TAIPEI, TAIWAN – Internet sensations come and go, but there’s always that one person whose burst of popularity does not recede into the bowels of the web.
French EDM producer and composer David-Henri Aubin, who’s known publicly as Divyns, charmed social media users’ hearts in Taiwan by remixing everyday sounds into his music.
Around a week after his sudden burst of popularity through his electronic music song remixed with sounds and beeps heard on his ride of the Taoyuan Airport Metro, the China Post met up with him in late February to talk about his musical journey in Taiwan.
Early Beginnings
Divyns began to make music when he was 10.
“I was really interested in creating music. When I was a kid, you play a note and this note … so it was really interesting for me. I enjoyed creating music, to do something different by myself … and so I started to compose a lot, did pop, and started to do EDM five or four years ago.”
For his musical influence, he says there is “one person who really changed my life and that’s Michael Jackson.”
“I think he is maybe the best artist in the world, and we may never know another Michael Jackson,” Divyns says.
“He changed my life about music about dance. The way that he gives emotions to people is really crazy too.”
When asked if that was why Divyns incorporated Michael Jackson’s iconic dance moves into his music videos, the French composer confirmed: “Yes, exactly, you can see that in my videos.”
Divyns also said choosing to pursue EDM was a conscious decision.
“If I start to make EDM, I was thinking it was easier to bring it into Taiwan, perform at nightclubs for example.”
Compared to pop or R&B, he says creating EDM would probably provide him a greater shot at fame.
But, a more important factor for Divyns is musical expression.
“I can keep my musical feelings in any kind of music. That is the most important thing.”
Aside from that, doing EDM is less reliant on vocals. “I don’t need to sing. I was a singer, but it’s not my first skill,” he jokes.
“You’re just by yourself, with a computer, a keyboard and you can bring a lot of emotion with that.”
Since settling down in Taiwan five years ago, Divyns has cultivated a following of local fans on his Facebook through posting music videos of him performing EDM or finding musical inspirations from our everyday surroundings.
Step-by-step
What really gave him a burst of popularity was his music “step-by-step” tutorial-like video of him composing a catchy EDM tune in a Taoyuan Airport MRT cabin during the metro line’s trial run.
“I basically wanted to make a video about art, a step by step video,” Divyns says, adding he was shocked at how the video took off.
“I started to make the music a long time ago. At that time, I didn’t know anything about the new metro line.”
Originally, Divyns planned to shoot the video on the red line with his friend, from Minquan West Road Station to Tamsui Station.
“A day later I saw a friend on Facebook who said they wanted to take the new line and had an invitation,” Divyns said, laughing how he called his friend immediately and told him “that it changed my life.”
As an artist, he said he definitely believed that he was capable of making something that could go viral.
So really, he said he didn’t know what to expect at the time before taking the Airport MRT.
“I had no idea if we could shoot inside or we should stay in a group. But, we were really lucky there was a lot of space and it was exactly what I wanted.”
Compared to past videos, Divyns felt a tinge of hope after shooting the Taoyuan Airport MRT music video.
“I had a feeling that …this could work.”
He usually reserves his expectations for most videos, but thanks to the discussion surrounding the new metro line, it had bolstered his hopes that this video would go viral.
Despite the popularity and going viral, Divyns says he’ll keep himself grounded and keep carrying on his work.
“As for working with other artists, I’ve gotten a lot of messages (for collaboration), but I’m open to anything, everything.”
“I have a lot of projects and it gets a little crazy sometimes, but I try to clear my mind and slow down.”
Since speaking with Divyns, he performed for the Taoyuan Airport MRT opening ceremony (a gig he had revealed during the interview with enthusiasm.), rolled out more videos of him collaborating with local artists and of him composing music using a Taiwan Beer beer bottle.
What’s in store for Divyns in the future is hard to say, but definitely there will be more music videos of him blending the everyday sounds in our surroundings into his music.
