The Constellation of a Night

AVAION’s second album, TO MAKE PEOPLE HAPPY, is “all about energy,” whether it's frenetic, melancholic, intimate, or everything all at once. Its title flowered from a conversation he heard on the streets of Berlin as he was in the process of capturing field recordings around the city. One to listen and observe, he heard two people talking; “One said he does things out of love, to make people happy.” Albeit a simple sentiment in a stranger, it sat with him as he thought about his own goals, which all seemed to boil down to that same “primal” feeling—wanting to make people happy.

Outside of XOYO London, we walk down the street to find an afterimage of Kurt Cobain, whose energy is felt long after his passing. It’s another inked-in reminder that energy can’t be destroyed, and what AVAION creates even in one ephemeral night, transfers to the walls around him, the memories of those who hear him. He tells us about combining his own imagination with the real world through recordings, to make a “different world” that is always grounded in human connection.

As we chat, he even notices the “white noise from the air conditioning,” as he says, “You could record this and put it on a song, and then you have this really nice texturing.” You can feel his openness to everything—sounds, experiences, experimentation, emotion. Having recently worked with Ellie Goulding and Marshmello on “Save My Love,” he shares, “I was a bit scared, in a good way, of releasing with such people that have huge fan bases. If you’re a new guy, they might be like, ‘Who is this?’ But the whole feedback was really, really nice, and I learned not to overthink too much.” He even leaves himself open to fear and transforms it into something positive, something that can be shared and turned into an important lesson. He shares, “You always learn something new, and you need to be open to it.”

Even in his creative process, he lets inspiration lead him. He tells us about a production masterclass he recently taught, saying, “Students asked some questions, and I didn’t have a final answer for them because there’s not one approach to creating. You work with different people, see different things, observe, and try in the studio. Sometimes you add emotional feelings from your private life.” For those who hear him, his one hope is that they “feel whatever they want to feel.” He continues, “That is my main reason to keep an open section for their own interpretation.”

In keeping himself unguarded and hoping the audience does the same, they pour into each other, creating a single flow. At XOYO, he performed in the middle of the crowd, an intentional choice. He shares, “I really enjoy just looking in people’s eyes and seeing different reactions—some are crying, some are happy. You can have a whole room jumping and become one. That is one of the best feelings. You can smell people, feel the sweat, and there’s this strong connection and intimacy.” As he performed, some leaned back, eyes closed, while others jumped and raised their arms, all connected under a lattice of light. All knowing that, “In this constellation [of a night], it will never happen again like this.”

The crowd’s reactions inspire him as he recalls people “going crazy” when he first played “WACUKA,” which went viral, with the top comment being, “This is not music. This is a feeling.” But for AVAION, that is exactly what music is. He says, “When you have something special, you just know it.” Music heals; it makes people feel heard and seen. He recalls a girl at a show who was once really sick, and she told him that his music kept her alive, calling it “The most powerful thing to say to an artist.” And so, with his album releasing on 16th January, he hopes for happiness, the kind that comes in like warm sunshine in the winter.

TO MAKE PEOPLE HAPPY will be released on 16th January.