avius is a master manipulator of sound. He’s dabbled in every genre, from trap to folk to EDM, all from the perch of his recording studio in Montreal. On his new album humanForm, he carves out vulnerable ambience using, according to the artist, only acoustic sources. The record is pastoral but decidedly the work of a new generation; it is doubtful that Fennesz has ever sampled Playboi Carti. We sent over some questions to the artist about field recordings, Facebook Marketplace finds, and the power of physical media. Read his answers, and listen to humanForm below.

You wrote, produced, and mastered all seven tracks on your new album, humanForm. In the midst of running a recording studio and releasing under collective umbrellas, how did it feel to create in solitude? 

avius: Everything about this project was done in an aim to break the mold I've created for myself. I wanted to put myself in spaces where I didn’t feel as comfortable, I tried to create within those restraints and see what would happen. It felt good to be honest. The whole thing was cathartic and personal rather than the explosive and collaborative workflow I’m used to. Creating in groups feels like a sport, alone feels like a ritual.

Where did the name avius come from? 

It’s a name I’ve been using since I was a kid for usernames or gamer tags on forums, steam, stuff like that. The original instance of it came from when a good friend of mine was working on a short film where the main character’s name was Avius. He never went through with making the film, but I remember begging him to use the name. I felt drawn to it because it sounded like it could have been a villain from Star Wars. Darth Avius.

You’re based in Montreal, the birthplace of a few crazy DIY scenes. Have any local artists inspired you? What about the city has had the biggest impact on your music?  

I think there are too many artists here to name that inspire me … Considering I work with many of them regularly in my recording studio. It’s more of the general sense and attitude in the scene here that I love. Everyone has a certain level of rawness in getting right to the point that makes the art feel so authentic. They’re unapologetically themselves, and I think that’s part of what drives me to create as the truest version of me.

I read that the piano on “Madera” was a free Facebook Marketplace find. What else are you hunting for on the platform? What’s the strangest piece of gear you’ve come across?

My holy grail Facebook Marketplace find would probably be a Marxophone. I have a really old broken toy piano about the size of a laptop that is completely mechanical and sounds terrifying. 

Your song “Play Something for Putting the Chickens to Sleep” borrows from Buckethead’s “Wondering.” What does it mean to put the chickens to sleep? If Buckethead was raised by chickens, who raised avius?

To me, it means to still your mind, let go. Video games raised me. Guitar Hero is the reason I picked up an instrument.

What body of water was the “godHand” video filmed in? Do you spend a lot of time in nature? 

That video was filmed about an hour northwest of Montreal at a place called the Wallingford-Back Mine. It's abandoned. Me and a few friends drove up on a cold evening in late November 2025. It was brutal, a part of it really felt like it was a physical and mental test, but another part of it felt like a baptism. I love being in nature because it's natural, and doing what is natural was the whole point of this project.

What’s the strangest field recording you’ve used in a song? Is there anything you’re holding onto for the right track?

Either a clip of a fan yelling at Thom Yorke during a performance or an old recording of Playboi Carti crashing out backstage in like 2015. I have some crazy detuned organs and time-stretched obscure Middle Eastern instruments that I'm messing around with for my next project. I’m just looking for the perfect moment.

I loved your ASMR album unboxing. Why do you value physical media? Do you see any ties between the sensory experiences of watching ASMR and listening to ambient music?

Physical media and product design was something I felt compelled to do since I was very young. I have memories of using a torrented version of photoshop in 2007 to make fake Super Smash Bros. Brawl covers, printing them off, and slipping them in a Nintendo Wii case to make everyone think I had the game before it was released. It felt awesome to hold it in my hand and feel like I really had it. It’s been a lot of fun finding ways to inject that back into what I do with my music. Creating something you can touch, that is real, tangible, and occupies physical space, it's a beautiful thing. I designed the physicals for my album and assembled them by hand before the album was even done. In a way, I think I wanted to believe it was real before it was. I needed proof that it could exist.

I think the lack of drums in ambient music is what makes it so sensory to me because you’re forced to sit still and feel everything. The whole thing is one big beautiful slow burn. ASMR unboxings are actually what made me realize I loved ambient music because they both evoke that same feeling in me. I can't describe it really, but I know some will understand immediately.