Meet Taylor Joshua Rankin | Composer & Filmmaker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Taylor Joshua Rankin and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Taylor Joshua, what role has risk played in your life or career?
In my experience there’s an ignorance one must have in attempting to accomplish anything. Sometimes this means making what can feel like very stupid decisions, creatively, financially, personally, holistically. If the idea is to achieve a goal, or to make a thing, risk can be simply the act of working to accomplish that goal. So much art these days, particularly because of the way we’ve been geared to engage with art through its branding and marketing, is made out to exist for a “reason”. “The reason” I made this is because of this and this”, etc. I’ve always tried to engage with art through a lens of curiosity and tinkering rather than a lens through which a purpose is gained (outside of the purpose being of course to complete the project). I ask myself, if I look at this music that has moved me, and these 3 films that have moved me, and this author that moves me, well what happens if I take them all and try to throw them in a blender?…and then feed that slurry through a different machine, a machine of my own tics and worries? What sort of collage work comes from that kind of experimentation? The reason for making it, in this case, comes from the art of tinkering and experimentation, rather than having some sort of personal authorial perspective on the subject. I think risk taking is the idea of being inspired by something, holding onto it for dear life, and then trying your best to make it a reality, knowing full well that at every step of the way the initial idea will warp, and change. Risk then comes from the ignorance of wanting to hold on to an idea, combined with the reality of knowing that making alive that idea will cause it’s inevitable transformation into something new.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I began making films at a very young age. Even before then one of the first things I remember wanting to do when I grew up was to fill a room with pictures I painted and curate music for each room. My family owned a Canon Mini DV camera, and starting at around 12 years old I began shooting and editing shorts films, utilizing my family members as both characters in the films and crew members. It was around this time that I got a hold of some editing software as well, and would pull music from my favorite film scores for the films. I made narrative genre shorts, mock-commercials, sword fighting videos, and even some Jack-Ass style videos. I was also just starting to explore music and percussion performance, and began writing music shortly after. All my creative projects since then have been attempts at merging these worlds of filmmaking and music composition.

I am deeply fascinated by the studio album format as a sort of glossary of art and music and sonic possibilities. When making my albums I always start by writing all the music for the live instruments and then build on those sounds and ranges by adding synthesizers, and then taking those recordings and pushing them into more processed worlds, while still holding true to the foundation and the notation of the original thing. For my composition process, I do a lot of throwing things at the wall, like a solid month of it, and having hundreds and hundreds of measures of just experimentation, and then it’s like tinkering and putting things together in all sorts of ways, backwards-forwards-upside down-inside out, and really playing with the materials to see all the potential ways that something interesting can pop out and surprise me. I spend most of the process tinkering and thinking everything is the worst thing in the world, and then slowly but surely cleaning things up and revealing the shape of the thing.

I think there’s a lot of overlap between the process of composition and filmmaking, especially writing/directing. Being a composer is similar to being a writer/director because as a composer you are writing the material with the expectation that you’ll be working with an ensemble to bring it to life. As a writer/director you are writing the screenplay with the intention of working with the cast and crew and production designers and the art team to bring the vision to life. That’s the overlap there, not just the assemblage of pieces, but the making of those pieces as well.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
For coffee meetings I always suggest meeting at LAMILL Coffee in Silverlake. Parking is free on the residential streets and I’ve never not been able to find a table outside to sit at. For recreational stuff I’d probably see what’s playing at the Egyptian (although that’s a tough spot to get in and out of), or the Los Feliz 3. I like a good retro video game and beer so Barcade is always a good time too. I live in Pasadena and there’s too much good food to try, so depending on what you’re into I’d suggest we hit Med Cafe and go find a park to eat at, or Sato Ramen House. Maybe then we move to the IPIC or head out of Pasadena for a show at Zebulon. If it’s breakfast you gotta do the bagel at Wake and Late or the breakfast burrito at Superba or Doghaus. If the weather’s great just go spend a day at the Huntington and then get the Honey Bear pizza at Pitfire.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Everything I’ve worked on has been the result of a mix of collaboration and inspiration. Being inspired by working artists can help put you in that dream space of possibility, while collaboration brings that dream down into reality and reckoning with the plausibility of making it happen. I don’t think a career can be made without either playing alongside each other.

Website: https://www.taylorjoshuarankin.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taylorjoshuarankin/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taylor-joshua-rankin-042692253/

Twitter: https://x.com/Rankasauras

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tayrank

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@taylorjoshuarankincomposer

Image Credits
All posed photos (indoors and outdoors) by Kait Miller, https://www.kaitmillerphotography.com/