Nuanced. - 96. Mike Squires: Inside the Mind of Music Producer!

Episode Date: March 6, 2023

Aaron asks Mike Squires about how he got started in the music industry, reaching 250,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, and his creative process. Aaron also inquires about how Mike selects artists to work with and how he creates songs. Mike Squires is a photographer with photos featured in Forbes, on music album covers, and Times Square billboards. He has released a photo book that tells the stories of his unforgettable experiences, including international tours with musicians like Watsky and Chris Webby. The book features intimate portraits, emotional moments, and infectious performances from various musicians. This prolific collection of photos captures years of intimate portraits, emotional moments, and infectious performances featuring musicians like Watsky, Chris Webby, Sammy Adams, Sean Kingston, Fabulous, French Montana, Mason Ramsey, The D’Amelios, Spose, Camila Recchio, and many more, transporting viewers to another time and place.Send us a textThe "What's Going On?" PodcastThink casual, relatable discussions like you'd overhear in a barbershop....Listen on: Apple Podcasts   SpotifySupport the shownuancedmedia.ca

We were just talking before we got started about numbers and about how you sort of think about them. Can you share some really great news that you just shared with me before we started? Yeah, I try not to get caught up in the metrics of things and focus on the journey. But I think it is important to acknowledge things when they happen, right? So today I hit a quarter million monthly listeners on Spotify, which I believe is the highest I've ever been at. So I don't know. I just like kind of took a moment. I went to the gym this morning. I ended up sitting in the car for like just 30 minutes. It's like, yo, that's kind of crazy that like that many people have listened to my songs within the last 30 days or 28 days, whatever it is. Yeah. So I don't know. I just was kind of taking a moment to take that in and appreciate that. Congratulations. That is a huge accomplishment. So many people, they put in years and years of work before they get there. I know for your story, you started at a young age. Can we perhaps start there? Getting started in music. and creating.

Yes. So I actually, I hopped into, I mean, I really have been doing like video stuff forever. I used to do like, I don't really talk even about this that much, but I used to do like video, videos of like video game play when I was like 12, like way, way back in the day. And then I started getting into like, you know, get having an actual camera. I bought it. So I bought a camera here also the exact story. So when I was younger, I played soccer and my dad was filming a game for me.

And it was like the last game. It was like the championship game. It was us and another team. Not only did we win that game, I scored the winning goal. So me, just a young kid, I was ecstatic, right? So I go to watch the playback on the camera and it's at the grass the whole time. My dad was just so into the game that you could hear him cheering, but like the footage was all there was no there was no game in the footage so that kind of i was just like okay this is this

isn't working so i uh i think at the time i asked my mom was like hey can i just do some chores and just kind of let me work and get a camera you know i mean so i think i ended up doing some chores got some like cheap hundred dollar camera uh and uh that's kind of where i started filming i don't know how old i must have been like 13 14 uh but yeah that's kind of how i started filming And then, you know, as time went on, I was doing, I actually had like a lot of reptiles, too. I had like a lot of pet reptiles. That's another thing that probably people didn't. I had like 12, 13, dude.

I had a lot of reptiles. So I actually did care videos for a little bit too. And then I got into like doing skits with my friends. So I kind of had like all these like weird eras. I had like the video game era, the soccer era, the reptile care era, the skis. the skit era. And then inevitably, I got into music videos. And then when I started doing music videos, those videos would get picked up by blogs back in the day because blogs were like a huge staple in the early 2010s. Like, that's where people found their music and things like that.

So then when I started doing my first music videos, word of mouth really helps, you know, pass my name around and more people are reaching out. They're like, hey, I'd love for you to do my video and then, you know, one thing to another, just domino affected into a full career that I have now. That's what I was kind of. Yeah. It's kind of a weird, kind of a weird path, but I'll take it. Fair to say that you just loved creating things, and that's what's kept the momentum and

the passion going. It doesn't sound like it was specific on one thing. You just enjoy creating things and trying to make, like, beautiful artwork. Oh, yeah. I don't see another reality for myself. I don't think I could, like, do anything else because it's, like, not only do I enjoy doing, it's just, like, very, like, therapeutic. I like having, like, silly ideas and, you know, bringing them to life and making them happen.

