In our new monthly returning column, we will have a chat with talented producers. This time we caught up with Avi8, a really talented euphoric hardstyle producer from Scotland. He is known for his tunes Wait Forever, Wildest Dreams and The Light Inside You. His tunes are really dreamy and melodic as hardstyle tracks used to be. It gives you that summer festival feeling right away. All of this made us want to know more about Scott Nicol.
Hi Avi8, you are really on a run lately, producing many great tracks, how are you doing and how was 2015 for you?
Hi man, thanks a lot for having me! I’m great thanks! 2015 for me was a great year, filled with many amazing things that I personally didn’t think I could achieve. The support just grew & grew as the year went on. So yeah, all in all, it was a great year!
For our new readers, can you introduce yourself?
I’m Scott (aka Avi8), I’m 20 years old and I’m from Scotland, UK. I’m mainly a euphoric hardstyle producer, although I like to experiment with other areas of hardstyle and other genres of music from time to time. Producing for me is a hobby, as I have a full-time job, so pretty much all of my free time goes into producing.
Let’s go back to the beginning, when did you get in touch with the harder styles?
It’s weird actually, I never used to like hardstyle, no matter how much I tried to listen to it. I was more into different genres of music. Then in 2009, a friend let me hear ‘Headhunterz – Scrap Attack’, and since then I’ve been completely hooked & can’t go a single day without listening to hardstyle!
When did you start producing?
I started producing at the start of 2012. Just messing around on FL Studio for a while before I started to actually build tracks. I then produced under the alias ‘Precizion’, then I made the decision to take it more seriously and start chasing my dreams, and I thought the best way to do that was to start up a new alias as ‘Avi8’ in 2014. And now, here we are!
Which producer did inspire you to start producing by yourself?
Probably Wasted Penguinz, I’ve always been in love with their music for as long as I can remember. But I always listened to the upcoming talents at that time, such as Atlantis, Cyber, D-Mind and Omegatypez to only name a few. Hearing how they progressed with each track inspired me to keep going.
Did you learn to master all the programs by yourself, or did you have some help?
I mainly taught myself how to use the programs, but from time to time I’d also watch tutorials to get a good understanding of what I was using. Once I know the basics of a program/VST, it’s just a case of messing around with it to see what I can come up with. But it always helps to do a bit of research first!
If we take a look at your producing process, how does it look like? Where do you start for example?
Well, for me, I can see how it has massively progressed in the past 2 years since I decided to take it more seriously. Making hardstyle kicks was always my biggest weakness, but the more I’ve experimented, the better they have become! Experimenting is one of the most important things to do when it comes to producing in my opinion.
Anyway, you can even look up my old channel ‘PrecizionMusic’ and you can listen to the progress for yourself haha!
Where do you get your inspiration from?
My inspiration comes and goes randomly. Sometimes I can start and finish several projects really quickly. Ideas will just flow and I can have many projects in the works at once. Other times, I’ll sit behind my PC for days and will come up with absolutely nothing. It really all depends on what my mindset is like on the day.
We think that you are one of the greatest talents out there at the moment, do you have any tips for other ‘bedroom’ producers?
Thank you very much! I really appreciate that! The number 1 tip that I can give other aspiring producers is simply, don’t give up. Nothing happens over night. All good things take time and all the sleepless nights will be worth it in the end!
Who is your all time hardstyle hero?
Definitely, gotta be Atmozfears. Everything he has made is gold. It’s quite rare to find a producer who’s just as good as producing raw and they are at producing euphoric.
Besides producing do you also like DJing?
I do really enjoy DJ’ing. But unfortunately, I’ve not had the opportunity to play for a crowd yet. I’m hoping I’ll get the chance sometime this year!
Where would you love to play sometime?
Like almost every hardstyle producer out there, my biggest dream is to play at Defqon 1 some day. The atmosphere at Defqon is just indescribable. The thought of being able to share my music with thousands of people from all around the world is just unreal!
At this stage, it’s still only a wild dream of mine, but I’ll always work hard each day to get a little closer to it!
You are a real example of a euphoric hardstyle producer, what do you think about all the RAWstyle musical violence these days. We see many people returning to the euphoric sounds nowadays. What is your opinion about all this?
I’m one of the lucky guys who love both euphoric and raw. Although personally, euphoric wins for me. But I do believe its good to have a balance of both. As much as I love emotional melodies, I also love massive raw kicks!
Avi8 – Loneliness (Preview)
You made a lot of solo tracks, but if you were allowed to pick a producer to collab with, who will it be?
Well, there’s so many producers that I would love the opportunity to collab with, but my first choice would have to be Atmozfears. Followed by Wasted Penguinz.
Besides listening to hardstyle, do you listen to something else?
I listen to loads of different kinds of music, such as chillstep, trap, house and UK hardcore. I don’t really judge genres. If I listen to it and I like it, I like it! Regardless of the genre.
Final Question: Do you have something to share with us, maybe something exclusive? Can we expect some new tracks for instance?
Well, I’m very happy to announce that I’ve signed with Gearbox, and my newest track ‘Loneliness’ will be released very soon! I also have many solo projects in the works at the moment, which some are almost finished, and of course, my collab with Cyber will be released at some point later in the year.
I’d just like to say, thank you all for your massive support so far and whatever this year might bring me… I’m ready!!