly known for is my String Arrangements. Most people today would ask me to add a lush strings section to their song. And this would be anyone in any genre of music. I’ve arranged strings for Trap, Hip-Hop, R&B, EDM, Gospel, CCM, and of course, for films. This is something that I never thought about doing but it’s what everyone wants right now. I think more than anything, that is what sets me apart from everyone else. The ability to transform the entire sound of a record with my orchestral knowledge.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I plan to do a lot more music for TV. In fact, although I can’t say too much, I will have some of my cues on the Discovery channel pretty soon. I already have cues on a few networks including the oxygen network, and I really love the feeling of watching a television show and suddenly hear my music in there.
I also plan on releasing an EDM and Orchestral fusion album. I haven’t really heard anything like this before so it should be interesting to see how it is received.
Contact Info:
- Website: JonNepaul.com
- Phone: 9142461367
- Email: jonjosephnepaul@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonjosephnepaul/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JonNepaul-1965849517050197/
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