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Justin Paul (he/him)
Justin Paul (he/him)
Justin joined Momma on September 9, 2025 for a live Q&A via Twitch and YouTube to talk about Music & Mental Health
About Justin
Justin Paul is an international DJ, record producer, and university educator with a deep understanding of music’s transformative power to connect people, communities, and reflect shared human emotions. He curates, researches, and explores music’s incredible influence by performing DJ sets worldwide at music festivals, intimate and large events, and unique cultural locations. Justin continues to earn acclaim for his diverse musical styles, having performed over 1,500 times and producing genres ranging from house, techno, disco, indie dance, ambient, and world music. In addition to his music career, he is dedicated to educating and mentoring the next generation of artists, entrepreneurs, executives, and musicians.
Justin has performed at major venues and festivals, including the Pukkelpop Festival in Belgium, Hangout Music Festival, Burning Man, the Fonda Theatre in Hollywood, and the Mayan in Los Angeles, among others. As a founding DJ of the PEX (Philadelphia Experiment) artist collective, he also produces and performs at innovative events in Brooklyn, Costa Rica, Mexico, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia.
At the University of California, Los Angeles, Justin bridges the global music industry and higher education by teaching The DJ as Performer and Music Industry Fundamentals 2 courses. He also forges connections between students, faculty, and leading music technology companies to expand opportunities for hands-on learning and innovation.
He holds a Regents Bachelor of Arts from Marshall University with concentrations in computer science and film/television, and an M.A. in Music Business & Industry from West Virginia University, where he focused on label operations, concert promotion, marketing, publishing, and music technology.
Socials / Links for Guest Connection
Website - http://justinpaul.com/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/justinpaulproducer/
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/justinpaul
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinpaul/
LinkTree - https://linktr.ee/justinpaul
TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@djjustinpaul
Email - justin@justinpaul.com / jpaul@schoolofmusic.ucla.edu
References / Things Mentioned During the Stream
True Crime Fascination: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirty_John
Show Recommendations:
Yellowjackets: https://reelgood.com/show/yellowjackets-2021
Becoming Led Zeppelin: https://reelgood.com/movie/becoming-led-zeppelin-2025
Obnoxious Roommate: https://medium.com/thrive-global/evicting-the-obnoxious-roommate-in-your-head-1848db7c9d75
Book Recommendations:
Music Recommendations / Mentions:
The Rite of Spring: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rite_of_Spring
Music for Airports: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambient_1:_Music_for_Airports
Tropical Stardust Meditations: https://justinpaul.bandcamp.com/album/tropical-stardust-meditations-vol-1
Pukkelpop Festival: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pukkelpop
Theodore Thornton Munger / Edward H. Hart / Calvin Coolidge Quote: “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'Press On!' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.” (quote credit investigation: https://quoteinvestigator.com/2016/01/12/persist/)
Binaural Beats: https://www.audiology.org/what-exactly-are-binaural-beats/
EMDR Therapy: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/22641-emdr-therapy
Favorite Poems:
Houses of the Holy - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houses_of_the_Holy_(song)
Rain Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mvw--mNvPXQ
The Raven: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48860/the-raven
Episode Summary
This episode is for anyone who has ever put on headphones to escape a bad day, danced alone in their kitchen to shake off stress or wondered why certain songs hit them right in the chest and make them feel something they can't quite explain.
Key Takeaways
Music can be a powerful tool for healing and connection.
Dancing helps to leave problems behind temporarily.
The somatic experience of music can be transformative.
Lyrical content in music resonates with personal experiences.
Music creates a shared space for emotional expression.
Performing music can impact both the artist and the audience.
The connection between music and emotional well-being is profound.
Justin Paul didn't set out to become a college professor. The international DJ and record producer stumbled into teaching almost by accident when a colleague suggested he'd be good at it. Three decades later he's still balancing life in the DJ booth with life in the classroom at UCLA, and he's learned a thing or two about how music shapes our mental and emotional wellbeing.
Paul's relationship with music started early. His grandmother and mother both had killer vinyl collections and his mom sang in a cover band. By 14 he was helping his cousin haul equipment and learning the craft of DJ-ing. Music became his escape during a turbulent childhood. "When there was trauma or weirdness going on I would be able to go into my room and play records and escape through music," he explains.
That escapist power isn't just personal. Paul talks about watching the dance floor from above at packed venues and seeing people literally dance their problems away. Some were dancers from strip clubs coming to cleanse themselves of weird energy. Others were students dealing with stress. The common thread was that music gave them permission to leave their troubles behind, even temporarily.
But here's where it gets really interesting. Paul dove deep into the science of sound frequencies during his graduate studies and discovered that certain frequencies can actually heal. The 40Hz frequency found in house and techno music's bass and kick drums? Research shows it can slow or even reverse dementia and other mental health issues. These lower frequencies hit us in the chest and abdomen almost like a physical cleansing.
Different genres create different emotional states too. Jazz makes people reflective. House and techno bring diverse groups together without the aggression that rock or hip hop can sometimes trigger (especially when alcohol is involved). Paul learned this firsthand by watching which songs sparked fights and which ones created unity on the dance floor.
His advice to young artists struggling with self-doubt and perfectionism is simple: Keep going. Persistence beats talent every time. He's a big believer in Malcolm Gladwell's 10,000 hours of deliberate practice and tells his students it's okay to have a day job while pursuing their art. Financial stability actually protects mental health and creative freedom.
During the pandemic Paul created "Tropical Stardust Meditations," an ambient soundscape project designed for meditation. He made the first track intentionally short because busy people don't always have 30 minutes to meditate. Even three minutes of intentional sound can help reset your nervous system.
Paul protects his own mental health through exercise, meditation, naps and a solid eight hours of sleep. He tries to meditate before every performance to clear his mind. And he's learned to create an imaginary force field around himself when he steps into events because hundreds or thousands of people are beaming their energy at him.
His final wisdom is that you can't just "get over" mental health struggles. Healing is a lifelong process and anyone who tells you to rub some dirt on it and get back in the game doesn't understand how trauma actually works.
Music isn't just entertainment. It's medicine, community and sometimes the best therapist money can't buy.
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