AVAN LAVA Reveal New 'Take This City' Remix

AVAN LAVA revealed a brand new remix from "Take This City" by That's Nice (embed). on their way to the West Coast for their shows in Los Angeles on Saturday 9/26 and San Francisco's Folsom Street Fair on Sunday 9/27. The video for that anthem "Wanna Live" premiered via EW.com HERE earlier this summer, who called it "a starkly shot clip that mirrors AVAN LAVA's sound". The sleek music video is the directorial debut of Alexander Hammer from the production company HUE&I CREATIVE COLLECTIVE. Alexander Hammer has also been responsible for the editing work on Beyonce's Life Is But a Dream and On The Run Tour: Beyonce and Jay Z documentary.

AVAN LAVA released their Make It Real EP via the JD Samson co-founded label Atlas Chair to critical acclaim. The band has been making a stride the past few months with praise from supporters like NPR at SXSW, FADER Magazine, NYLON's 11 break out artists at SXSW,IndieShuffle interview, Interview Magazine interview, NY Magazine, Time Out NY, Noisey interview, IDOLATOR etc etc. Besides the critical praise they also reached#1 on the Hypem Charts with their LEFTI remix of "Wanna Live", that Your Music Radar called "you could be forgiven for mistaking this as a new Basement Jaxx track."

In a culture seemingly obsessed with irony and self-seriousness, NYC's dance-pop pioneers AVAN LAVA are a breath of fresh air. Or, to be more specific, they are a big, bright, confetti-filled breath of fresh air that, upon breathing, causes a person to dance, sweat, and smile uncontrollably. The band have staked their claim as one of New York's most vibrant pop acts-a kind of natural bridge between late night club culture and kaleidoscopic pop theatricality. In doing so, the trio of Ian Pai (producer/drummer), Le Chev (producer/keyboard/guitar) and TC Milan (vocals) have earned a fervent fanbase and managed to bring their raucous live show to points all over the globe.

The group last EP-Flex Fantasy-proved to be a commercial breakthrough, fine-tuning the trio's penchant for marrying soulful vocals and sanguine beats. In addition to a seemingly endless amount of touring, the EP also produced three videos (including a gorgeous clip for "Sisters", filmed in San Juan) and lead to a long-standing collaboration with famed fashion photographers Inez & Vinoodh, for whom AVAN LAVA created original music for the duo's fashion campaigns. They also contributed music to campaigns for Dior, Mango, Viktor & Rolf, Calvin Klein, and Miu Miu-collaborations that not only kept the band occupied, but kept them at the cultural forefront. Now, after constant touring, collaboration, and logging countless hours in the studio, AVAN LAVA returned with Make It Real-a six-track EP that pushes the group's seamless, club-friendly sound into the stratosphere.

The six tracks on Make It Real show off AVAN LAVA's various strengths, not just as great pop songwriters but also in terms of production. "Take This City" and "Last Night" (a track championed by BBC Radio 1's Annie Mac) are the kind of classic, house-inflected party tracks that sound equally huge played in headphones or blasting across a dance floor. Elsewhere, "Leave it All Behind" is the kind of euphoric tour de force that has become the band's stock in trade-an empowerment anthem that seems tailor-made for late-nights out and/or high-fiving yourself in the mirror. Le Chev described the track to The FADER as follows: "When you finally take a minute to gain perspective, you're not where you set out to be. 'Leave It All Behind' is about having the courage to start over, even if that means losing everything. It's about making the space for freedom in your life."

So much about AVAN LAVA's modus operandi can be summed up in their live show-a constantly evolving spectacle involving backup dancers, custom designed light shows, and the occasional confetti cannon. At a time when the idea of a live show often involves little to no production and not much in the way of sense of humor, the AVAN LAVA live experience is essentially the opposite: big, bright, and fundamentally joyous. For the uninitiated, seeing AVAN LAVA play live is something akin to being to being taken to church-a sweaty, messy, club-shaped church where everyone is encouraged to stop worrying about being cool and dance their asses off. This spirit of euphoria-the shaking off the negative and embracing happiness-has always been at the heart of what AVAN LAVA is all about. It's also the driving force behind the tracks on Make It Real.

AVAN LAVA - Make It Real EP (out 3/31 via Atlas Chair):
1. Leave It All Behind
2.Take This City
3. Wanna Live
4. Ooo Eee
5. Last Night
6. Paper Heart
07. Why Can't I Fall In Love (bonus track)

?photo credit: Sioux Nesi

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