John Hayes, the Denver-based electronic producer known for his ambient, piano-driven compositions, is stepping into a new era with his latest full-length album, Closer.
Released on January 16 through Nettwerk, Closer is a cinematic sonic experience built through movement, not as a metaphor, but as a necessity. Forged through adversity, the album took shape during a period of forced stillness after a ski injury left Hayes unable to walk or perform for months.
Cut off from live shows and physical motion, he found himself fixated on rhythm and forward momentum, ideas that slowly began to reshape the way his music came together. Working through recovery, Hayes started channeling that restless energy into his productions, allowing motion, pacing, and intention to guide the shift beyond his signature ambient forms.
Through immersive textures, dreamlike melodies, and uplifting psychedelia, Closer not only captures that tension between stillness and release but pushes Hayes’ artistry into new uncharted territory.
Following the release, The Daily Frequency caught up with John Hayes to discuss the making of the album, translating movement into sound, and how live performance helped shape its final form, and so much more.
Check out the full interview with John Hayes below.
DF: Thank you for talking with us. Closer is such a beautiful sonic experience. How does it feel to put out such a deeply personal record?
John Hayes: Thank you, that means a lot. It honestly feels really good. It’s something I’ve been working toward for nearly two years, so finally having it out in the world is both a relief and a really rewarding moment.
When you live with a project for that long, there are so many ups and downs. There’s the excitement of the early ideas when everything feels fresh, then the long stretch of refining details, dealing with ear fatigue, and constantly second-guessing yourself. On top of that, there’s the challenge of sitting with music you’re excited about but can’t share yet. I think that was one of the hardest parts for me.
Now that it’s finally out, I feel like I can step back from it, take a breath, and genuinely feel proud of it.
DF: You wrote a majority of Closer after a ski accident left you unable to walk for several months. How were you able to overcome such a difficult period, and what inspired you to keep creating despite your limitations?
John Hayes: It was definitely a tough period, especially in those first few months. I had to adapt to a completely different pace. For a long stretch, I was pretty limited to my bed or the couch, and I couldn’t even spend long periods in my studio because there were concerns about blood clots during recovery.
I think the turning point came fairly quickly. It was right after I got my MRI and fully understood the scope of the injury. I ultimately found out that I had torn my ACL, MCL, LCL, meniscus, patellar tendon, and had a fracture in my femur. Once it sank in that this was going to be a pretty long recovery, I made a really conscious decision to shift my mindset and ask myself how I could make the most of that time. Making music has always been an outlet for me, and I really leaned on it. I wanted to be able to look back on that period and feel like something meaningful and positive came out of it, despite what I was dealing with.
DF: While you couldn’t walk physically, you channeled your desire for motion into your music. How did this shift toward rhythm, movement, and immersion change the way you approached songwriting compared to your piano-driven ambient sound?
John Hayes: Yeah, I had to really change the way I was writing during that period. Since I couldn’t sit in my studio for long, I put together a little makeshift setup on my couch with my laptop and a 25-key MIDI keyboard and worked from there. Usually, I start by playing chords or melodic ideas on the piano. It just comes more naturally to me, growing up playing the piano. But with that limited setup, playing full chord voicings wasn’t really an option.
Instead, I started drawing chords and melodic lines directly into the MIDI editor. I know that’s a pretty common workflow for a lot of producers, but it was very different for me and ended up being surprisingly freeing. I think it really broke me out of familiar piano habits and muscle memory and pushed me toward shapes and progressions I wouldn’t normally do. I also started building a lot of tracks from the drums up, really focusing on those first, and then adding melodic elements later once I could spend more time in the studio.
I think that new process had a lot to do with shaping the ideas on the album, but it also gave me new approaches and perspectives that I’ve carried forward since.
DF: What are your thoughts on the idea that everything happens for a reason, and do you think Closer would be what it is today if that ski accident hadn’t happened?
John Hayes: Hmm, that’s a tough one. Yes and no? Ha, I wish I had a better answer there. I was already moving toward this style of music before the injury. I was in the middle of releasing my Bloom EP when the accident happened, so the direction itself wasn’t too sudden.