There's a lot of value in that for me. I just, like, and the fact that you can create something out of nothing, I think is also a beautiful thing, you know, like, you can take something from an idea to, like, you know, in my case, I've taken songs from an idea to, like, an actual song that's, like, changed my life, you know, a music video, just like the idea of like what this, the story could be behind the song into like actually filming it and then putting it out into the world. So I just like the idea of, you know, making something out of nothing. That's a brilliant comment. Can you talk a little bit about all the different roles you play? You're a producer, your creator, uh, you make

music videos. Can you just introduce yourself for people who might not know? Yeah, I also find myself as like a little bit of a confusing person because I'd wear so many different hats. But so basically I came in the game as a music video director. I came in the game as a music video director and I started doing a lot of videos with artists locally and then eventually more artists started reaching out and, you know, local videos went from doing flights for music videos and things like that and videos started getting millions of views. While I was doing that, though, I simultaneously was producing music on the side. And as I was like filming, my music started like trickling up little by little. And, you know, I was in Mexico on a filming gig with a company called Student City when my song come home landed on the viral charts in Germany. So there was like so much happening at once.

But it was insane where it was like, you know, I was on this awesome filming gig. My music started taking off. And then, you know, through that, I started getting into touring more because a lot of my friends needed like a video photo dude. And when I started touring, I didn't even do photography. but because a lot of my friends had a demand for it, they're like, yo, I need a photographer and a videographer. Can you be the guy who is bold? I kind of forced myself to learn photography very quickly.

And I mean, I'm at the point. I think it's somewhere around here. I have a photo book. I think I want to say? Oh, yeah. Let's go. I'm on the laptop. But yeah, no, I'm like at a point where I have like a photo book that I'm very

very proud of. Yeah, dude. So I just enjoy doing very, very, different, as long as it's kind of like centered around the entertainment industry. I do like a lot of behind the scenes for artists to help with like rollouts. I do a lot of cover arts. I do a lot of miscellaneous things. So, you know, as long as it's in the music industry, I think that's kind of just where I'm comfortable and where I think I can help and thrive. That's really interesting because it's not like one thing. You have your hands in so many different plots that I think that also likely creates

like an energy to it. It's not, it can never get boring because you do. so many different things that if one area starts to maybe lose your interest or not be at the top of your mind, you're able to hop onto that other project. I think you nailed it right on the head, dude. And that's the thing where it's like, if I feel overwhelmed in one area, I can kind of just like, all right, well, let me go work on this other project for a little bit. And, you know, it keeps my inspiration constantly going. And, you know, where like maybe there's, and, you know, I rarely find myself uninspired, you know, maybe like back in the day, like, where what do people say?

Like, writers block? I mean, I guess it applies in all fields, but like, I don't really get that anymore because I just think there's so many different things that you can work on and you can pull inspiration from so many different spots that, you know, there's always something to do. There's definitely always something to do. You've worked with so many different artists. I'm just curious because so many, it takes time to pop off. It takes time for you to become well-known.

What advice do you have for those people that you start working with that are like, I feel like everything's there. I feel like I've put everything together just so. And yet the algorithms, they don't love me. I'm not blowing up. I think I'm doing everything I can write. What do you say to those people when you're working with them? I think it's important to adapt or you're going to die.

Like, I'll tell you the story real quick. So coming into 2023, I had a plan. I had a very, like, sure plan that I thought was going to be the best thing for me. And, you know, as 2023 approached, I was like, you know, I actually don't know if this plan's going to work. I don't know if this is the right path for me. So what I did is I actually reached out to a bunch of my friends in my circle. And I called my homie Atlas and I kind of told him my plan. And he was like just really telling me to shift my focus to TikTok.

And, you know, like, and that wasn't part of my initial plan. So I was like, no, you're 100% right. like that's something I need to do like I need to grow on there I need to make effort on there you know so then all of a sudden I'm like second guessing my plan I was like yo is this the right plan to do so and I'm gonna get to a point I'm gonna bring this back to like why like to artists too um so then I started asking some of my friends I called my friend cakes Mitchell and I kind told my plan and I was like dude I'd love to hire you to like just do a consultation and help me out with like a 2023 game plan so i ended up scratching my entire what i thought was my play

