Jeff Roy, PhD is a multidisciplinary artist, educator, and two-time Fulbright Fellow (Fulbright-mtvU and Fulbright-Hays). A trained violinist in the classical musics of Europe, South Asia, and the Arab World, Roy creates original compositions that swim in the cinematic soundscapes of classical post/minimalism, world folk, and indie pop. Their music interweaves melodious strings, vocals, elastic rhythms, electronic and atmospheric sounds from cityscapes and natural environments that have inspired them in their journeys.
Roy earned their PhD and MA in ethnomusicology from UCLA (2015; 2011) and a BA in comparative arts from Washington University in St. Louis (2007). In 2013, Roy was selected for the Project Involve Fellowship Program at Film Independent Los Angeles, participating alongside and under the mentorship of notable contemporary filmmakers in the industry. Since 2011, Roy’s award-winning films have screened internationally at such institutions as the Director’s Guild of America, Film Society of Lincoln Center, British Film Institute, Godrej India Culture Lab, and have been featured in such popular publications as Out Magazine, Vogue India, and The Huffington Post. Their films have been supported by the Fulbright Program, Film Independent, California Humanities, and Godrej Industries.
Roy’s music compositions and films extract from their lived experiences as a queer non-binary traveler. Their artistic process draws heavily from visual documentations and written reflections, offering a range of different moods, sonic textures, and stories about the blissful challenges of love and migration. Roy approaches music-making as a reflexive practice that can reveal one’s own transformations as a process of coming to and through the work of living in this world (D. Soyini Madison 2011).
To listen to Jeff Roy’s releases, visit: https://linktr.ee/jeffroymusic
For more on Jeff Roy’s films and scholarly writings, visit: https://jeff-roy.com/