I think Closer probably wouldn’t be exactly what it is without that experience. I’ve always loved ambient and piano-based music, and that’s still a huge part of who I am, but I’ve also been drawn to electronic music for a long time. Even while working on my first piano album By The Woods, I was experimenting with making electronic music in Logic and later Ableton, trying to refine my taste and skills in that world.
The accident happened right around the time I was starting to feel more confident in that side of my music. The upside, I suppose, was really the amount of uninterrupted time it gave me. I could open my laptop every day, experiment, and write consistently. That focus definitely shaped the album in a way that might not have happened otherwise.
DF: What was the biggest lesson you learned from this difficult period, and how has it impacted your overall approach to not just music, but life in general?
John Hayes: I don’t know if I’d call it a single lesson, but it definitely made me realize how much I lean on music as a way of processing life. I think it became really clear that without that outlet, things could have felt mentally overwhelming while I was recovering. Music gives me so many different entry points. Sometimes it’s about diving into technical rabbit holes and problem-solving, and other times it can be really simple and just an outlet to release emotions. That depth is really what keeps it so endlessly engaging for me, and it really helped carry me through that time.
It also reshaped my perspective on life a bit more broadly. It made me recognize how many everyday things I take for granted, like walking, sleeping comfortably, showering, and even moving from one room to another. I’m also very aware that things could have been much worse, and I feel incredibly grateful that the injury was limited to just my leg.
Coming out of it, that sense of gratitude for the small things and for having music as something I can always turn to, that mindset is something I’m carrying forward both creatively and personally.
DF: Do you think music has the ability to capture emotions in ways words or other forms of expression cannot?
John Hayes: Absolutely. I think that’s a big part of why I’ve always gravitated toward instrumental music, early on with piano and ambient work, and now through more electronic music. Even when music includes vocals, I’m often more drawn to songs where the lyrics aren’t quite spelling everything out or telling a complete story, but instead leave space for the listener to bring their own meaning and emotion into it.
Music has this unique ability to communicate things that are hard to put into words. There are a lot of times where you don’t quite know how to articulate how you’re feeling, but there’s usually a song out there that can translate that emotion perfectly. That’s something I find incredibly powerful and inspiring.
DF: Throughout the process, you tested early versions of several tracks on stage before they were finished. What do you look for when playing unfinished material live?
John Hayes: For me, it’s really about getting the music out of the vacuum of the studio and into a shared space. Having other people in the room really heightens your awareness of what’s working and what isn’t. When you’re alone in the studio, you hear everything in fragments over and over again, rarely experience it from start to finish the way a listener does.
In a live setting, that collective set of ears makes things super clear. You can feel when a section starts to drag, when a moment needs more space, or when something needs to hit harder. Early on, most of the people in the room probably didn’t know who I was, or were really there to see whoever was playing after me, and that actually made the feedback even more valuable, to be honest. If an unreleased track from an unfamiliar artist could make people stop what they were doing, move a little, or really connect in that moment, then I knew I was onto something.
DF: How important was it for you to create an experience that translates not only in a live setting, but also through headphones?
John Hayes: It was really important to me, and a lot of that comes directly from the artists who inspire me. I’m always drawn to music that works on multiple levels, something you can get lost in on headphones, but also immediately imagine experiencing in a live space. Artists like Four Tet, Overmono, Jon Hopkins, Tourist, Tycho, and Bicep do that incredibly well, in my opinion.
I think what allows that crossover to happen is emotion. No matter the tempo or style, the music always feels grounded in a clear emotional thread, and that’s something I’m constantly trying to bring into my own work. If that feeling is there, the music can translate anywhere.
DF: Now that Closer is out in the world, what do you hope listeners take away from the album?
John Hayes: At its core, this album was about pursuing the kind of music that genuinely lights me up. I never want to be boxed into a single label, pianist, ambient artist, electronic producer. I just want to make the music I’d be excited to hear as a listener, and to keep pushing myself to grow and evolve creatively.
In a way, Closer was very personal and necessary for me, but I hope that intention translates to the listeners. I hope that listeners feel that sense of momentum and possibility, that it leaves them curious and excited about what comes next. This record feels like a beginning rather than a conclusion, and I’m just scratching the surface of where I want to take things from here.