and completely reinventing my plan for this year so what i want to say to arras you've got to make sure you're in a headspace where even if you think something might be the right play that you're willing to try other things and adapt you need to adapt the game is always changing if you're doing methods that were popping five years ago it's not it might not work today who's i'm not who am i to say that it won't work but it just the key is just to adapt and just keep pushing forward and trying new things and when you see success in those things you know try to harness it and ride that wave for a little bit but also keep in mind like just because something popped off once doesn't mean it'll pop off again so that that's one thing i'd keep in mind and more important than anything

forget the numbers, forget the viral, forget the metrics. Just be consistent. Be impossible to ignore. Posts so often that everyone, even if they're just tuning in for a second, they'll still tune in. So I don't know. I don't know if that's helpful, but, you know, take it for what it's worth. I think that's what has helped me. I think it's so challenging because when you're taking a risk on yourself in this way, you can start to doubt yourself because there's nothing hopefully like you. You don't know what it is that make something explode. And like speaking with Vin Jay, he talks about how he dropped that one album,

but he didn't know that song was going to pop off. He just, like you just put it out there and then you see what happens. And that can be challenging because you don't know what is going to make it successful. It's not like a clear path to success where in other industries, maybe there's more of a paved path. Yeah. And that's the thing.

I think kind of playing off of two things that you said, everything that you release is kind of like a dart right so you know sometimes the dart misses the board completely sometimes you hit the bull's eye the key is just to keep putting it out and throwing those darts those contents those songs those videos because you never know which one is going to hit the bull's eye and then also another thing that i would focus on too is i already said this but consistency is the most important thing you just got to constantly throw those darts because every time you throw a door, it's just another opportunity.

It's another door that could be open. So you got to be consistent. I don't know if you follow Russ, but he actually made a similar comment and he kind of got grilled for it because people misunderstood consistent with putting out low quality stuff constantly. And his point,

it doesn't need to be every single day, like if you're releasing music, you didn't need to release a new song every day. But if you're releasing every two weeks, make sure that you're hitting every two weeks and be consistent. and deliver the product, make sure it's something you're proud of, and be consistent, and consistent can be as much as you want it to be. You just have to figure out that is. I super agree with that

a thousand percent. I think as consistent as you can be without drop in quality. You know what I mean? If you notice like a huge, huge drop in quality, then don't do it. But also, I want to say, don't let, and this is a Gary V quote, I'm pretty sure, but don't let Perfect get in the way of good enough. You know what I mean? And I know there's a lot of like perfectionists and artists out there that don't want to hear that. But you know, if you just put something out, you never know what it's going to do. And you can, the thing is you can perfect things along the way. It doesn't need to be perfect right right now. Because I don't, I know there's been examples. I can't think of one off the top of my head where an artist's demo will leak or something like that. And the demo goes absolutely

crazy for them. And then they polish the song out and put it out. You know what I mean? So it's like the version that people fell in love with was the one that you considered not done you know so I think it's just important just to get out there and stay out there I'm really curious because I feel like you have one of the most healthy mentalities that I've seen

in regards to views and being consistent and just like having a passion for what you're doing so how do you look at creating music videos first? How do you think about how you want to develop it? Is it like a narrative that you want to have over two and a half minutes how do you think about it? So

I guess it really depends on the song. The idea is what is going to make this perform best for the song, right? And how do you bring the song's vision to life? You know, some songs call for a deep narrative where you need a storyline that is important and something that people could follow and really brings the artist's message to life, right? But then some are more vibe-centric where it's like, if it's a fun song, just make sure the video is really fun and that what people watch, it you know they take that away they're like wow this looks like a great time this is a lot of fun

the song is great the song is live so it's really just all about capturing the energy of the song and doing the song justice it's like almost like an extension of the song rather than like its own entity you know so do you listen to it and then try and develop it do you chat with the artist uh say atlas and go through like how do you feel about it what are you thinking do you come up with ideas how does that kind of journey take place it's kind of a mixed bag i think artist to artists. There have been examples where, you know, the artist will come to me with the full idea. So I have a music video with Spose where he came to me with this idea that, you know, this kid would grow up through life and he would meet these people and these people would become floating

