How did the collaboration for the Generation Wild Tour come about? Who came up with the idea? Should we be expecting any song collaborations with you, Deniz Koyu, and/or dBerrie?
Deniz, Mikael, dBerrie, and I are all in the same agency, but apart from that we are all friends and have been for a long time. Basically we all like to have fun and play; we all like to make wild, crazy shows. Just to be in the booth and play records; it’s all about making a show. The whole idea behind the Generation Wild Tour came from not only just doing a set, but having a crazy time as well. Also, to bring Kirill was a big goal because he’s all about having fun.
What has influenced the sound of Danny Avila? What is the inspiration behind the music you produce? Do you think that growing up in Spain has had a big influence on how your music is produced?
I am from Spain cause I was born in Madrid, but to be honest I don’t spend much time there because I am always on the road. Unfortunately, Spain is not the best place to be right now when it comes to dance music because electronic music is not as big there as it is here in America. My musical influences are definitely not from Spain; I would say that they are from all around the world. I like Knife Party a lot and Wolfgang Gartner. I don’t just stick to one style or one genre. I am not electro-house; I am not progressive-house… I like to play a bit of everything. In the middle of my set, I might play a hip hop track, and then dubstep, and then drum and bass, trap, and then go back to electro. You know it’s just always changing. For example, I personally think that it’s boring when you do two hours of an electro set.
So you were one of the artists on the MTV Clubland’s “artist to watch,” list in 2013. What is your biggest goal as a producer for 2013? What are you most look- ing forward to once this tour comes to an end?
Hmm, one of my biggest goals, as a producer, is to have my own album. It’s really hard though; it could take months or even years to make that happen. You need to do a lot of tracks, collaborations, and remixes as well, but that’s one of my goals. I just released a remix for Skylar Grey one week ago. Then I just finished a track almost two weeks ago, but I don’t even know the title or the label that it will be signed to yet. I’m just playing it out during this tour and I’m really happy with it. So you know I want to just keep working on music and keep my options open for remixes and such.
Speaking of the future, do you have collaborations planned that you would like to share with us?
Not really. Right now I want to focus more on my own work. I did this remix with Mikael Weermets, who is one of the guys on this tour, but right now, I prefer to focus more on my individual stuff. Of course I want to do col- laborations in the future though.
You’ve recently been posting photos on your Facebook of you in the studio. Could you give us any insight as to what might be coming from these studio sessions? Remixes, originals, collaborations?
Yes. As I was telling you before, I think my next release is going to be this track that still has no title. I want to release it in like a month or so and then I have a couple of options for remixes. I cannot say too much about it because it’s too early, but those are my main projects.
How has it been working with the infamous photogra- pher Kirill Bichutsky? Do you know of any crazy photos that he’s taken of you that have just really stuck out to you and just summarize this tour?
Well I think all of the pictures are just crazy. He’s definitely very important to the concept of the tour. For example, we have been touring for two weeks and he was out for two days already because he had other gigs
So everyone knows that you are younger than a lot of the current world-renowned artists. What challenges have you faced due to your young age? Has there been any problem with bookings for certain shows at 21+ or 18+ clubs/venues in the U.S.?
Yeah it’s crazy. Some people ask me how I am able to be in a club without being 18. I’m almost 18, I turn 18 in two months, but it’s quite crazy. I have special permis- sion at certain places. For example, in Vegas it’s very strict so I have to leave right after my set, but in general when I started DJ’ing at nightclubs I was like 14 or 15 so I was way younger and smaller. Like a half hour before my set I would come to the club and some people were like, “What is this kid doing? Go to bed man.” You know I got some weird comments about it, but now it’s all good.
Is it typical for producers in Europe to start DJing in clubs at such an early age?
