THE FAVORITE MUSIC PRODUCTION TOOLS OF PAUL MAYSON

 

Paul Mayson

Please tell our readers a little bit about your background.

Thanks for having me guys! I’m a producer and DJ from the Netherlands. I started playing drums and went on to produce electronic music when I was 11. Over the years I developed a big love for house music and club culture, which became a big part of my life. I’ve been producing and writing music for my own projects as well as other artists and have been DJing quite a lot, both in my home country as well as globally. This year was the start of a new era for me, signing with Sony Music and returning with new music.

What is your favorite piece of hardware gear to work with and why?

It’s hard to pick one favorite, but I have a Sequential Prophet Rev2 in my home studio that I really love. The sound and feeling of it is great and it also just works really well together with my digital workflow. 

Is there a specific VST plugin that radically changed your workflow?

When it comes to my basic workflow I think a lot of the FabFilter plugins are great, they’re really good, steady and quick to use.

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Do you have a specific process when it comes to creating tracks? For instance, do you start with a beat or with a melody?

I often start with a simple drum groove combined with an interesting sound, texture, sample or chord progression. I always try to recognize very early on in the process if an idea is good enough to finish. An idea needs to feel special. If it feels that way, I’ll start spending more time on executing the idea and really finetuning the production. From there I often also start thinking about vocal and lyric ideas and I often collaborate with singers.

How do you approach space in production as it relates to delays and reverbs?

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It really depends on the song, but generally I like to keep things really tight to make sure the mix works well. Sounds need to feel right and work well in the mix without having too much verb added to it. In my usual production process it’s really important to keep everything short and snappy in order for the groove to feel right and the track to have more impact. I mostly use reverbs just to give certain sounds a bit more character, and I use delays a lot to add groove to the elements that need it.

Which aspect of music production do you feel you excel at?

I think I’m good at understanding and fusing different genres and sounds and bringing both songwriting and interesting production sonics together.

Your best advice to get that kick drum pounding?

Pitch your kick drums to the right key for the song, find the right balance between the sub part and the top part of your kick, mix it properly with your bassline, and in general just make sure you experiment with different kick samples to make sure you’ve tried the different options.

Out of all the productions you have made, what would be your personal favorite?

Right now I would say my new single ‘Don’t Let Me Down’! Partly because it’s fresh, but also because it was a really cool process experimenting with different genres and styles and fusing my house music sounds with r&b, pop and soul elements.

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What is the best advice you have for other producers in the game?

Do your own thing and don’t be afraid to take risks and be different. 

Is there anything else you would like to share?

I’m really grateful for all the support on my music last year! It has really been the start of a new chapter for me with the release of my new singles with Sony Music and I’m really excited to keep building. I have a lot of music in store for this year!

Thanks again for doing this interview.

Thanks guys!

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