heads around him, right? So Spose came to me and he, he's like, hey, let's bring this to life. You know, let's dial this concept in. And you know, then I helped, like, write the storyboard and, you know, actually like put it into a sequence. So there are situations like, that but then there's other times where it just gets out the song and they're just I listen to on repeat and I just kind of envision what it looks like in my head and then I'll write down some ideas I'll run an idea by an artist I'll be like hey what if we did something like this and then they'll be like maybe maybe not what other ideas then I'll say another idea I'll be like hey what if we do something like this and they'll be like oh yeah that's the idea and then from there I'll go in and really

focus on building out a treatment a plan that kind of caters that vision that that they were more into. So, yeah, that's kind of the process. How do you look at working with artists? How do you see it from a different lens than like a consumer like myself? Like I'm not going to understand the person's background, maybe their journey. How do you think about working with artists? And are there some that really stand out to you that are really unique or do something

differently than the rest? Yeah, I'm way more selective with who I work with now compared to back in the day. the most important thing for me to work with somebody is that you're a good person and I enjoy working with you that like if you can't hit that criteria that it's like nothing else even matters right outside of that you know I really look for people that I think are talented because I personally won't direct a music video

if I don't enjoy the song if I don't enjoy the song I don't think I am the right person to bring the vision to life and I think that would be a disservice to the artist or it's like, I'm not going to just do this music video for a paycheck if I don't think I'm the best fit for it because ideally, like, the artist is looking for somebody who can really bring their vision to life. So I think I have to be in love with the song.

I have to like the person. And yeah, I think another thing, too, just getting behind artists that, like, I genuinely, like, believe in and I think have potential, too, you know? And people that are hungry, people that really want this. more than anybody else because, you know, I've dealt with my fair share of like wishy-washy artists that like, you know, will do a music video with me and then I never hear from the, they don't even drop, like, for years. And I'm like, dang, like, what's the point? You know what I mean? So I try to link with people that are consistent. I guess that's also so consistent, good person,

and I got to like it. So, brilliant. So one of the ways I discovered you was inner peace and not to with Atlas. Let's go, dude. Can you talk about that song? Can you talk about working with Atlas? Yeah, I could tell you the whole plan on that. So, you know, during lockdown, all tours got canceled and I've always wanted to work on an album, right? So I was like in, I was in my room and I just was working on this beat and I basically had that beat. I wrote the entire hook of that one. So there is a version out there of me singing that hook. And I originally actually hit my homie Scrizley Adams, who does a lot of songs with Chris Webby. And I was like, yo, would you do this hook for me? And he got back to me. He was super pleasant about it, but he's like, Mike, I really

don't do hooks that I don't write. And I was like, man, just do this favor for me, dude, just do it for me. It's like, please. He's like, ah, he's like, dude, it kind of goes against like my old thing. I was like, ah, so I just, like, I just need a homie to like do this. So around the time, too, I think Atlas, I'm not going to swear on here, but Atlas has a song with a lot of profanity. Around that time, Atlas asked me to remix that song, right? And I was like, yo, I have this hook. Would you bring this hook to life for me? I think, like, if you could do that, that would be amazing.

So, you know, Alice did it. I think he might have changed up some of the words a little bit, but he really added his sauce and stuff to that. So I'm super thankful that Atlas did that for me. And then as far as the verses, I think P always had a verse on there since the jump. And then Echo was the last person I added to there. And I was like, yo, would you throw a verse on this? We actually have a video shot for Interpiece that I haven't dropped yet,

which I should probably just get out because it's just sitting on the computer doing nothing. But yeah, so that's kind of how Interpiece came together. And I really enjoy that song in my home. So what's cool, too, is that the interpiece cover is actually a photo I took with the lightning, with the lightning, like, you know, waiting for the lightning to strike. The only thing I added in was the people around the lightning, because it would have been dangerous otherwise. And then the 3D rendering was done by my homie will.

So that's kind of the whole process of interpiece. And then Curtis, my homie mixed that. So that's the whole whole process of innerpiece. It's one of our favorite songs because it was so important during that period. and it's something I feel like we're all looking for and I feel like it was worded in a really succinct way. Thank you, dude. Yeah, no, I'm very proud of that song too

and I'm glad that that's like one of the songs off the sample tape that like a lot of people seem to, you know, head towards and resonate with. So I really, I really like that song and, you know, I'm thankful for all of those dudes on that song and helping me bring that song together. How do you think about artists? because Atlas is one where there's a bit of country.

