Sound Source: Deep Dive: Ava Earl
May 5, 2022
Podcast (soundsource): Play in new window | Download
Between opening for Maggie Rogers and running on the cross country team at Northwestern, Weinberg freshman Ava Earl’s career as a singer-songwriter is already flourishing. In this episode of Sound Source, Ava breaks down “Chaos,” her favorite song from her latest album.
AVA EARL: I was kind of thinking like powerful woman goddess witch vibes. It’s honestly — it’s a bit of a rant — I like to think it’s a poetic rant.
[music]
LAYA NEELAKANDAN: From The Daily Northwestern, I’m Laya Neelakandan. You’re listening to Deep Dive: a series from Sound Source where we hear the stories behind music on and around campus. Today, we’re talking to Weinberg freshman and singer-songwriter Ava Earl.
[“Chaos” plays]
LYRICS: Oh, little patriarchy / Crumble at my will
LAYA NEELAKANDAN: The song you’re hearing is “Chaos,” a song off her latest album, “The Roses.” In this episode of Deep Dive, Ava walks us through her songwriting process for “Chaos” and the collaboration that went into perfecting the final product.
LYRICS: Oh, little angel / Don’t go blindly to light / Do you know what’s really up there / A life of servitude of light
AVA EARL: It’s about the “Iliad,” but if it were from the perspective of a goddess. It basically kind of walks through from the perspective of an all-powerful woman, like, “Oh, you are so silly, you’re just this little man in this little world and it’s really insignificant. In the grand scheme of things, no one really cares about your opinion.”
LYRICS: Don’t you make me, my blood burns / I can’t keep faking, my heart hurts / I can’t keep up with all your harsh words
AVA EARL: The chorus is really my favorite part. It’s got two sections, and the first part is —
[“Chaos” chorus plays]
LYRICS: No one breaks my spell / No one hunts me down anymore / No one gets around me / I’m the master of love and war
AVA EARL: I feel like it’s kind of an affirmation in a way of, “Yes, I’m powerful.” And by taking that goddess perspective, I do feel powerful when I sing it. The second part of the chorus is really melodically — not vocal melody, but the guitar melodies — it just comes together so well, I think it’s really cool.
LYRICS: Oh, little soldier / What are you really fighting for? / You may die on the side of the lines, but who will win the war?
AVA EARL: In short, I think it’s a powerful song for me and I hope other women feel the same way when they listen to it. But it also came together so beautifully, and it made me really happy. So, it kind of reminds me of why I love to make music and why I love making music with other people.
LYRICS: Your mom would be so proud / You’ve fallen into a revolution but you don’t know what it’s about
LAYA NEELAKANDAN: From The Daily Northwestern, I’m Laya Neelakandan. Thanks for listening to another episode of Sound Source. You can find Ava on most music-streaming platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music. This episode was reported and produced by me. The audio editor of The Daily is Lucia Barnum, the digital managing editors are Katrina Pham and Will Clark and the editor in chief is Jacob Fulton. Make sure to subscribe to The Daily Northwestern’s podcasts on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or SoundCloud to hear more episodes like this.
[music]
LYRICS: I’m the master of love and war
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @laya_neel
Related Stories:
