Interview: Pavel Doronin

Pavel Doronin's ambient work begins with memory: the glow of old weather broadcasts, the scent of dill in a kitchen, childhood encounters with Pink Floyd and Kitaro, and the strange magic of everyday city sounds. Now based in London, Doronin turns these fragments into introspective sonic worlds shaped by modular synthesis, vintage Japanese instruments, storytelling, and curiosity. In this interview, he reflects on searching for ambient records, building music from personal narratives, preparing his debut album on SWIMS Records, and why the journey toward finding his sound may never really end.

General info

Artist Name: Pavel Doronin

Location: London, UK

How long have you been making music? I have been making music since the mid-1990s, when I was at school. While my friends were exploring video games, I was spending sleepless nights exploring trackers in MS-DOS. At one point, a local radio station featured my music, which motivated me to continue.

 

Social Media / Music Links

paveldoronin.com
paveldoronin.bandcamp.com

 

Do you release music under a label or independently?

Independent

 

Creative process and inspiration

What drew you to ambient music in the first place?

I encountered ambient music many times throughout my childhood. I vividly remember three things from those early days.

One was a weather channel that used Jean-Michel Jarre's “Ethnicolor” intro with footage of Earth from space. As a child, I was very curious about this kind of music and would always wait for the weather report at the end of the news.

Also, one day, my mother brought home the Pink Floyd album Wish You Were Here, and when I heard that long intro to “Shine on You Crazy Diamond” for the first time, I thought, “Wow, this is unbelievable!”

My mother also liked the Kitaro album Silk Road, so I listened to it as a child and became interested in music that sets the scene.

I think my pivotal moment with ambient came later with the Polygon Window track “Quino-phec” — I think this was the point when I started actively looking for ambient records.

Can you describe your creative process when starting a new track?

Throughout my music career, I have explored a variety of genres, ranging from techno to indie pop. The creative process usually starts with a rhythm or a catchy phrase, and then I try to make sense of it. When I produce ambient music, I think this process is reversed — I start with an idea and then consider how I can express it sonically. The idea for my recent EP Dill, for example, came to me while I was cooking and chopping dill. The scent reminded me of my mother's cooking, and I had a moment of introspection when I remembered how I felt as a child and what I was curious about. Then I started thinking about how to put this into a sonic form. I recorded domestic sounds that reminded me of early memories and recorded vintage Japanese synths — Casiotone and Omnichord — to reflect my naive and honest view of the world back then.

Also, the idea for my upcoming album Genius Loci, which is due to be released on SWIMS Records in October, came from my desire to explore the magical powers of the various places where I have created music over the years. This started with a simple melody that had been in my head for years and continued with the unexpected creative spark I got from watching people play tennis in an East London park. I gathered all these ideas in my notebook, and then started thinking about how to express them musically.

What kinds of experiences or environments tend to inspire your work most?

It's usually the simple things that act as guides to the unexplored corners of your inner world. For example, it may sound banal, but the combination of gusts of wind, rustling leaves and birds chirping has a magical, natural rhythm beyond musical measures. When you listen attentively, it opens the door to your inner self and helps you learn something about yourself that you did not know.

In a busy city, it might be something unusual that catches my eye or ear — an unusual creak of a bus door, street art that makes you pause and think, or a small shop window that reveals something intimate about the owners and surpasses the usual marketing messages of high street shops.

I usually make short notes on my phone or in my notebook about these moments.

What atmosphere or emotional space are you trying to create with your music?

I think my music is an invitation to an introspective journey — this is me showing you my world, now tell me about yours. Who are you in it? What do you feel?

What moment made you feel like you had truly found your sound?

I think this journey will never end! Pavel Doronin is my real name, and it is also the seventh music project that I have launched. I'm always looking for something new. One of my fears is becoming less curious and no longer exploring the world.

So I think I am far from finding my sound — maybe I never will!

How important is storytelling in your work?

This is very important. As I said, I start by writing the story, because the narrative behind the music is very important to me. Of course, you don't need to know the backstory to enjoy the music — you can create your own narrative. I think storytelling is mainly important to myself.

