I’ve always been a producer – that’s how I see myself first. The DJing came second as a way for me to be able to perform.
I’ve always worn a lot of Ralph Lauren, and plaid shirts in general have been a signature piece for me. With plaid, you can look super-relaxed or you can look a bit dressed up.
When I started out, I was Avici with one i. But on MySpace, that name was taken.
I actually only started listening to house music around the time I started making it. I got hooked both to making music and to house music.
I have a hard time writing music when I’m on tour.
People in Sweden are very conscious of what people are saying about you.
I make sure to use both Twitter and Facebook a lot which helps me connect to the fans.
If I wanted to make a quick buck, there’s far easier ways of doing it. What I want is to provoke people. If you want a hit song, all you need to do is rewrite an old song. It might have been proven to work, but you won’t be remembered the same way.
When I started working on electronic music, that was after the rave period. I haven’t even seen that part of it that much.
I love DJing, I do. I love everything that comes with it; it’s fun and it’s kind of glamorous.
I’m a DJ. I get the party started.
I’m good at melody – I’ll write the top-line melody and ideal words I want to go with it. But I’m not that good at writing lyrics. I bounce those back and forth with songwriters or someone who can sing.
When it comes to electronic music, I started listening to a lot of Daft Punk, way before I knew what house music was, and then progressed into a lot of Steve Angello, Eric Prydz, Axwell, Sebastian Ingrosso, and Laidback Luke.
I’ve tried plenty of telephones. I tried to get into the Samsung Galaxy and the Blackberry, but the iPhone is just too easy to use. The camera takes clear pictures and the phone itself looks great. Like all Apple products, it kind of just makes sense.
I always just sit down at the piano and make the main hook – what I want the track to be about melodically – and then I’ll build everything else around that. But growing up, I did not play any instruments.
My dad has always been a big Ray Charles fan, and I’ve grown up listening to all kinds of music.
I’ve always had a fascination with making your own music but never have been skilled enough to play the instrument, so to be able to make music without the ability was awesome.
Obviously there is stuff that I wouldn’t play in a club that I play at festivals, and vice-versa, but my sets are still dominated largely by my own music. I think that’s what makes me stand out a bit. My music is also festival- and club-friendly, so it generally works out well.
I grew up listening to a lot of Ray Charles and ’60s rock, thanks to my father, and then my brothers got me in to KISS and whatnot, so I guess that’s where I got my first taste for music.
House music originated in America, and it has always been around, but I guess it just got a tighter hold on Europe and other parts of the world.