This week I interviewed Ava Ruby, a brand new artist to the music scene already making her unique and very-much appreciated mark.
ME: so you just made your music account on Instagram - what made you start it now?
AVA: I’ve actually been working on creating my first song, LSD, since January and my producer and I completed it in August. This is a career I’ve been craving to pursue for awhile now, and I wanted to line up creating the account (@itsavaruby) with the release of the song!
M: as you’re beginning to release things, what would you say your music is like for people who haven’t listened/will listen for the first time?
A: I would say my music is experimental in some ways, but traditional in others. I like to juxtapose some of the brighter elements of pop music with some of the darker edges of electropop or alternative music.
M: has this time in quarantine helped your music making process?
A: Quarantine has definitely shifted my music making process in a lot of ways. My producer, Zach Friedman and I, were forced to record the song remotely, meaning I was able to learn a lot about engineering my own vocals. I’d say my songwriting process has definitely transformed as well. I find that I used to base most of my music off of in person experiences with people in my life, but as that stopped happening, my writing shifted into being much more self reflective as I looked back through memories for inspiration.
M: what do you think are your personal strengths in music in general?
A: I’m a super creative person and I’ve really been enjoying producing all aspects of this release. In addition to creating LSD, I’ve loved making promo art for the song and getting to collaborate with some of my friends to make this release special!
M: who inspired you to start making your own music?
A: Kesha releasing her album Rainbow in 2017, definitely served as the catalyst to my love affair with music. I’d always appreciated songs, but before that I had never learned to appreciate albums. That album was so powerful and it inspired me to start taking the songs I’d written out of my head and putting them on paper.
M: do you write your own songs? If so, what is your song writing process like?
A: I do write all my own music and I’ve actually been songwriting since I was 10! I find that my song writing process tends to differ depending on how I’m feeling. Most of the time when I sit down to write I just open my voice memos and write a full song, but I wrote LSD much differently from the rest of my music. Originally, I’d written the chorus and first verse, but then decided I wasn’t going to finish the song. Over the next couple months I found the song to consistently get stuck in my head so then I wrote the rest over the next few weeks. That’s why I think this song is one of my most reflective pieces, because I was really able to take time to think about how I felt and what I wanted to say.
M: when all in the world is settled, do you plan on making music videos?
A: I would love to be able to make music videos! I’m already planning what an LSD music video would look like and it’d be amazing to be able to see it come to life.
M: can you reference any artists you feel are similar to you/your music?
A: Ooh, I tend to draw inspiration from a lot of the artists I look up to. I love combining different aspects of my favorite types of music in order to create something new and different. I’m super into electronic music and hyper pop, so I’ve definitely looked at artists like Charli XCX or Grimes in terms of production. I also look up to Halsey and Taylor Swift so much as songwriters, so I like to keep in mind the artists that make me the happiest when I create my music!
M: what are your other social media’s or YouTube channel for your music, if you have any?
A: All my social media handles are @itsavaruby !
M: I like to end on a fun one! Who would be your favourite person to colab with?
A: Definitely Halsey. I look up to her so much as a person and an artist. Everything she does inspires me and it’d be an honor to collaborate with her!