Hailing from the South of Germany, singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist AVAION set the first milestone in 2019 when his celebrated debut single “Pieces”, released by Sony Music, went Platinum. The various versions of ‘Pieces’ now have a combined total of over 100 million streams, more than 75 million of which are on Spotify alone. With more than 500 million total views on TikTok, IG Reels, and YouTube and entries in the Top 50 in nine countries on Apple Music, “Pieces” has become an important pillar of AVAION’s creativity and artistic identity. AVAION delights and inspires more than 2.7 million Spotify listeners every month – and this number is rising quickly thanks to his range of releases that include ‘Fallin’, ‘Love Again’ and his current single ‘Lies’. We grabbed a moment of AVAION’s time to talk more about his career and success so far.
HI AVAION, thanks for joining us here on Fresh Music Freaks. Where are you in the world right now?
Hey! I’m currently in my hometown Studio in Germany
How did you get into electronic music and what do you love most about creating music?
I had a deep love for electronic sounds since I was a kid, so I knew I wanted to do something like that. I think the combination of instruments and synthesizers can trigger something very exciting in you and I pay a lot of attention to that in my productions. It’s a beautiful feeling to put your emotions into music and trigger something in people that makes them dream.
We’ve seen you playing the keyboard and guitar. Do you play any other instruments?
I played the Organ as well. It was such a powerful instrument, and I will never forget that time.
Your career has had a rapid jump forward over the past couple of years. How are you managing this? Has it been a big change in your daily life?
It has in fact become less stressful than in the beginning. Even if the responsibility and success have increased and I now have a lot more appointments because of the music than before, I still have less stress than in the beginning because I could quit my “normal” job to concentrate fully on the music. This gives me much more time and opportunities to develop and progress in music.
When you want to create a new song, what sort of process do you go through? Is there a structure to your creative process or do you just jam until an idea comes out?
I usually start with chords that I play either on the guitar or on my midi keyboard. This is usually enough to inspire me enough to start a track. Fortunately, I do it very easily and I am very grateful for this gift. Sometimes samples also help to inspire me.
You are perhaps best known for your hit record ‘Pieces’ – which has over 100 million streams online and has gone Platinum. What tracks, remixes or mix-sets would you recommend to someone that is not yet familiar with your music?
I would recommend starting with ‘Pieces’ to get the whole vibe of my music then ‘Lies’ and ‘I don’t know why’.
Having such big success early in your career, how do you keep yourself grounded? What are your go-to ways to relax and tune out from the studio process?
For years I had a normal job besides music and learned what it means to work hard for money and to deal with it. That keeps my mind focused and cool. To stay balanced I started with sports and discovered meditation for myself. I also enjoy just hanging out with my friends or just doing nothing.
What was it like working with VIZE on the new version of your track ‘Pieces’? Did the experience teach you anything?
It was of course a great honor for me that VIZE made a new version of my song because I admired the guy’s music for a long time. I love the vibe of Leony’s voice, and I think it added a very special touch to the original version.
Which artists inspire you?
I don’t really have big inspirational Artists. I like a lot of artists from all different genres. I try to put the best out of every genre together and created my own one.
You have a new single called ‘Lies’. What is the story behind this song and how long did the track take to complete before it was released back in April?
The song is a small self-reflection in which I describe the power of lies, through my own experiences. The song was finished relatively quickly. I think it took me 2 weeks from start to finish. Some songs take longer, some have a faster workflow, and you quickly find the inspiration to finish them.
What are you most grateful for about being able to be a musician every day?
Doing what I love and touching people with it. Making a career with your passion and inspiring people is one of the best feelings. I am very grateful.
What is on your agenda for the near future and what are you currently working and focusing on?
It will be a very exciting year. There will be a lot of new music coming with songs that will surpass all previous ones. There are also a lot of gigs planned around Europe.
