John Juan is an artist that has been on our radar for the past few months. With an ambitious set of tracks behind him, he brings an eclectic sound to the table that is unique yet familiar, and very much his own. Recently we had the chance to catch up with John Juan as he shares that details and making behind his latest video,  “Hurt Myself,”which you can dig into below.

Tell us the story of this song, why did you choose to visualize this song specifically?

“Hurt Myself” is one of my few memoir songs, taking pieces from portions of my life. Often when looking back, we can appear as a different person. Kenny Jr.’s Robolights art exhibit in Palm Deseret was perfect as an analogue for this concept; Robolights takes people’s old used physical items and turns them into something colorful wonderful and new! A friend of mine, Jordan, who has a popular YouTube show Daze with Jordan the Lion, was using “Hurt Myself” on his show. He said he had the song stuck in his head, his listeners liked it, and we should make a video.

What was the inspiration for this video (visuals, storyline, etc.)?
Jordan the Lion (Director) and I were at a wedding for our friend, Mika, in Sweden, when he proposed we make this video. The video was based on discussion during the wedding
reception on a beautiful farm in Gotland—what a fun inception! Our short chat seemed like a whim, but we certainly did follow through. “I know this guy with an art exhibit out in Palm Deseret that would be perfect for ‘Hurt Myself’”, Jordan told me. “It is colorful and filled with memories, like your song. Bring that red shirt you wore at your last show, a skateboard, your cigar box electric ukulele and… oh—find a good sombrero”.
“Okay—awesome!” I said. “Your cigar box guitar, made from used stuff, will tie together the set and the song perfect.” Jordan concluded. And with that short conversation the video was planned.

What was the process of making this video?
When we got back to the Unite States of America, Jordan, our friend Breck, and I drove from LA out to Kenny Jr.’s Robolights exhibit. Jordan, having a daily YouTube show, was quick, confident and fluid behind the camera. It was so fun and natural, moving from scene to scene! —I can’t stand when people take forever to setup and nitpick all their production and view-backs, and lose all the flow. Same goes in the studio; you’ve got to keep the vibe going. Good thing he was moving fast because it was 114 degrees and 40% humidity at that shoot! We were finished in an hour, had a big lunch, and headed back to LA. Unbelievably, the next day when I woke up, Jordan had already edited and emailed the finished video to me. “Anything you want to change?” he wrote me. “No Jordan. That’s great!”