Arriving just in time for winter, Regrow, the debut album from electronic project Vonavi is the perfect blend of icy, dreamy and beautifully haunting. Peppered with guest vocal spots from Run Rivers and Lorna Rose, the album plays almost like a movie soundtrack, evoking emotion from every single ebb and flow of sound. For songwriter and producer Andrei Ivanov, the mastermind behind Vonavi, Regrow is far from his first project, as he has worked with P&G, FujiFilm, and Jeep, and has scored two long documentaries for AOL and TechCrunch, but it does mark the beginning of a new journey for him. The album serves as the perfect introduction to Vonavi for those who haven’t listened to him yet and will certainly keep you hanging on for more.
With Regrow out now, we caught up with Vonavi to talk about his writing process, goals for the album and plans for the new year. Listen to the full album and read the interview now below.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself for anyone who might not be familiar?
I’m a 26 y.o. music producer and composer from post Soviet country. I’m interested in searching for new sounds and melodies. I’m a big fan of classical music – Debussy, Chopin, Satie and more.
You released your debut album, Reflection last month. Now that it has been out for a little bit and you’ve had some time to reflect on it, what are some of your favorite things about the album?
I feel good about releasing my album. Finally, I can show it to the world, put a mark in my life achievements. I did the entire album by myself except vocals. It was a long road not only for making process but also releasing it. I needed to take steps to release it. I trained my patience a lot! Now I can move to a new “Reflection” 🙂
It being your debut album, was there anything you really wanted to accomplish on Reflection?
It was something that happened to me by not knowing what I’m doing. I only knew that I want an album with vocalists so I made a big effort to search for right ones. I didn’t expect to have music videos for my music. Somehow I did some connections in film world and got on board with me some amazing directors.
Did you come across any major challenges while working on the album?
Constantly having writer blocks and overcoming them. 🙂
Another one is finding good vocalists. That took a while. Sometimes you can find one and then you got ghosted. Or vocalist doesn’t feel the vibe of the track and destroy it. It took me a lot of patience to find great vocalists.
What was the most rewarding thing about working on the album?
Is the moment when you finally got a good idea and you’re having Goosebumps.
It’s the reason why I keep doing music. But I need to fight for those moments. It doesn’t come easy for me.
And in the end having all finished songs in my folder on my hard drive is the most satisfying feeling in the world. I know that it’s just frequencies but to me is something physical, something you can touch.
Aside from Reflection, you’ve also worked with quite a few companies and directors to score music as well. How does writing for yourself compare to writing for someone else?
Writing for someone else is much much easier. Director usually comes with a task or idea. You have less options in the beginning. So you have your framework. Its like someone gives you 3 colors and you need to do something creative with it. And I don’t get paralyzed with millions of options, mind restrictions, procrastination etc…
Making my own music is much harder for me. It’s like doing self therapy, it needs time and effort.
You also worked with a handful of other artists on Reflection – what do you feel they were able to bring to the table to lend to these songs?
They gave an extra dimension to my music. Also having another pair of ears helps a lot. I’m trying to be open as much as I can. So I like to get feedback from every person who’s involved in the track.
What do you hope listeners will take away from Reflection?
This album is just the first step. It’s just an introductory to my sound. I hope right people will stick to my music and see my growth as an artist.
With Reflection out now, do you have any other big plans for the rest of 2019 or beginning of 2020?
I wouldn’t say big plans:) Just keep doing music and looking for some new sounds for next album maybe. And also I’m doing some music for short films and Ads.
Thank you for taking the time to chat with us! Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Thank you for the interview! I want to give a self advice – never stop doing what make sense for you! Peace:)
STAY CONNECTED WITH VONAVI: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram