The Electro Poetics of The Avener

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The appointment is made with the artist for a telephone interview at 19 p.m., between two planes: ”I just woke up a minute ago. I was in Paris, Bonifacio, New York, and at the moment I am celebrating a few days at home, in Nice, before leaving for several dates in France and Switzerland. This pace is frantic, but in these times, the chaos that makes me feel necessary, because I am here to bring madness into this world!” This summer, he will mix on his land in Cannes, at Les Plages Électroniques, then in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, very happy to be back with his family and friends who cannot see him play regularly as he did when he first started as a DJ in Nice.

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His desire to make music appeared very early on: ”The first memory I have of a musical instrument is at the age of 5. Nothing amused me more than typing on the keys on children's keyboards. I joined the Nice Conservatory where I studied piano for ten years. As a teenager, I discovered Amon Tobin, Aphex Twin, Laurent Garnier, and Daft Punk, and I instantly plunged into the happiness of electronic music, which had no academic rules.” The artist mixes in bars, clubs, for birthdays, and offers himself his first machines to create computer-aided music (MAO). In 2010, he moved to Paris, and became a “ghost producer”, that is to say a shadow producer for composers who were already famous: ”I was paid to create musical chord suites.“ At the same time, he is building his personal project, exploring all genres, looking for musical lines and voices that will serve as “sampling”, a technique that consists in using a previously recorded sound source to integrate it into another musical context. ”I loved reworking titles that didn't work when they should have, but I didn't dare to go for it. Then, I realized that 90% of the songs produced were already sampled. So I freed myself. I opened a book about royalty in the 17th century, and I read the first word that inspired me. It was “The Avener”, the King's Groom, and I was baptized with it.”

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It was in 2014. Tristan, now The Avener, was working on a piece by Phoebe Killdeer, an Australian singer born in Antibes, “Fade Out Lines,” which he discovered by chance on YouTube. ”I immediately fell in love with this very melancholic and lascivious sound, but I found the rhythm too slow. In particular, I increased its speed by 30 beats per minute, and performed a “rework”, different from the simple “remix”, which changes the instrumentation, bass, etc.” This piece that we were listening to by the fire was transformed under his fingers into a dancing sound: ”That changes the whole intention.“ The Avener is offering the song free to listen to on the music platform SoundCloud, powered by a global community of artists, where he had a few subscribers. ”Very quickly, a Parisian music label that had just been created, 96 Musique, contacted me to produce me, then several major players in the music industry.“ In a few months, the title climbed to the top of the German charts, then became a global hit. ”I went from a few thousand views to 2 billion plays today on this record, which I had co-produced by Universal and 96 Music. And I still can't realize what happened to me. Except like a few days ago, during my live in New York, in Central Park, where I realized that the Americans know me! In a snap of my fingers, I went from nothing to everything, it's a storm of happiness, of joys, of encounters, of trips that has invaded me for ten years. Those who closed the doors are now saying yes. Fortunately, I was well surrounded, because you can easily lose your bearings.”

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Nice is part of this anchoring for the artist: ”It is a place that allows me to recharge my batteries, to do simple things. I see my family, my friends, I bike to the castle overlooking the Bay of Angels and I am always amazed by the beauty of this city. I've been around the world, I love Asia, but the French Riviera has everything!”.

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His wildly successful first deep house album released in 2015, “The Wanderings of The Avener”, triple platinum in France, gold record in ten countries, Victoire de la Musique Electro, is a concentrate of hits and “reworks”. The artist revives the sounds of Adam Cohen, John LeeHooker, Ane Brun or Kadebostany for “Castle in the Snow” and affirms a multiple repertoire. ”My style is very eclectic. It evolves according to my mood at the moment, I don't follow any trend. I can do rock, pop, folk... As long as it's good, I want to work on it. I browse music platforms in all styles, all eras, in search of gems.” The same year, he produced “Stolen Car” by Mylène Farmer and Sting, a title that was ranked first in France as soon as it was released. In “Heaven”, his second album, as sweet as powerful and joyful, released in 2020 and recorded with Rick Nowels who writes for Madonna or Lana Del Rey, The Avener multiplies collaborations and original songs: M.I.L.K., Bipolar Sunshine, AYO, and even the “rework” of a Bob Dylan record, “Master of War”: ”Bob Dylan loved my first album, discovered thanks to his brother, and asked me to work on this record written in 1963. An honor for me. At first I thought it was a joke! I loved collaborating on this sound that makes sense for current generations.”

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The latest opus of The Avener was released last June: “The Morning Sun”, a reinterpretation of a little-known song by Al Barry & The Cimarrons, one of the old reggae pieces that Bob Marley listened to over and over again. ”I started working on this title during lockdown, because I needed to relax. It immediately calmed me to listen to this piece recorded in a cellar in a traditional way. I brought him more guitars, bass, a more house music feel, which gives him a house reggae sound filled with smiles. It's sunny, I love playing it live.” The artist recognizes that he never feels as good as when he is on stage: ”In life, I am anxious, I am a perfectionist, constantly in doubt, and I always have just as much stage fright before my lives, whether 60 or 100,000 people, like at Humanity Day. But as soon as I go up the steps and reach my machines, I feel myself, useful, and time no longer has a hold. I feel free to spread a message of love. Seeing the faces of happy people, watching them dance and sing together in unity, creates peace. I have the impression of making them forget the heaviness of daily life, that their mind is escaping. These are rare moments that you experience in your life. This emotion can sometimes be reached in a loving relationship.” Her biggest memory? ”During the Old Plough Festival, in Brittany, in 2016. It was two days after the Nice Attacks and I almost cancelled my performance. Finally, I went and played “Imagine” by John Lennon, as a tribute to the victims, including my childhood sweetheart and his mother. 50,000 people sang to support me and give strength to Nice. An unforgettable moment.”

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After the summer release of “The Morning Sun,” a new album will be released in January 2025, during a concert at the Olympia in Paris. ”Since 2015, I have produced an album every five years. My labels Universal and Capitol Music understood my rhythm and did not put pressure on me. I take the time to do everything alone, at home, in Nice, without “beatmakers”, I don't want to make songs that expire quickly and I can spend several months refining a title, letting it rest, so that it can be accomplished. I want to do things with relief and sincerity, insert depth and emotion, while using my classical learning. I don't want to be a simple jukebox, but an artist who makes poetic electronic music.”

The Avener will perform on August 18 at the Electronic Beaches in Cannes and on August 24 at the Crossover Summer Festival in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat.

All tour dates: http://www.theavener.com

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Photo credits: © Samy La Famille, Jean-Baptiste Gurliat