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The Human Side

The Human Side explores the stories, creativity, and collaboration behind today’s music. Subscribe and go behind the scenes of the creative journey.

A warm, sunset-lit creative workspace featuring music gear, handwritten notes, headphones, and a vinyl record, symbolizing reflection, creativity, and a lifelong passion for music.

The Question I Ask Myself More Than Ever

Why I Still Make Music After All These Years Every once in a while, I find myself asking a simple question: Why am I still doing this? It’s a fair question. I’ve spent decades writing songs, producing records, recording artists, and chasing creative ideas. Over the years I’ve experienced some wonderful highs, plenty of disappointments, and more than a few moments where it would have been easy to move on to something else. Yet I continue to come back to music. The interesting thing is that the...
A young boy sits captivated by a record player in a warmly lit living room while his mother listens nearby, capturing the power of music and childhood memories.

What Makes a Song Worth Remembering?

What Makes a Song Worth Remembering? Every year, thousands of songs are released into the world. Some become hits, some find a loyal audience, and many quietly disappear as the next wave of music arrives. Yet every one of us has a handful of songs that seem immune to time. We hear them decades later and instantly find ourselves transported back to a specific place, person, or moment in our lives. It made me wonder what separates those songs from all the others. The Soundtrack to Our Lives...

Why This Year’s MixNik Feels Different

In the next few weeks, I am headed back to Atlanta for MixNik, an annual gathering of songwriters, producers, engineers, artists, and music industry professionals. The event combines educational workshops, networking opportunities, technology demonstrations, and discussions about the future of music creation, making it one of the more unique events on my calendar each year. I attended for the first time last year and came away with far more than a notebook full of ideas. The experience...
Person wearing headphones between warm musical imagery and cool digital visuals, representing the balance between human creativity and AI in music.

Apple Music Says AI Music Is Under 1% of Streams… And Honestly, I’m Not Surprised

Billboard recently published an interesting article discussing Apple Music’s latest internal data around AI-generated music. According to the report, fully AI-generated songs currently account for less than 1% of streams on the platform. That number caught my attention immediately — especially considering how often AI dominates conversations in the music industry right now. At first glance, it almost feels contradictory. Everywhere you look, people are talking about AI: AI songwriting AI...

Inside Our Trip to Miami: Chasing Bigger Opportunities with RBL

Some trips feel different before they even begin. This one carried a certain energy from the start. Not because we knew what would happen… but because we knew we were stepping into an important moment for RBL. A chance to continue building relationships, present our work, and push ourselves further creatively and professionally. But before Miami… there was preparation. Weeks of it. Late nights in the studio organizing our catalog, finalizing submissions, updating the RBL website, and making...

If You Love Music, This Podcast Will Change How You Hear Songs Forever

If You Love Music, This Podcast Will Change How You Hear Songs Forever There’s a moment every music lover reaches… Where you realize—you’ve been listening to songs your entire life…but not really hearing them. I’ve spent years producing, writing, recording, and mixing music. I’ve broken down sessions, studied arrangements, and chased the perfect sound. And still… this podcast made me stop and say: 👉 “I’ve been missing something.” That podcast is the One Song Podcast. 🎧 It’s Not Just a...
Promotional image for The Legacy Pack by Luis Marte featuring front and back black Legacy Era T-shirts (2012–2025), a USB thumb drive keychain, an autographed copy of Bronx Beats, and a thank you card, with bold text reading "The Legacy Pack Is Here" on a

Before I Close This Chapter… I Wanted to Do This

There are moments in life where you stop and look back. Not just at the music…but at everything that came with it. From 2012 to 2025, Freestyle music gave me so much — a voice, a community, and memories I’ll carry with me forever. 🎁 The Legacy Pack I wanted to create something that captures that era in a real, tangible way. The Legacy Pack brings together music, memories, and pieces of that journey into one collection. This isn’t just merch —it’s a piece of the story. 💭 Why It Matters This is...
Dimly lit recording studio with headphones on a mixing console, floating handwritten lyric pages, and glowing abstract sound waves representing creativity and collaboration.

The Part of Making Music No One Talks About

We spend a lot of time talking about the music. The sound.The mix.The release. But there’s a part of creating that doesn’t get talked about enough. The part that happens in the room…when the music hasn’t been made yet. 🎧 A Moment From a Recent Session I was in a session recently with an artist I’ve been working with. We had the beat ready.The vibe was there. But something was missing. We weren’t connecting yet. You could feel it. We started throwing out ideas — nothing was sticking.Then there...
“A vintage-style album cover featuring a young Luis Marte sitting beside his uncle on a gold-patterned couch, with retro textured edges and warm sepia tones. The image includes the title ‘Faded Polaroid’ and the artist name ‘Luis Marte,’ evoking nostalgia

Faded Polaroid: The Story Behind the Song (Exclusive)

Faded Polaroid: The Story Behind the Song (Exclusive) This one is a little different. When I released “Faded Polaroid,” I didn’t say much about it. I just put it out into the world and let it speak for itself. But for those of you who’ve been following my journey — I wanted to share the story behind it. 🖼️ Where the Idea Came From The idea started with a simple feeling: That moment when you look back at a memory…and it’s still there…but it doesn’t feel the same anymore. Not gone.Not...
“A vintage-style Polaroid photo of Luis Marte as a child with an older figure, centered on a warm, blurred city background, surrounded by music elements like a microphone, keyboard, and candle, conveying a nostalgic and personal music journey.”

It’s been a while… here’s what I’ve been working on 🎶

It’s been a little while since I last checked in with you. Not because I’ve stepped away — but because I’ve been deep in the process… creating, reflecting, and really figuring out what this next chapter looks like. And on a personal level, it’s also been a heavy few months — I lost my father and my uncle, which gave me a lot of time to pause, reflect, and reset. And honestly… a lot has changed. 🎧 “Faded Polaroid” — A Very Personal Release Last month, I released a song called “Faded Polaroid.”...