We’re looking forward to introducing you to Gilde Flores. Check out our conversation below.
Gilde, a huge thanks to you for investing the time to share your wisdom with those who are seeking it. We think it’s so important for us to share stories with our neighbors, friends and community because knowledge multiples when we share with each other. Let’s jump in: What are you most proud of building — that nobody sees?
I’d say the system that sits beneath the spotlight. My team and I have been focused on building an ecosystem that allows creators real growth. Most people hear the music or just see the credits, but they don’t see the structure behind it.
There’s a lot more that ties in. The mentorship. The discipline. The day-to-day work that turns talent into reliability. The self-care it takes to stay grounded through the NO’s, the quiet inboxes, and the waiting. That’s the part I’m proud of. The part that actually builds people.
Paint The Noise started as a way to make things work better for creators like me. Over time, it’s become more than that, but at its core, it’s still about structure. The systems, the consistency, the people who keep it alive. I’m proud that it moves even when I’m not “in the room.”
That’s when you know something real was built. When it keeps serving others long after you step back.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Gilde Flores. I go by “Gil” for ease. I’m a composer, producer, and founder of Paint The Noise, a music production solution built for visual media.
I’ve spent most of my career in the creative trenches, touring, composing, and figuring out the business side the hard way. Before starting Paint The Noise, I had already delivered more than 3,000 placements across film, TV, multimedia, and advertising. Paint The Noise grew from those lessons. It’s a “MusicOps” platform built by working creators for working creators, developing music for visual media with structure, speed, and purpose. What makes it different is the balance, the art that runs on discipline and creativity that stays alive.
I’m also studying at Berklee, finishing my master’s degree in Music Business. For me, it’s about never settling for “I don’t know” or waiting for someone else to open a door. I’d rather learn the system, build my own, and bring others with me.
Right now, my focus is on expanding that ecosystem and continuing to create opportunities for creators who just need the right structure, mindset, and community behind them to break through.
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
Before all of this, I was just a kid trying to make sense of the world through sound. A guitar or bass in one hand, a lot of noise in my head, and a need to turn it into something that made people feel.
I grew up between two homes and a lot of different schools, learning early how to adapt, listen, and find steady ground wherever I was. Music became the one constant that made sense, the place where I could turn noise into something that felt like clarity. That instinct to turn uncertainty into purpose has followed me through every season. I started touring around sixteen and stayed on the road until my late twenties. In the midst of all that, I wanted to understand people as much as I wanted to understand sound, which led me to study counseling at Texas Tech University. Later, that awareness started to shape how I approached music itself, merging both worlds through emotion and storytelling.
From there, I moved into engineering, producing, and eventually composing for picture. Along the way, I built a catalog of more than 3,000 placed works, scored directly to picture for major studios, and eventually landed my own HBO Max series. I’ve also had the chance to work with and for people whose work once inspired me from a distance. Those experiences shaped how I see creativity today and led to Paint The Noise, a MusicOps platform built to create something better for the next generation of working creators.
At my core, I’ve always been someone trying to connect dots. Between people and purpose. Between sound and story. The world told me to pick one lane. To play it safe. To find something stable. Music was never supposed to be a real job. Creativity wasn’t something you built a life on. It was something you did on the side. But I couldn’t quite that part of me. I learned early that the most honest work doesn’t come from fitting in. It comes from building what doesn’t exist yet and trusting that the vision will make sense later.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
It’s never just one time. It’s more like an ongoing balance, learning to recognize that feeling instead of running from it. The urge to give up still shows up, but I’ve learned to see it as a signal. It usually means I’m heading somewhere that matters. That resistance, that discomfort, is the marker that I’m in unfamiliar territory, and that’s where the growth happens. It’s less about fighting it off and more about listening to it, then moving forward anyway.
There were moments where the weight of it all got too real. I remember one time putting all my gear up on Craigslist, almost posting, but really thinking maybe it was time to walk away. During the entire journey, especially the parts where it takes a lot of sacrifice to earn an opportunity, people miss what this really looks like, how much of life happens while you’re still trying to deliver and create that space/name for yourself. Funerals, weddings, family moments. They pass by while you’re on the road, on a deadline, or chasing a brief. It’s never intentional, but it’s the reality of building something from nothing.
The pressure can be heavy, but it sharpens you if you let it. Over time, you start to develop a “lens” for it. A gift of perspective. You learn to see it differently. It teaches you that work ethic isn’t just about output. It’s about honoring what you said you’d do, even when it costs you.
Looking back now, those moments remind me that I was still on the wire, still showing up. That’s what keeps the whole thing real.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. Where are smart people getting it totally wrong today?
I think a lot of smart people get stuck trying to outthink failure. They spend so much time planning, perfecting, and analyzing that they never actually move. It feels like progress because the planning looks productive, but it’s really just fear in disguise. The truth is, you can’t outsmart the part of the process that hurts. You have to bump into it, fall through it, learn from it, and most importantly, keep on keeping on.
Perfection burns a lot of good ideas before they ever get started. Sometimes being too smart becomes the reason one stays on the sidelines, exhausted from trying to make it safe. The real growth happens in motion. You just learn to figure things out by doing, not by waiting for the right moment.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. What do you think people will most misunderstand about your legacy?
People will probably misunderstand why I never stayed in one lane. On paper, I could have built a long career as a composer and called it done. I had the credits, the red carpet premiere for the HBO MAX series, everything that’s supposed to mean you’ve “made it.” But every time I reached one of those moments, something in me said there was more to build.
After that premiere experience, instead of doubling down and chasing more of the same, I decided to take a different path. I chose to pivot my own career and lay the groundwork for starting Paint the Noise all from scratch.
From the outside, it might look like walking away from success or leaning into it, but to me, it was about alignment. I’ve never chased titles. I chase purpose. Each pivot has been a way to stay in tune with it. I let it expand, and I adapt with it. That’s the part that might confuse people later, but it’s also the thread that ties it all together.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/gilflo
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gilfloproductions/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gildeflores/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/gildef
- Other: https://www.paintthenoise.com
Image Credits
GF, Valerie
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