I also enjoy reading stories about other artists' music. For example, I read about William Basinski's Disintegration Loops, where he discovered that the tape was physically falling apart as it passed over the tape head, so he recorded the music literally decaying in real time. He said that it's about how death is also part of life. Furthermore, while working on this album, he witnessed the 9/11 attacks from his rooftop, adding another layer of meaning.

What makes a track feel “finished” to you?

Ha! This is a tough one! It's difficult to know when a track is finished. My approach is to set a deadline to draw a line after I've polished the track and captured a creative idea. Otherwise, I'll never finish anything!

I worked on the upcoming Genius Loci album for 21 months, and I think the only reason I finished it is because I had to send the multitracks to the mixing engineer.

Which artists (or even non-musical influences) have shaped your artistic vision?

I would say this list would be very long, but the first names that came to my mind were Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada, Taylor Deupree, Salvador Dalí, Wassily Kandinsky, Quentin Dupieux (as a film director) and Charlie Kaufman.

 

Gear and setup

Are you using hardware instruments, software, or a hybrid setup?

I would say it depends on the goals.

I have a modular synth that is always changing and evolving. I also have some old Casio synths, an old Omnichord and various other synths and boxes, such as the Octatrack. I buy and sell a lot in order to explore.

I use software synths too — Reaktor, Pigments, Iris 2 and Massive X are my favourites. I want to try out the new Absynth 6 — it looks very interesting!

What's your favorite piece of gear or plugin, and why?

I am currently obsessed with the Instruo Arbhar and the Make Noise Morphagene. When I got them, they both literally blew my mind. I'd say they've completely transformed my workflow. The ability to sculpt sound so freely has helped me to push my own boundaries.

I also like my old Casiotone MT-70 from 1982 — it has such a nice, mellow sound.

 

Challenges

What's been the biggest challenge so far in creating ambient music?

I'd say my biggest challenge is playing ambient music live. I still don't know the best way to connect with the audience, given that it's not a rock or pop show. I need to work out how to make it immersive and not boring, how to play tracks live without getting bored myself, and what the best type of venues are to play in.

I understand the power and flexibility that a laptop offers on stage, but I deliberately don't use one, which creates many potential issues with my live setup, especially with the modular synth.

How do you stay motivated or inspired when you're in a creative rut?

I don't usually look to music for inspiration when I'm stuck. I prefer to go to galleries or watch films.

There's a track on Genius Loci that tells the story of when I was stuck creatively, and then I went to the Tate Modern to see the Kandinsky and Blue Rider group exhibition. Seeing how his creative process evolved inspired me so much that, after a few months' hiatus, I went home and recorded a track in one go.

How do streaming platforms affect the way you release music, or what is your relationship with those platforms?

I mainly see streaming services as a means of reaching an audience rather than as a source of income. I also don't think major streaming services care much about niche or emerging artists, what with all their monetisation thresholds and locked features for those who don't have thousands of monthly listeners. They have changed the way we consume music, but they have also affected the way we enjoy it. I prefer services with editorial curation, such as Qobuz and Cantiliever, which I currently really like. With Cantiliever, you have access to a limited number of albums for a limited time, each of which has an editorial article.

What are your thoughts on AI's impact on music and art? Have you, in any form, used it in your approach to creating and shaping ideas?

I'm not against it and am actively exploring it to test ideas, but I haven't released anything with AI elements yet. For me, it's mainly a playground and a useful creative tool for quickly seeing how things might sound from different angles.

I see people producing entire songs with AI, releasing them, and there are more AI-generated songs in the streaming charts. I think that's OK for the mass market, but if you're looking for something original with a personal touch and a story, AI is not about that at all.

How do you see AI evolving in music and art? Are you cautious about it, or do you think it will increasingly function as a tool within creative workflows?

I am not cautious about it. I think that, once the hype has died down, it will become an integral part of many creative processes. However, I don't think it will destroy the industry.

What are you currently working on?

My first album is coming out on 9 October on the London-based ambient label SWIMS Records. I am very excited about that! Before then, I will release a remix EP for Dill, and I am currently working on my live show and iterating it a lot after each performance.

What advice would you give to new ambient artists?

I will quote Frank Zappa from his interview with Trooper Charles Ash of the Pennsylvania State Police, 1981: "There are two things that you have to do: one of them is to not stop, and the other one is to keep going."

 

The sound of Pavel Doronin