<![CDATA[The Blue Room - John Michael Rouchell]]>https://www.hereintheblueroom.comhttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0Mz4!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F13ab136f-4a0d-4f78-a6bc-ce7bd5ee899f_1280x1280.pngThe Blue Room - John Michael Rouchellhttps://www.hereintheblueroom.comSubstackTue, 19 May 2026 04:46:45 GMT<![CDATA[Happy Mardi Gras!]]>https://www.hereintheblueroom.com/p/happy-mardi-grashttps://www.hereintheblueroom.com/p/happy-mardi-grasFri, 13 Feb 2026 15:45:51 GMTHappy Mardi Gras, y’all! Wherever you are in the world, I hope that the spirit of spring and the excitement of a new year is in full swing.

In New Orleans, this is carnival season. Parades, marching bands, decadence, throws, and revelry are filling our beautiful mess of a municipality. Cheap throwaway items turn into very rare priceless gems as a remind…

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]]><![CDATA[Grammy Week Recap]]>https://www.hereintheblueroom.com/p/grammy-week-recaphttps://www.hereintheblueroom.com/p/grammy-week-recapFri, 06 Feb 2026 17:08:04 GMTHope y’all are well. Getting back into rhythm after Grammy week. It’s been a time of inspiration and confidence. I hope you this transmission finds you well.

Grateful

jm

]]><![CDATA[To my empaths...]]>https://www.hereintheblueroom.com/p/to-my-empathshttps://www.hereintheblueroom.com/p/to-my-empathsMon, 26 Jan 2026 16:52:42 GMT

]]><![CDATA[Music Production...It's Everything and Nothing]]>https://www.hereintheblueroom.com/p/music-productionits-everything-andhttps://www.hereintheblueroom.com/p/music-productionits-everything-andThu, 15 Jan 2026 20:17:01 GMTWhat does a music producer do any way? Rick Beato thinks 10 producers on a track is ridiculous. Rick Rubin has “no technical skills”. What used to be called a programmer is now a producer. What does it all mean?

Let’s try to make sense of this amorphous and sometimes confusing role.

Grateful for all of you.

jm

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]]><![CDATA["What's old will become new again"]]>https://www.hereintheblueroom.com/p/whats-old-will-become-new-againhttps://www.hereintheblueroom.com/p/whats-old-will-become-new-againWed, 07 Jan 2026 16:37:56 GMTWelcome back. Happy 2026. Hope you’re getting back into the swing of things. This is where my head has been. Hope you enjoy.

jm

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]]><![CDATA[Spaces Vol. III]]>https://www.hereintheblueroom.com/p/spaces-vol-iiihttps://www.hereintheblueroom.com/p/spaces-vol-iiiTue, 09 Dec 2025 16:05:39 GMT

Greetings, fellow humans!

I am very proud and honored to present Spaces Vol. III, Christoph Andersson and I’s third installment in our ambient series. This project is such a fun and enriching practice for me. Stoph and I get to focus on creating sound worlds and designing textures and focusing on stillness. It’s such a nice counterweight to our popular m…

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]]><![CDATA[A Holiday Playlist that Doesn't Suck]]>https://www.hereintheblueroom.com/p/a-holiday-playlist-that-doesnt-suckhttps://www.hereintheblueroom.com/p/a-holiday-playlist-that-doesnt-suckWed, 03 Dec 2025 16:22:09 GMTIf you’re anything like me, holiday music can be treacherous. It something that you know brings joy to those around you, but deep down in your heart, you know that most of these tunes are schmaltzy, cheesy, and just kinda bad. Fortunately, not all of them are, and as someone who spends their days discerning what is good and what isn’t, this is my attemp…

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]]><![CDATA["Each One, Teach One"]]>https://www.hereintheblueroom.com/p/each-one-teach-onehttps://www.hereintheblueroom.com/p/each-one-teach-oneTue, 25 Nov 2025 15:41:56 GMTIn lieu of the upcoming holidays, I wanted to reflect and express gratitude to those that have mentored me along the way.

Grateful for all of you

jm

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]]><![CDATA[Rosalía, Duende & Beauty in 2025]]>https://www.hereintheblueroom.com/p/rosalia-duende-and-beauty-in-2025https://www.hereintheblueroom.com/p/rosalia-duende-and-beauty-in-2025Tue, 11 Nov 2025 16:48:03 GMT

This week…we take a look at a magical new album from Rosalía entitled Lux. Enjoy!

