Huge Avi fan here. He can compose, write, sing, and pull deep emotions out of you. This guy is going to leave a body of work that will last for generations.
An interesting note - when asked which song he loves most to perform live, Avi answered "Change on the Rise", because the audience always really gets into singing along, which is deeply gratifying and enjoyable for him.
I've always loved this song because for me, it speaks to social justice and equality, which is a very appropriate message for today with everything going on.
I've always loved this song before for me, it speaks to biblical justice. Christians fighting back against the sinful world through loving people and battling the evil that tries to take each of us down.
All the voices are Avi.. The bass note that is being decended to in the background after Avi says "we're going strong..." is a C2 There are also 1st octave underlying bass notes in the end under the chorus...
He talks about writing music that is absolutely his own. It sort of fits in the Folk genre but someone called it Renegade Folk and to me thats closer to the truth. He layers his voice in all the songs on this EP, going from the highest notes you hear to the deepest bass. What he sings and writes about are real events and emotions from his life. If you have paid attention to life at all you will find yourself relating to the music he makes. Avi is brilliant.
0:53 Looks very much like the ends of a Talis, which is a Jewish prayer shawl. (also pronounced "Talit", depending on the Safardic or Ashkenazie translation) (I might have spelled those wrong) xD There's a lot of meaning behind the lyrics and the images in the video. Like "All the fire we can breathe". Breath and Spirit are a very similar (sometimes the same; spelled Rosh, Vav, Chet) word in Hebrew. so the lyric right before the torches being lit is very symbolic of how a person's faith can spread and "light fires" in the spirit other people, which is a source of inspiration. There's quite a few interviews where Avi stated that he hopes his music is inspirational to his listeners. So this song is not just beautiful to listen to, it's also beautiful in the video design and the lyric. :) Glad you enjoyed it. I enjoyed your reaction! :)
You DEFINITELY need to listen with headphones, there are sooo many layers to his music. Renegade folk is the closest description for him. The video was actually shot at his home in Tennessee. You need to check out 'I'll Get By' for the diversity of his music, and 'The Summit' for range.
It's the Avi genre. 😉 I loved watching you both grooving along with the head bobs. 😊 In addition to Avi's amazing vocals, the cinematography for so many of his videos is fantastic too!
Some people call it Americana, I do not think you can categorize Avi, he is in a class all by himself. Yes, all the voices are Avi, he said he only used a little organ, tambourine and some percussion. Everything else is Avi layered. May I suggest, It Knows Me. Also this is from his second EP. His first EP is Sage and Stone by Avriel and the Sequoias. Avriel is his name, Avi for short.
It's hard to recommend which Avi song to do next, but I'd say you should go back to the first solo EP he did while he was still in PTX, and which was released soon after he announced he was leaving - "Sage and Stone". It's under the name Avriel and the Sequoias (Avriel being his real first name, and the Sequoias being 3 good friends who are excellent musicians). The Sequoias actually only back him up on a couple of songs. The rest are just Avi. You might start with his popular cover of Outkast's "Hey Ya!", then there's "Quarter Past Four", "Fields and Pier", "Sweet Adeline", and the quiet, haunting "Sage & Stone". Then you can move on to his latest songs on the "I'll Get By" EP - "Otherside"(not on the EP but it was on a singles release), "I'll Get By", "It Knows Me", "Sweet Adeline Part 2", "Chains", "Born in California", and "Full Moon". Note - not all of the songs have videos for them.) It's a lot, to be sure, but if you chip away at it, you'll see his growth as a composer and performer. And I've seen him live 3 times in the last year, and he is just as fantastic live (I have videos on my channel of San Francisco and Dallas shows, audio of Houston).
🙂 NOT his first solo stuff!! But his first on his new musical journey!! This his writing arrangement and he does his own backing harmonies!! Genre: EPIC!! Movie soundtrack!!💥 PLEASE listen to some of his older solo stuff / side projects while still with PTX.. Sweet Adeline Hey Ya! Quarter Past Four Fields and Pier
Yes, he did all that. No voices here but his. Recorded each part and edited them together. Minimal instrumentals and electronics as well, most background sound effects was him as well. I like that deep low growl way in the background. This is far from his first independent work. Go to his official web site and you'll see. He was doing folk-style stuff with a group called Sequoias for a bit.
Powerful, demanding and encouraging, all for the same reasons: it demands courage of the listener (even if the only listener is the singer) and it declares confidence in the future victory.
Avi has some great stuff. He has done a bunch of short videos for Acapella Academy. He does a great live performance of House of the Rising Sun too. I love him ❤️❤️❤️😍🥰
This video makes me a little emotional. I miss Avi aka **Jesus **.. I love this song & just imagine listening to this with headphones. 🗣🗣 CAN YOU SAY EARGASM!!! 😩😩😩
Update from Avi on new appearance of his song "So thankful that Change on the Rise was featured in the new show Resident Alien on SYFY! Greetings to any and all life forms who have found my music from the show 👽 ✌️"m #ResidentAlien " Avi Kaplan Feb 12,2021 sampled on SO1 E03 @ 40:30 then 43:31 to the end.
He did also release some songs under Avriel and the Sequoias back in 2017 that are just as amazing.... Quarter Past Four, Sweet Adeline and I also enjoy their cover of Hey Ya
Yeah, he is kind of a new fusion genre that doesn't have a name that I know of. His original music definitely has that folk music base but with more added. One of his songs that I really like seems to me to have a heavy blues influence. I think he has just studied music so much that he finds stuff in every genre that influences him & when writing his own music somehow puts together the right bits to fully express the emotion & ideas he's aiming for. Even the covers he did with others like Black is the Color of My True Love's Hair & Hey Ya show that he really gets into a lot of different music & loves to experiment with all styles. He has classical music training, & in PTX it was Avi that was more into folk & country, hence why he did the a capella cover of Ring of Fire with Home Free. [Not that the rest of PTX don't know the all time best country songs, but the Trio themselves said it just wasn't the genre they preferred to listen to most despite being from Texas. The PTX a capella remake of Jolene with Dolly Parton was so good though!!]
If you haven't been asked to yet,... Please wear headphones when listening to Avi, or Pentatonix... You are missing about half of what you should be hearing...
I’ll get by is an incredible piece that Avi wrote! If you want a choral piece Avi has a camp he runs in the summer for kids 12-17 (I believe, don’t quote me) called Acapella academy and it’s a huge Acapella camp. He wrote a mass choir piece called “the seed”. I recommend it!!
The Seed is an example of Avi's brilliant composing abilities. Its a choral piece, very different from this but gorgeous. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-XZ89BHmRfws.html
You were very close, Thomas! ACA is for kids 13-18, from all over the world. They have to do a video audition and be accepted by the selection committee, which includes Avi, Ben Bram and Rob Dietz (co-founders of ACA), and, I believe, some of the teaching staff. It's held annually (except for this year) for 10 days during the summer at Mount St. Mary's University in the mountains outside L.A. (same location where all of PTX's "Can't Hold Us" was filmed). Avi has stated more than once that being able to establish and maintain the A Cappella Academy, and watch the growth and passion these kids bring with them and take away even more of when they leave is the proudest accomplishment he has had so far in his life. ACA means the world to him. And if you want to see an example of what it means to the kids, check out "Kids", a OneRepublic cover the 2018 class did as their finale. Watch what happens at the end, including when Avi, Ben and Rob get them singing again. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-dauCFLjJDpE.html
You need earphones to fully appreciate Avis voice ....check out Pentatonix ..run to you ( official video version ) Avi sings on that one ....ps dress your back ground and use nicer lighting ....as it says zero about you as is