We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Miles Drake a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Miles, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

Honesty is everything with creativity. Inputting honesty into your work as a creative can be tough because as artists we are either consciously or unconsciously seeking to please. Finding the balance between meaningful work and work created to sell proves to be a tough task consistently when creating. For myself, some of my most meaningful projects were the ones I created solely to express truth. Auditorial diaries accompanied by visual freedoms created a truth I witnessed connect to the masses. On an EP I recorded called “The Beauty in Overwhelming” I sought to release and respond. I wanted to release the feeling of being seen as “less than”. I wanted to respond to this language I was presented with that made me feel inferior. This project meant everything to me because it was representative of the time I was living in and the experiences I encountered. This is a time where people didn’t want to “overwhelm” me with information or books they were reading. They would assume I wasn’t cultured or well-traveled. I shook hands with people who would look right through me with meaningless connection. I took all the negative energy I was given and channeled it into this project. Fast forward a few years and one of my favorite songs from this project was included on the tv show Bel-Air on Peacock. Feeling inferior brought me rage. Truth and expression drove me to create this meaningful project. Honesty is what allowed me to find my people.

Miles, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Paper clips and bubble gum. This is a saying I would tell myself when things got tough growing up. No matter what, I can never stop if that means I maintenance my issues with paper clips and bubble gum. Until The Very End wasn’t my first ever stage name, but it was a name that carried more meaning than just me as a person alone. I began recording music on a Best Buy computer microphone and an old Dell laptop when I was around 11. I’m pretty sure it was just a voice recording system, but this didn’t stop me from showing my mom the audio version of chicken scratch I was creating. Looking back at that kid I can say that I’ve been recording music professionally for well over a decade. I’ve released multiple projects and have had my music included in TV commercials, TV shows, Campaign Ads, and Sporting events. I look to bring creative branding coupled with custom sound design to every project I touch. The sync industry was something I stumbled upon when promoting my own music. A company by the name of Complete Tracks found me and thought I had the perfect sound for a wider audience. After the initial orientation into the industry, I got my first sync placement with Eastbay. This would set me off on a path of multiple placements with various companies. To this day I’m still chasing the feeling from my first accomplishment in the industry. It keeps me hungry and competitive.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

You cannot be married to your ideas. You must to allow room for third party input or shifting. I’ve created multiple songs that ultimately did not work in the sync industry. I would sit and develop concepts and ideas for songs or projects that would comprise my honesty. This came through in the music making it less believable. I needed to understand the importance of separating my meanings and goals. If I was making a song for fun or expression alone then I could let it be just that. If I was making a song to be a part of a campaign or corporate project, I could focus my attention solely into that. Blending these worlds created uncertainty for all parties involved. You must uncouple from your righteousness and allow your ideas to be fluid and changeable. This doesn’t make you less of an artist. Art should exist in the imperfections.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

For me, the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the reach. I see dance crews across oceans doing their routines to my songs. I have people reaching out to me from Iceland telling me I have fans there and that I’m an inspiration to them. I’m just a kid from the Mid-Atlantic. Maryland to be exact. I never imagined having the amount of reach I have. There was no existence in the small school talent shows. There was no existence in the bonfire rap sessions with a group of friends who won’t remember the next five minutes. There wasn’t existence in my reflection as I never saw music as a cruise ship providing a home, entertainment, and transportation. Where I exist is in the connection. The social media profiles I don’t know personally but they interact with everything I post. The YouTube comments asking anyone if they have more information on my upcoming projects. The director of a major television program telling me how excited they are about the future of my music. The most rewarding thing is the reach I continue to grow yearly. This includes how I feel internally. I’m telling the younger version of myself they were right all along. They were right!    

Contact Info:

• Website: www.youfoundtheend.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/untiltheveryend
• Twitter: twitter.com/youfoundtheend