Meet Ava Lake | Artist, Music Producer & DJ

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ava Lake and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ava, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I believe as humans we are all searching for meaning in life. As I get older and become more conscious of how my choices as a younger person impact my life now, a constant has been how magical making art feels. To me there is nothing more wild than making something that didn’t exist before you came around. I decided from an early age that I wanted to go into entertainment because truly it felt like second nature.

When I was younger my mom encouraged me to try out a lot of different classes and I was able to try out activities such as hip hop dance, improv, multi-media art classes, soccer, and guitar classes. One class I got to take through a music institute in our town was a band program where I was grouped up with other people my age to practice being in a band, my place in the band was singer. At the end of the session we were to perform in a show case and there was something that clicked being up on stage and singing.

When I was 16 I had an internal talk with myself I was weighing the pros and cons of pursuing careers in either acting or music. After contemplating the industry’s of both, I felt like I would have more control over my life and my success in music and the decision was made. But in secret I’ve always known that the underlying denominator of music and acting for me is performing. I become who I believe I was meant to be on stage. I become the fullest version of myself, and after having a taste of that experience when I was younger I knew that the only “right” career path for myself would be on stage.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I first started writing music on the guitar around 15-16 years old. I had taken guitar lessons from second grade until then and I wanted to start actualizing my decision to pursue a career in music. If I was going to be a Rockstar I better have some Rockstar hits. Very soon I felt the limitations of just playing guitar, one I was not very good at it because I did not commit to practicing playing the guitar, and two I wanted more instruments involved.

When the song Love Me Again by John Newman came out I was obsessed. I wanted a song with production like that. I was prompted to write down what sounds and feelings I wanted my song to have. Along came senior year of high school and I was able to do “Senior Project” when you get to leave school the last month of your senior year and pursue a project.

My Dad has always liked to work on music, in fact when he was younger he made an album with his friend and got to a point where he almost sent his music out to labels, but stopped short. I’ve always felt like I was carrying out what he started in someway pursuing my own music career. He gave me FL Studio to start producing on but I quickly moved to Ableton.

I ended up going to school at DePaul University in Chicago for Marketing. I was encouraged to get a more practical degree while continuing to pursue music in Chicago, what I thought was a great market for a starting musician. I played at over 20 venues in Chicago throughout my college years and played all original music.

After college I moved home and worked at a restaurant as I continued to figure out “my sound.” I started going to underground house music shows and suddenly a new world opened up. I found a music community I identified with. House music was now on my radar.

After two years of living at home I moved to LA and wrote an album I never released because by the time I had finished it I knew it wasn’t a reflection of the best work I was capable of. I started writing a second album in my second year in LA and now I am for the first time in a place where I am starting to send out music to labels to start making my presence known to the industry.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I love exploring LA so I am always trying to find new places to go. If my friend was in town visiting I would take them to the Huntington Gardens, then stop at the Pasadena Urth Cafe, after that maybe walk around old town Pasadena. For the second day I would take my friend to the beach I would have us start in Santa Monica, put on our rollerblades and go down the beach path towards Venice beach. Then I’d have us snap our fingers and magically our rollerblades would become shoes and we would walk to Abbott Kinney. There we might stop in Erewhon for some vibe exploration and then we might walk around the neighborhood and pick out which houses we’d want to live in.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would like to shout out my Mom for being a huge supporter, in someway I feel like her messaging to me when I was younger has carved out my current narrative. Also a big thank you to my sibling and Dad for being there for me when I need. I’d like to shoutout my friend Daniel Loumpouridis for being a music mentor to me, from our first EP at the end of high school until now he always gives me advice on how to be better and I appreciate that. And a big shoutout to Jorge Duarte and Nima Cheraghi they make me feel like we are forging an original and powerful path in this music industry and their presence in my life has made me feel a new level of hope.

Website: https://www.ava-lake.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ava.lake/?hl=en

Twitter: https://twitter.com/avalakemusic

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/avalakemusic/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWaz_3qfokOpVn-zAZABCkQ

Image Credits
Jessica Torres