Julian De Leon: Artist in More Ways than One

Julian De Leon is a creator of more than just music; he also makes original pictures and animations for his works. "Showdown" is a percussive piece, and it is one that Julian is extremely proud of. From video games to television to artists like you and me, he is inspired to fully immerse himself in the world of entertainment. Here is what Julian had to say about his passions in our interview:

1) Tell us about yourself:
I'm 21 year old illustrator, and composer from NJ. I'm going to be going to school for computer science, and then for animation. I absolutely love pokemon and Final Fantasy. I have a strong desire to do many things, from making my own games, to doing animations of both 2D and 3D, and to compose music for games, and maybe film too.

2) What inspires your music? The music of others is what inspires me. I get so excited sometimes hearing songs from games, or my friends, or film. I try to make something just as great or even better.

3) How long have you been composing? 3 years

4) What famous composers do you dream of meeting? Not really a dream to meet any composers, but I suppose I really wanna meet Junichi Masuda, or Kenji Ito. I especially like their styles of music. Even though there are lots of other composers I know I'd love to meet, these two stand out the most to me in the way their music is made.

5) What advice do you have for people who also wish to make music? Try not to ever get frustrated with what you make, and never talk negative about your music style. When I first started composing music I was so "smile" minded about making music that just about anything I made put a smile on my face. Of course I'm tons more experienced now, and everything I made back then was a hot plate of mess, but even when I didn't know what I was doing I still felt happy with what I made. Also, experiment. I learned most my music stuff from experimenting.

6) Random thoughts:
Never give up even when it gets hard, and every mistake is a lesson learned.

To hear more of Julian's music and see some of his graphics visit his Youtube channel here.