Name: James Saaib aka Maison Ware
Nationality: Australian
Occupation: Producer, DJ
Current release: Maison Ware's "Hideaway" ft. Dominique is out via Helix.
Recommendations: Software - Quanta, Portal; Gear – Lexicon MX-2000, MOOG Subsequent 37 (I’m sure everyone already knows this one haha)

If you enjoyed this Maison Ware interview and would like to stay up to date with his music, visit him on Instagram, Facebook, Soundcloud, and twitter.  



The views of society towards technology are subject to constant change. How would you describe yours?

I love how technology is constantly evolving. It feels like the technical side of music is becoming more efficient and better overall.

It allows me to focus my energy on being creative and pushing boundaries.

What are currently your creative goals and how are technologies helping you reach them?

My creative goals are to try and push further with my sound than yesterday. I want to create an experience for the listener – something new. Whether it’s through the music itself, production at my upcoming shows, the short films, visualisers or anything else attached to my project, I make sure that I’m part of that process with my collaborators and team.

New technology has opened up opportunities for us to do things which weren’t available to me or affordable when starting this project 4 years ago as an independent artist.

How and for what reasons has your music set-up evolved over the years and what are currently some of the most important pieces of gear and software for you?

My music set up is quite basic, although I have a few great bits of hardware -  including a couple KORG synths, a MOOG and a custom built vocal rack - it feels like technology is quickly bridging the gap between the sound output of hardware and the software versions of many synths and plug-ins.

I renovated my studio a couple years ago during the pandemic – for me the most important thing when making music is my environment, so I made sure it was a space I could live in if I wanted to haha.

Have there been technologies which have profoundly influenced, changed or questioned the way you make music?

Not necessarily. I like trying different synths and sounds and then I move on to another to keep me creative.

I think the way people consume music has changed the way I structure my music though – technology has definitely played a part in that!

From my point of view, the three key factors which have driven music technology over the past decades are mobility, affordability, and (easy) usability. How important are these for your own work – and did I miss any?

Affordability and mobility are two big ones for me. As an independent artist pursuing music full-time, it’s tough to access gear which I’d be able to use if it were gifted to me.

Nowadays it feels like all the tools you need are available on a laptop computer and are half the price of what they were a few years back.

Technology is usually associated with innovation and progress. Are these also important considerations for your music? What is the relation between innovative tools and "innovative music"?

For sure! Innovative tools have always got me thinking in new ways and trying new things.

The thing with music is there are very little boundaries, and having new tools always opens the mind to pushing limits as far as the mind desires.

Late producer SOPHIE said: “You have the possibility with electronic music to generate any texture, and any sound. So why would any musician want to limit themselves?” What's your take on that and the relevance of limitations in your set-up and process?

I definitely agree with that statement! I don’t feel like I have many limitations in creating music currently – I’m quite comfortable in creating most genres and styles.

I guess the only thing that I don’t have immediate access to are live instruments and great vocals. I always wished I could sing or play an instrument other than some basic keys. I feel like current technology can’t emulate the perfect imperfections of a human playing an instrument or a human voice.

Luckily I have some great collaborators in that space and I’m always open to more – I guess these things usually take the most time to get right for me. The vocals from BRUX and Dominque on my latest two singles definitely take these records to another dimension.

The choice in creative tools can be overwhelming. Are there ways to deal with- and embrace this wealth and channel it to support your creative goals?

For me, I just like to find my favourite tools as I go and try everything. Every week I try to learn a new plug-in, tool or technique.

If it works for me, it gets added to a little collection of tools I’ve built up over the years.

The sound sculpting capacities of current music technology are remarkable. So is the abundance of high-quality and ready-to-use samples. Which of these do you prefer and what does your process of working with them look like?

I like to use both. Sometimes it’s nice to use a sample to get ideas down fast, but I much prefer to sculpt my own sounds when it comes to synth-work. I feel like that’s the way to get the most unique sounds and sometimes I make things that I couldn’t even re-create.

I find that I tend to use more sample based drum sounds – there are some great drum programmers and sound designers out there that have ready to use and very accessible samples with quality that would take me hours to achieve if I were to start from scratch.

Within a digital working environment, it is possible to compile huge archives of ideas for later use. Tell me a bit about your strategies of building such an archive and how you put these ideas and sketches to use.

I think I have over 2000 project files on my hard-drive currently. I find that the best ideas come together quite quickly or stick with me. If I don’t remember the file name or a stand-out part of the record, it’s probably not significant enough to develop beyond a rough sketch.

Every once in a while I’ll listen to old records and find a couple gems in there though!

Production tools can already suggest compositional ideas on their own. How much of your music is based on concepts and ideas you had before entering the studio, how much of it is triggered by equipment, software and apps?

Most of my ideas come from an idea in my head or a voice memo I’ve hummed before I enter the studio. I sometimes play around with synths and keys until it feels right. It takes me a while to get the ideas in my head down, but the finished product always feels worth it.

I don’t like using software to come up with ideas – sometimes I’ll use ‘Scaler’ to help me put chords together, or an arp preset to help my creative juices flow – but even then, I feel like it’s quite limiting for me.

To some, the advent of AI and 'intelligent' composing tools offers potential for machines to contribute to the creative process. What are your hopes, fears, expectations and possible concrete plans in this regard?

I fear this every day. I’d like to think that humans can come up with more creative ideas and not rely on intelligence. I really hope that AI doesn’t replace me in this lifetime haha.

I do think AI can help contribute to the creative process though and I’d be open to use it to better my music if it felt right for me – I guess I haven’t really investigated it enough just yet.

Technology has continually taken on more steps of the compositional process and "creative" tasks. From your point of view, where does "technology" end and "creativity" begin?

Just like a sample, if technology creates an idea or element for something, it’s then up to how you take that idea and make it your own -  that is going to make it special.

That wouldn’t necessarily mean changing it, but every creation is different and requires unique treatment. Whether it’s the processing, the arrangement, or the mixing, it’s ultimately what you decide to do with that “technology made” idea that makes it creative.

If you could make a wish for the future – what are developments in tools/instruments you would like to see and hear?  

I would wish for an effective AI marketing tool that manages and controls social media, marketing and all the other things I don’t love doing, but have to do as an artist in a digital world. That way I can focus all my energy on making the music I love and the creative process around that!