Yeah I mean I started in clubs before 14 actually. I start- ed performing when I was about 12. I really just started out at friends’ birthday parties and just played for fun. It was just a hobby. Then because I was so young I didn’t have a chance to play in the nightclubs so I was doing my own parties with my brother. They were underage parties
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and it really felt like something was missing. He’s just so much fun and he’s such a great guy; you really feel when he’s with us taking all of the pictures because people go crazier.
Are there any future plans to have him on tour with you since you have now gotten so close with him?
I want to have him on tour. I want to bring him because he’s so much fun. I want to bring him to a couple of shows because then all of my fans can see what went down at the show. I can have like a proper gallery on Facebook of the gig and then my fans can really see what happened. I definitely want to do that with him.
The remix album for your song “Breaking Your Fall,” was recently released. Which song on this album do you tend to showcase in your live sets?
For the most part, I try to mix them all up. I always play the Mikael Weermets remix because it’s the one that fits my sound better, but I drop all. For example, when I have to play more like a warm-up set, I drop the dBerrie one. The Lucky Date remix is just incredible. It works so well especially for big rooms, festivals and the bigger crowds. So yes I’m very happy with the result of the remixes they all turned out very well.
with no alcohol or anything, but it was just for fun. I was taking care more of the music stuff and my brother was taking care of the organization of the parties. It was good fun. Then I had a chance to play in a nightclub and so I kind of switched to that scene, but it didn’t come all of a sudden. It came in small steps. My brother and I are very close and we like the same style of music so we were kind of like a team. I was playing the music and he was taking care of me.
How do you manage to host a radio show while travel- ing on tour? What are the main challenges you face when hosting “Ready to Jump?” Wow, the radio show takes so much time. I think it’s a good way of sharing and keeping people up to date with all the music that is coming out. It takes me so much time to find new, good music for each show, but for now I think it’s nothing because I want to take it to a higher level. I want to bring people who can have a guest mix; they can have an interview, and bring people to do col- laborations. That way, it’s not just like a 60-minute set, you know? I want to do something more with that.
You’re not only a superstar DJ/producer, but you are also a phenomenal skate, wake, and snowboarder. When you are on tour, do you often stop at local skate parks, lakes, or go board in the mountains? Where is your absolute favorite place to board?
I’m not a professional skateboarder, I just do it for fun, but I used to wakeboarding professionally. When I’m in Madrid and it’s summer time, I like to go with my friends to this one spot, which is called Pantano de San Juan. It’s a big lake and it’s like freedom; it’s so chill. We wake- board for the whole day, and forget about everything. There’s actually one spot in Orlando, which I want to go to so bad because it’s probably one of the best places to board in the world. It’s always been one of my dreams to go there so next time I go to Orlando I will definitely check it out. If I have some free time while on tour, I sleep or I chill. I don’t actually find the time to go to a skate park because I am always on the move. I do bring my board with me sometimes though.
You’ve really had quite the experience in this music industry and you still have a long career ahead of you. If you could give one piece of advice to the up and com- ing artists out there, what would it be?
My advice is always work hard. There are so many people saying bullshit about you… saying things that are not true; you have haters. You have to establish your own personality, be yourself, and of course work really hard because you are not going to get anything for free. You have to really work hard for it, so my advice is to have your own personality.
Be yourself, work hard, and rise above the negativity that will be brought upon you throughout your lifetime. According to Danny Avila, this is what it takes to be successful. These words summarize just how mature and down-to-earth this “teenager” is. While sitting down with Avila, we’ve realized that professionalism does not come with age but rather with experience. He has shown that he can set an example both behind the booth and behind the scenes for not only aspiring artists, but for world-renowned producers. Avila has come a long way since his start five years ago.
The Generation Wild Tour has been quite a success for all artists involved, especially Avila. The tour has helped spread his name and music to the masses. Avila has gained knowledge from his counterparts on the tour and has passed his hard work and intelligence onto them. Young, mature, and inspirational… this dance music generation’s prodigy is ready to leave his audience mesmerized.
WORDS BY: KIERA MILLER
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