Paul Sawyer doesn’t need trends to tell him what good music sounds like. After decades in the scene—producing, performing, and curating—he’s built his process around one thing: learning to listen with intention. With the Sunset Garden compilation now out on Krafted, he’s leaning into that mindset harder than ever, focusing on detail, feeling, and the space between elements.
The album reflects that same approach.
Compiled from a wide range of melodic and progressive producers, Sunset Garden is about control, flow, and balance. And like Paul says in this interview, when you know how to listen, that’s when things start to click.
How did your understanding of listening change as you became a producer?
I’ve been involved in making music from a very early age, right back to Primary School age when I learnt to play the piano and violin. When I was around 10 years old, I used to play with a four track, making tracks with my keyboard and making drum patterns on the keyboard, recording them straight into the four track.
That started off my journey into shaping music into what I wanted. Coupled with listening to various types of music and trying to understand what was in each track to make the overall piece of music.
What have you learned about the difference between hearing and actually listening?
When you build the various layers in a track, it really opens your eyes to how each sound must work against each other. It’s so easy to swamp the track and make it sound muddy. Space really has to be given to compliment each layer or sound. That’s when you really learn that listening intently is so important.
Hearing the track isn’t enough, you really have to concentrate on the various elements to make the track work as professionally as you can.
What role does listening play in shaping your creative direction before you ever open a DAW?
I constantly listen to music and hearing other producers’ music always inspires my creativity.
It really helps before you sit in front of your screen to have some ideas in your head beforehand. It could simply be a sound that I’ve heard and I think about how it could be shaped into a hook, for example.
How has your approach to listening evolved over time—and what drove that evolution?
As time goes by and your production skills improve, you aim to be as good as those who inspire you. For me, I’ve aimed to be on certain labels and to get there, you have to improve from where you started off. That was what drove me to listen more to the sound that I wanted to create whilst not moving away from my own style.
When you’re trying to grow creatively, what kind of listening actually moves the needle?
There are so many amazing producers out there that I often listen to for inspiration who in turn help my creativity grow. Respecting producers—whether they have been around for a long time or maybe are quite new—if they are making music that makes you smile, that is something amazing.
How do you know when you’re listening with intention versus passively absorbing?
I tend to passively absorb music more when I have music in the background for enjoyment rather than intently listening to the layers in the track.
Music has been a huge factor in my life from a young age, so it’s something that lifts my overall mood.
From going to an event or having a mix at home, there’s always something special about being immersed in the sound for me. Something I can fall back on if I’ve had a bad day, that’s for sure—and bring me back to myself.
What do you think most newer producers misunderstand about the act of listening?
It’s what everyone does when they start out, me included. Not really understanding the importance of EQ. Once you get your head around that, it transforms your music. To get it right, it’s so important to really zone in and listen intently.
The post What Paul Sawyer Thinks New Producers Get Wrong About Listening appeared first on Magnetic Magazine.