It's like a really cool mixture, and I feel like you're good at finding those people who are just unique. They're not, they're in their own league almost. Yeah, no, Alice is super tough. I've told Atlas this before, and I'll tell him again, and if you hear's this again, and he'll hear it again. But, I mean, I've told him since the beginning, he's going to stadiums.

Like, dude is just, he's just got that superstar voice, man, just anthemic, like King Midas, everything he touch is just, Just Kiss. But yeah, no, I actually linked with Atlas, I think, through my homie cakes, Mitchell. I think I originally saw him on his story and I just like heard as I was like, because that's how I actually really heard Atlas. And now that I think about it, Take Me Home was the first joint that we did.

So I had Take Me Home written a lot of it. And Atlas added a lot to it too. But I needed somebody who kind of had like a, I had like this country song, Take Me Home. and I needed somebody who had kind of like a country-esque voice but like also very poppy to do that song and once I heard his voice I was like yo who who is this guy and I reached out to him we did take me home and yeah that's how that that's how that came together so I kind of I have I always have song ideas in my head right and a lot of even right now currently and sometimes I just keep the song in my head until I hear the right voice you know so it's kind of

what I look for. What goes into having a right voice for you? What do you think makes a song strong in your perspective? What are you looking for? I think it's just somebody who can really bring the song idea to life. You know, sometimes like I have the song that I'm right now. I'm kind of looking for almost an artist that's kind of like a character where it's like they have just like a fun kind of grungy but like, you know, just bigger than life personality. But they just got to fit the tone of the song you know like some artists have like a very serious sounding voice if it's a serious sounding song like you know it's a good connect if you want to have a fun song find somebody who has like a more fun like i don't know if that like a hundred percent makes sense what i'm saying

but in my head it makes sense where i just know like when i hear an artist i'm like oh they would sound great on this song i have because i think their voice complements the production so things like that you want to find it's like a puzzle piece right you start the song with like you build out the base of it and then you just got to figure out like who would sound good here here and here and sometimes the vision you have initially isn't always where you end up

but I think if you can land somewhere in the process you'll get a good result. I'm super curious about developing that beat what is your style what are you looking for when you're putting that together and what is that process? It's insane because music is like a weird one for me

because if I think about making a song you know this used to be more true than it is now because I've gotten better, but when I started, uh, sometimes I'd just make a song and I'd be like, I'd leave and I'd be like, how did I just do that? You know, I mean, I would just like, because if I think about the idea of making it, I'm like, okay, like, I get in my head and I'm like, I don't know how I would even do that. Um, but then when I'm sitting there, just kind of flies and goes freely. Now I'm at the point where I'm very excited to say this, but I'll have an exact song idea

and I know exactly how to bring it to life like recently I was in the studio maybe like a month ago and I have a vision for a song that I'm not going to talk too much about because I want to leave it a little bit of a surprise but I had such a specific vision for this song and I was like okay

well I know I'm going to need like some live players so you know I had my homie come and play guitar and bass you know I have my homie playing drums like I just knew and I knew exactly I was like play it exact and I would mouth it to them I'd be like play like when went went went like so and then they would just play it back to me. So, you know, especially where I don't play instruments. So when I want instrumentation on it, I can play it on my keyboard and I can make like I could produce it within machine and like do it digitally.

But sometimes you need that live sound. If you need that like just trying to explain that to somebody who does play live can be very helpful. So the biggest thing is communication. And when I say communication, being able to communicate your idea to somebody else who's working with you. I think that's like the biggest thing. But if it's just me by myself and I know I'm going to do it all in box and produce it on my end, it's a lot easier because I can just do it right then and there. Where do these songs in your head come from? That's one of my biggest questions because it can have such an impact in a community, in a society.

It can change how we think about an issue. It can change how we think about the adversity. we went through or the struggles we've been through it can be fuel for people and you're a person who helps create that fuel and I'm just where does where do these ideas come from yeah they all they all definitely come from like real life experiences too and sometimes like I'll have a song idea because you know I mean with real life experience there's good days and bad days right so I try to focus on keeping the good days the ones I make the song about recently but I think it's important to talk about the bad days too like i've i talked about my song take me home take me homes about my house burning down

arguably one of the worst days of my life uh but i think there's something powerful in talking to and empowering and you know i think putting it out there for somebody who's going through a similar situation it might not be their house burning down but if they're going through some sort of like trial or tribulation like a song like that can really help to one you know show that you can get through it and two that you're not alone. You're not the only person that's dealt with this and there is another side. So I think there are things that are powerful like, you know, take me home. Interpiece is a good example too, you know.

I think everybody battles with those head games of just like doubt trying to find what truly makes you happy, right? So I think in that sense, you know, those songs are really powerful because, I mean, those are things I deal with, you know, constantly. but more recently I try to focus and those I don't necessarily view those things as negative I view negative as like like you'll never hear a disc track come from me right because I just like I don't think that pushes a good narrative forward there's like no point like and if you can't talk an issue out with somebody like I know there are artists I'll be quick to be like oh put it in the song but I don't know it's just not the type of person I am I'd rather talk it out and be cool with you in real life than put it into a song right so there's that but then there are songs like you know let me let me think

like some love some loves a good song some loves a good like just summer vibe song and that kind of was just inspired by like getting my so all the artists on that song are from my hometown of stanford connecticut which to me i'm very stoked about because i don't get to do songs with people from my hometown that often i should do them more but not it's hard to get that many people in the studio at once is what I'm trying to say. Like, we legitimately had, like, six people in the studio working on this. And kind of just from the energy of that is a beautiful thing. And, you know, another beautiful song that I'm really stoked on is my song, Consolation

with Corey Hales, which is a fun one because I was in the, like, honestly, me and Corey were, like, shooting all day. And I told him, I was like, yo, man, like, if you, if we body this song today, I promise you, I'll, I opened up for Flowrider last year. So I was like, dude, if we body this song. today. I'll have you come out at Flowrida and perform with me, but we need to body this song today. So that was kind of like the fuel for that fire. You know what I mean? So, and that's the thing. Every song has such a different journey. Like there's been very few songs that kind of have

the exact same path. You're at 250,000 monthly listeners. That is just, can you tell us all of the work that went into that? It didn't happen overnight. It took time, growth, passion, dedication. Can you just talk a bit about that? Yeah, I was actually talking to my girlfriend about this today, too, because I sat in the parking lot for a good second to say. I was like, yeah, I just like looked at it. I took a screenshot. I just said it to all my friends. I was like, yeah, this is kind of crazy, isn't it? Uh, but yeah, no, they're like, a thing that I said to my girlfriend is that I'm just thankful that I was able to do it. Not only was I able to do it, but I was able to do it on my terms. Like, I didn't have to compromise. I didn't have to not be Mike Squires. I didn't have to

didn't sacrifice a thing. So, you know, there's a quarter million monthly listeners is really rewarding in the first place, but I think what makes it just like a little bit more rewarding for me is to knowing all those things, knowing that I did it how I wanted to do it. It was on my terms. There's no funny business. And, you know, I'm just very thankful and I'm very thankful to have a community around me that supports me and supports my music and enjoys it.

So, you know, I can't really ask for much more, you know. I find you super inspirational. Can you tell people how they can follow you on Spotify, ApplePod, or Apple Music, Instagram, Twitter? Yeah. No, I'm fine to plug myself. I'm going to go, I mean, if you go Spotify, you just follow me on Spotify, follow your boy on TikTok. I'm trying to, I have a huge, huge project that I'm working on this year, and it revolves around TikTok. and I have been posting four times a day on TikTok,

dude, it has been since like the year started. I've been cranking and I've been going up little by little. And that's the thing. Don't think that everything needs to happen overnight. You can, as long as you're progressing little by little, that's a W.

Take, count those wins. But yeah, go follow your boy on TikTok at Mike Squires. And yeah, it's really it. Like, I don't mind. I don't want to spend too much time plugging myself, you know? Well, I really appreciate you being willing to take the time.

I'm hoping that we can have you back on in the future. We didn't get a chance to talk about Generation Hustle and you're working on. So there's lots more to talk about with you, but I really appreciate you being willing to hop on today and chat with us. I appreciate you so much, Aaron, too, and this is great. And yeah, and I had a lot of fun, dude. I will be in touch. I really appreciate you so much. You're the man, dude.

Appreciate you too, Tim. Yep. Have a great day. Talk soon. All right, Aaron. Bye, guys. Peace, peace, peace. Thank you.