Grateful

jm

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]]><![CDATA[Bravery, Resilience, and Toughness as an Artist]]>https://www.hereintheblueroom.com/p/bravery-resilience-and-toughnesshttps://www.hereintheblueroom.com/p/bravery-resilience-and-toughnessWed, 05 Nov 2025 17:15:41 GMT

We have a special guest this week in The Blue Room. Maggie Koerner wanted to come by to bestow the studio with some feminine energy. In classic JM fashion, I kinda screwed up the audio recording, but did my damnedest to make it as best as I could. It’s my first guest in studio…a little grace for me…I’ll make it better on the next one. Promise

Enjoy my chat with Maggie. Grateful for her openness and candor. I think it will be of value to you all.

Big love

jm

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]]><![CDATA["It's all about relationships"]]>https://www.hereintheblueroom.com/p/its-all-about-relationshipshttps://www.hereintheblueroom.com/p/its-all-about-relationshipsTue, 28 Oct 2025 18:16:25 GMT

“It’s who you know”...We hear this all of the time. Relationships can take many forms. Allow me to advocate for a less transactional approach and a more sustainable one, even if late stage capitalism is causing panic in everyone.

Hope you enjoy. There’s a video and an audio version above. They are the same thing. Just trying to meet you where you are.

Grateful

jm

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]]><![CDATA[D'Angelo & The Art of Seduction]]>https://www.hereintheblueroom.com/p/dangelo-and-the-art-of-seductionhttps://www.hereintheblueroom.com/p/dangelo-and-the-art-of-seductionWed, 22 Oct 2025 14:25:33 GMT

What can one say about a generational artist that hasn’t already been said? At the risk of selfish navel-gazing (I mean…what is Substack for after all?), I wanted to share my reflections on a titan.

Grateful

jm

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]]><![CDATA[An Ambient Playlist for you]]>https://www.hereintheblueroom.com/p/an-ambient-playlist-for-youhttps://www.hereintheblueroom.com/p/an-ambient-playlist-for-youThu, 16 Oct 2025 14:34:55 GMTI wanted to share a Spotify playlist that I made that contains a ton of ambient music. It also contains music that Christoph Andersson and I made. We are releasing new music next week (!!!) and will be adding it to this playlist.

Do I love that we are releasing music through Spotify? No. Is it the easiest way to reach the most amount of people? Yes. Per…

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]]><![CDATA[Geese, Internal Logic, and Embracing "New"]]>https://www.hereintheblueroom.com/p/geese-internal-logic-and-embracinghttps://www.hereintheblueroom.com/p/geese-internal-logic-and-embracingWed, 08 Oct 2025 15:13:28 GMTHave you come across an idea, a song, a piece of art, a perspective that caused you to repel at first? Did you “swipe up” or did you make the extra effort to engage with it?

This new Geese album confronted me in this very way. Join me on a reflection on what it takes to embrace new things, how the art and entertainment that is resonating with me has internal logic as opposed to formulaic structure, and more.

Grateful for you. Enjoy!

jm

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]]><![CDATA[One Battle After Another gave me hope...]]>https://www.hereintheblueroom.com/p/one-battle-after-another-gave-mehttps://www.hereintheblueroom.com/p/one-battle-after-another-gave-meWed, 01 Oct 2025 18:06:40 GMTGreetings, all

I’m back from a whirlwind work trip. Here’s a video essay on “One Battle After Another”. Enjoy!

All posts through 2025 will be FREE…that said, if you want to become a paid subscriber, good on ya!

Grateful

jm

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]]><![CDATA[On Human Collaboration...]]>https://www.hereintheblueroom.com/p/on-human-collaborationhttps://www.hereintheblueroom.com/p/on-human-collaborationTue, 23 Sep 2025 20:18:04 GMTHope you’re well. I’m traveling for work. Peep this video on human collaboration. I am fortunate to have connected with a tons of folks and colleagues over the last few days and I feel very full. I hope this video give you a ray of light.

