After winning the prestigious Best Newcomer DJ Award last year at the Vicious Music Awards Danny Avila is undeniably making his mark on the music scene; especially considering the DJ/producer is just 16 years old. Here we get to know a little bit more about the teenager who has shared the same stage as Fedde Le Grand, Martin Solveig and David Guetta and has also bagged himself a residency at Blue Marlin this summer.
Last year you won the Best Newcomer DJ Award at the Vicious Music Awards, how did this feel?
It was one of the happiest days of my life. I've been working really hard over the last years and I felt really proud to receive this award from such a professional outfit. I will continue working even harder to win more awards!
Your father has worked as the interior designer for many of the world's most famous nightclubs, was this something that encouraged your movement into the music scene?
I discovered my passion for music, especially electronic music, when I was 12 years old on my own. The fact that my father was designing clubs and hotels in Marbella helped me because his friends who owned the clubs let me into their DJ booth while DJ's like Fedde Le Grand, Axwell, Erick Morillo and many more were performing. That's how I had my first contact with big artists and I knew that I wanted to be one of them in the future.
When did you first decide that you wanted to be a DJ?
Actually it was not something that I just decided one day… I started DJ'ing in Marbella when I was 12 years old so it's always been something that I've loved doing from a very early age. But even before I started DJing, I played the piano when I was younger, so my life has always revolved around music in one way or another.
Who inspires you musically?
Well… that's a hard question because there are a lot of artists that inspire me musically. I have to say that Skrillex is one of my biggest inspirations as an artist and as a producer, it's amazing how his productions are made from the first detail to the very last. Fedde Le Grand is also an inspiration for me; he is so professional and I really admire the way he has focused on his career.
You have also had great success at various Wakeboard Championships, so which passion wins the race... Wakeboarding or DJ'ing?
I've always been a very sporty guy; I love practicing wakeboarding, snowboarding, skateboarding. I feel that my body needs to practice these sports, I always have a lot of energy so it's a great way to get it out of my system and enjoy myself at the same time. Now that my music has started to take off so much it really has become more of a hobby for me. I used to compete a lot, especially wakeboarding, but it was so stressful for me, putting in the amount of time and work you have to do to be at a competitive level. You might think, so what, the pressure must be the same if you have to travel around the world to DJ? For me it's different. I don't have to compete against other DJ's as I did when I did competitive wakeboarding. I still love wakeboarding a lot, but I'm not competing anymore.
You performed at Blue Marlin last year, describe this experience to us…
For me, playing at Blue Marlin is something different. Blue Marlin is such a beautiful beach club with an amazing location in Ibiza. It has a great vibe and people go there just to enjoy, dance, and have a great time with their friends. I feel really lucky to play there. The kind of music that I play there is more techy and deep but as I always say, I'm open minded to other styles. I have a residency there this summer so I will be doing a lot of shows, I'm really looking forward to it!
You were invited to play alongside Fedde Le Grand at his UK gig at Ministry Of Sound in February and gave clubbers an amazing 2 and a half hour set, how was the UK crowd?
It was the craziest crowd I've ever seen! Really, I had the time of my life playing with Fedde and Thomas Gold at Ministry Of Sound, which of course is such a legendary club. I always expected a lot from this party but not that much. It was on the next level, hopefully I wil come back soon!
How does it feel to be supported by some of the biggest names in the industry?
Since the early days of my career I've been really supported by DJ's in my country, they all treat me really well and they loved that a young guy was showing a big passion for music. Now it's amazing that big names like Fedde Le Grand and Eddie Thoneick etc are supporting me!
Can we expect to see you at any other venues in Ibiza this summer? If so where?
Well I've just confirmed my second Ibiza residence at Cafe Olé for 6 shows at Space Ibiza! I'm sure it will be huge, I'm really looking forward to this summer in Ibiza!
You also produce your own music, talk to us about the equipment you use and the sound you create.
I produce with Logic 9. As far as software is concerned I'm using all the Native Instruments products. I also just got the Maschine which I have to say is incredible but I'm still practicing with it. My sound is a mix of progressive and electro, with some techy and vocal touches.
