We recently connected with Gilde Flores and have shared our conversation below.

Gilde, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

Personally, I think taking and keeping accountability is crucial on being successful in about any filed you apply that to. For me, accountability is what drew the line in the sand and manifested the results I was aimlessly searching for in life overall. Accountability will hold one to the plan, and if no plan is in plan, it will surely hold one in creating one.

I remember the first time I really dug in to the idea of holding myself accountable and shifting a side hustle hobby in music into a a full blown career; in which I have been blessed to work on dream projects with some of the most influential people and creators.

So becoming successful, in whatever the focus may be, holding one accountable to do the work, put in the time, through perseverance and resiliency will surly lead to success.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am an award winning, Grammy nominated music composer/producer who shifted from being a touring musician into creating and working behind the scenes for visual and audio media. I made the shift from a touring musician for multiple bands around the United States when I could no longer afford to risk stability, but in all honesty, I felt was no longer part of my calling.

I eventually picked up a position as a chief sound engineer, being responsible for facilitating a recording studio as the sound engineer, and it was in this time of many long hours of working with multiple artist/acts that I decided I wanted to do more in music, behind the scenes, than just get to tweak faders and knobs, which don’t get me wrong is awesome, and what I still do for my own work now, but I felt I needed to be involved more in the production side of things. So it was in this niche I found myself working on my skill for years, through discipline and accountability, to the point I felt confident in the noise I was creating, and finally just went full sail at it.

I made some amazing connections with people who were doing what I wanted to do, built relationships through persistent emails and follow ups which led to the opportunity to write music for a catalog, which in turn placed my work in a few TV shows, which then led to landing my work in a feature film, The Wolverine, then the rest was a collage of projects that rushed in and pilled up throughout the years that followed.

Through my journey, I’ve also met and worked under some of the most prestigious and influential names in the music business, either directly and through their affiliated companies; one being super producer Timothy “Timbaland” Mosley, whom I continue to work with today, as we share the same management. It was in these transitions that I learned a lot about being creative in unique ways, sound selection, branding one self to be adaptable and resilient, and to work towards helping telling a story in a team aspect, rather than through one lens.

The music industry, both audio and visual media, have a lot of peaks and valleys to keep up with which will force one to make sure and recognize the trends to keep a sustainable career. Working more in the visual media (tv, film, video game, trailer campaigns, etc) has been were I have worked on branding myself and just recently started evolving into a full production company to fulfill more request/projects, which places me in the position to create more opportunities for others who work with me as freelancers to fulfill my clients music needs.

I have been fortunate to follow the steps of those before me and stay extremely diverse when it comes to having a musical reach, which I believe has kept me evolving as an artist/creator, and human overall.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I believe being adaptable and diverse in my musical language and mindset is what helped me in my market. I’ve always understood that flexibility was a key skill to accomplish, more so being a musician. Before I started any venture with music, being flexible in the workforce was something I experienced early on simply by balancing school and work. Adding music to that mix made it much more interesting, and it turning into becoming a touring musician at that early age of 17-18 took flexibility into a way of life. I learned, not in the best of ways, how to be adaptable in serving the many life roles I exposed myself to.

As I evolved from my youth into an adult, I found myself balancing and becoming much more flexible to survive in many ways, so it’s almost like I gifted myself with a superpower, which eventually led to me living in a juggling manner and somehow thriving in many skills in the process. I won’t mention the other side of all this to keep it on a positive note. In all seriousness, it was in this, that my reputation built in being able to deliver on anything I committed to in my market. My work ethic spoke for me, which in turn got me to where I stand today.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

The lessons I would say I had to unlearn was following a traditional way of life that did not cater to my gifts in music.

I recall always being corrected anytime chose to follow the passion of music, and being told that it could never provide a profitable career. I was also seemingly directed towards the traditional academic pursuit to do something more sustainable; which I now understand my family had my best interest in mind, but for them and many others, music has a tendency of being an unreliable source.

It was in this that I gave in and started my academic journey. I obtained a degree from Texas Tech University, in Lubbock Texas; which I am beyond grateful for, as my studies in counseling changed the trajectory of my entire life/mindset. I also honed in on my music creation skills during this pursuit, and by the time I graduated, I had already solidified my networking and created opportunities launching my music career as a composer/producer outside of my academic quest.

So I do not regret anything that I have gone through, and again, grateful it all happened as it did, for I would not be a fraction of who I am today. If anything, I just wish I could unlearn the notion of a “traditional way” and know that anything and everything is possible with accountability backed by passion/resiliency, and persistence.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/gilflo
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/gilfloproductions?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gildeflores
• Twitter: @gildeflores
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@gilfloproductions

Image Credits
Amira M., Myself, Valerie