Grateful

jm

If you’re interested in creative consulting, book a one hour session via my Calendly:

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For all inquiries, email: hereintheblueroom@gmail.com

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]]><![CDATA[Blue Notes, Hudson Freeman, and Proof of Human Life]]>https://www.hereintheblueroom.com/p/blue-notes-hudson-freeman-and-proofhttps://www.hereintheblueroom.com/p/blue-notes-hudson-freeman-and-proofWed, 17 Sep 2025 17:02:53 GMTDoomscrolling…we all do it. One person after another projecting their manicured life or an “influencer” selling you some miracle supplement, or worse yet, some AI slop that your friend from high school sent you because they think it’s funny. But then, you come across a real human, making real art, right there in front of you. You stop because IT’S REFRESHING. A human!

In this video essay, let’s take a look at Hudson Freeman’s viral rise and a deeper look into what it might mean for human entertainment.

This post and the rest of this year’s posts will be free, that said, if you want to become a paid subscriber, you are welcome to.

Grateful

jm

If you’re interested in creative consulting, book a one hour session via my Calendly:

Creative Consulting Calendly

For all inquiries, email: hereintheblueroom@gmail.com

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]]><![CDATA[The 1970s Genius You've Never Heard Of]]>https://www.hereintheblueroom.com/p/the-1970s-genius-youve-never-heardhttps://www.hereintheblueroom.com/p/the-1970s-genius-youve-never-heardTue, 09 Sep 2025 17:57:25 GMTPicture this: One man plays every instrument on a record. Drums, bass, guitar, keyboards, vocals..the whole thing. But here's the catch, this was the 1970s, long before copy-paste made it easy. Prince? Stevie Wonder? Nope…

Shuggie Otis recorded "Inspiration Information" the hard way. He had to play down the entire song, every time, for every layer. No loops. No shortcuts.

In this video essay, let’s take a look at a forgotten genius’s work and dive a bit deeper.

This post and the posts for the rest of this year will be free, that said, if you want to become a paid subscriber, it is appreciated.

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Grateful

jm

If you’re interested in creative consulting, book a one hour session via my Calendly:

Creative Consulting Calendly

For all inquiries, email: hereintheblueroom@gmail.com

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]]><![CDATA[Your Creative Split Personality Holds the Key to Beating Block: The Dreamer vs. The Editor]]>https://www.hereintheblueroom.com/p/your-creative-split-personality-holdshttps://www.hereintheblueroom.com/p/your-creative-split-personality-holdsWed, 03 Sep 2025 17:39:24 GMTI get asked often how I overcome writer’s block or what I do when I don’t have any ideas. This video essay is a mental model that I have created that helps me. Hope it’s of value to you.

This post and the posts for the rest of this year will be free, that said, if you want to become a paid subscriber, it is appreciated.

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Grateful

jm

If you’re interested in creative consulting, book a one hour session via my Calendly:

Creative Consulting Calendly

For all inquiries, email: hereintheblueroom@gmail.com

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]]><![CDATA[Why a 70-Year-Old Movie Made People Applaud: The Lost Art of Communal Experience]]>https://www.hereintheblueroom.com/p/why-a-70-year-old-movie-made-peoplehttps://www.hereintheblueroom.com/p/why-a-70-year-old-movie-made-peopleTue, 26 Aug 2025 17:01:38 GMTIf you want to know whether a piece of art or entertainment works, put it in front of people. By “in front of people”, I don’t mean uploading it to the internet. I mean presenting it in a physical space with humans. Stream counts and all the data in the world cannot elucidate the feeling that comes over people when a magical piece of entertainment hits them. We have to balance the empirical with the emotional.

I had a marketing professor who was a bit of a misanthrope and a bit eccentric, nonetheless he was one of the most influential people in my art life. One day, I told him about an artist wanting me to go see their act. He said, “when you go, don’t watch the act; watch the audience.” The truth is most things that we tweak and change within the confines of an act create distinctions without an impactful difference. Whether or not an audience is moved is the ultimate litmus test of whether or not something is “working”.

Let’s gather around the fire and see if we can better understand the power of an audience.

This post and the posts for the rest of this year will be free, that said, if you want to become a paid subscriber, it is appreciated.

Subscribe now

Grateful

jm

If you’re interested in creative consulting, book a one hour session via my Calendly:

Creative Consulting Calendly

For all inquiries, email: hereintheblueroom@gmail.com

The Blue Room - John Michael Rouchell is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

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