Mozart started composing at age five; Pablo Picasso began painting at eight; Magnus Carlsen was a chess grandmaster by age 13. It is inspiring and enviable to encounter great talent at such a tender age. WORDS MARISA CUTILLAS
DJ DANNY AVILA
It’s All About the Music Danny’s love affair with music began early; he was only seven when he learned to play the piano; soon after, he delved into the challenging worlds of the violin and the guitar. As soon as he started making an allowance, he would save every penny to buy the equipment he needed to make his first forays into sound. He was 15 when he decided to set out and conquer the world, leaving everything he knew in Marbella to find his destiny in Madrid. “I couldn’t move to a higher level here”, he says, telling me that by age 14, he was already performing at clubs. Indeed, fledgling talent seems to run in the family, for his brother Sandro, a year older in age (who is also a successful DJ in Madrid), took charge of “all the promotion work” required to introduce Danny into this competitive world. It must have been odd, indeed, for club owners to even consider hiring a DJ who wasn’t even old enough to drink, yet Danny’s drive and indisputable talent was a formidable force to reckon with. In Madrid, Danny had a tough time at first. “It was really hard to get shows for the first six months or so”, he says, yet by the time he was 16, he had already nabbed his first residency. Influential DJs like Tiësto (who requested that Danny completed a residency alongside him at Pachá), no doubt paved the way for the young artist, who still pinches himself when he realises
that he is working with people who used to be untouchable Gods for him just three years ago. At one stage, I ask Danny if he feels old for his age and he answers, “No, I still feel young, because I’m just 18, but I’ve experienced a lot. I’ve travelled so much, met so many interesting people, DJs and performers”. Of course, I’ve never met an 18-year-old who has had to hire three companies to perform tasks like travel bookings or P.R.. “Oh no, no, there is no way I have the time to book my flights myself,” he says, with the steely self-confidence of a Fortune 500 CEO. I ask Danny if he still has time for hobbies and he admits to indulging a second passion: wakeboarding. If you thought he was born beneath a lucky star, you’re right, for he is as equally adept at sports as he is at creative pursuits: Danny placed second in the Spanish Wakeboard Championships in his youth, seventh in the European Wakeboard Championships and 12th in the World Wakeboard Championships. He also verges on pro skate- and snow-boarder status. He actually considered being a pro wakeboarder at one stage, though a nasty knee injury would soon put an end to those plans. Still, here he is, living the life the stuff that
dreams are made of. Earning more in an hour-long gig than most of us make in a month, meeting and working alongside the music world’s movers and shakers and having fun while he’s at it. Yet surely what is most enviable about Danny, is something within the reach of everyone: the way he loves what he does with his heart and soul. In person, he oozes joy, kindness and a rare maturity which is warmed by his youthful smile. This kind of pure energy only comes from being true to oneself. Danny has no set plans for the next few years; right now, he is too busy taking the world by storm, playing club after club, racing through the skies and most importantly, making great music. Watch out for his new singles, Tronco and Rasta Funk which can be purchased on your favourite music sites. Danny also has his very own radio show: Ready to Jump, broadcast by SiriusXM, the largest purveyor of dance music in North America.
g www.djdannyavila.com www.facebook.com/dannyavilaofficial/info www.bigstage.se
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