The Avener Talks Sophomore Album, New Single, and Life as a Deep House Icon

"I learn every day in the studio and things just evolve all the time."

Bryan Kehn

It's been 5 years since Tristan Casara released one of the most successful debuts in the history of European Deep House.

Known by his fans as The Avener, the 32-year-old released his infectious debut The Wanderings of The Avener to massive critical acclaim. The album peaked at #2 on the French charts and has since gone triple platinum. The project's lead single, "Fade Out Lines," was streamed worldwide over 200 million times and was certified diamond earlier this year. "A lot of people say 'congratulations' now," Casara said in a 2015 interview with Universal Music Backstage, "so that's a new word for me...and I'm very thankful for that." Casara hasn't released another solo album since, but that doesn't mean he hasn't been busy. "Musical culture is an extraordinary pillar to reinforce one's producing skills," the DJ told Popdust. "I learned to never under-estimate the musical background that the last 50 years offer me."

He has spent the last five years experimenting with and reworking other artists' songs in his We Go Deep sessions, remixing everyone from Bob Dylan and Lana Del Ray to underground deep-house up-and-comers like Grand Garden and Erolflynn. "I learn every day in the studio and things just evolve all the time thanks to [all the possibilities] of computers and technology." Casara is soft-spoken and modest; his We Go Deep sessions denote his passion for pushing the limits of his craft.

The DJ finally released "Beautiful," the first single from his upcoming untitled sophomore album, this past May. "I didn't want to deconstruct the tracks I reworked in 'The Wanderings,'" he said. "[I wanted to] give them electronic modernity without losing that original texture." His latest single is drastically different from anything on "Wanderings" and is completely devoid of the southern blues and deep house fusion that encompassed the entirety of his debut record. "The songs differ from each other in a more harmonic vein," he said. "Some you can dance to, some you feel melancholic too." After being "locked up in the studio," he says his sophomore record will "finally be out later this year." While "Wanderings" catapulted Casara into deep house stardom, the DJ still just tries to make it about the work. "In 10 years I'll probably still be in my studio chair," he says. "But instead I'll be looking over the Carribean while I work."



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