INTERVIEW: AVA's ‘Business Man’ Plays With The Idea Of Femininity
AVA. Photo supplied.
South-East Melbourne musician AVA’s debut track Business Man is a powerful statement, and her voice is captivating. Taking influence from a range of genres, while being grounded in R&B, Ava’s soaring vocals tell a story about how it’s important to reject the forces that seek to objectify women, and instead embrace the power that’s within.
Business Man also uses visuals very well to further the message within the music. Playing with the idea of corporate culture, which can often seek to turn people into commodities, the video takes place in an office - and that’s all I’m going to say on that. Go watch it.
I spoke to AVA about the track and the video, as well as which Beyonce album she’d take to a desert island, which I feel like is one of the more difficult questions I’ve ever asked anyone. Check out the track below, and read on to learn all about AVA!
Ben Madden: Firstly, can you introduce yourself and your music?
AVA: Sure, My name is AVA, and I am a singer-songwriter from Melbourne. I have been singing for a really long time and I have been writing and working on my artistry for around 4 years. My music, I feel, is very authentic and real whilst also being a little poetic and introspective. I try to create songs that have a sense of quiet confidence whilst being feminine, playful, empowering and soulful. My music reflects a lot of my own personal experiences but it also just comments on the issues me, my friends and my family face.
I wanted to ask about the origins of Business Man – can you tell me about the track’s message, and the moment you decided you wanted to turn that message into a song?
Business Man started as a poem actually. I wrote it like a stream of consciousness, top to bottom in one seating. I was going through a period in my life where I felt more like a number than a person and as I usually do I decided to over analyse and find out why this is a pattern in society right now. I thought about how our world is dictated by a mix of toxic masculinity and corporate culture and how a lack of empathy and a denial of feeling has become the norm.
If you think about it, every day we do little things to ignore our natural beings. We wait until a lunch break to eat; we go back to toxic things we know are not good for us and we hold our emotions back at work. I’ve always been thinking about these things so when they came out as a neat poem, I knew it was something I wanted to share!
Often, there are songs about a certain person treating you badly or being toxic, but there are not many songs that I feel go to the root of the issue and explain why that is occurring, so I definitely felt something needed to be said. After that, I played with the melody and I found something that was catchy and made me feel empowered.
The video for Business Man takes place in an office and juxtaposes the concept of femininity with this idea of the daily grind. Can you talk to me about the message behind the video, and how it ties in with the track?
I am so glad that that came across! For the video, I wanted to make sure the message of the song above was able to come across in a fun and playful way. I think it is very interesting how women often achieve success when they conform and assimilate to more masculine behaviours. I think sometimes under a ‘girl boss’ facade, a lot of women have to repress their more feminine, sensual, delicate side to get ahead which is basically another form of oppression.
I wanted to create a workplace that visually looked like a typical 90s-esque office but was filled with these women who just could express their femininity with no limits or doubts and who were empowered in just being. The video felt like that when filming and I really hope we can have more workplaces and forms of businesses that don't have to rely on antiquated notions of gender roles.
You’re from the south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, and we’re seeing more and more artists emerge from there in recent years, in all genres. Why do you think people are finally waking up to the music coming out of the south-east of Melbourne?
I think the Melbourne music scene is very cool and I think we are slowly realising the power we hold as a community. If I am being honest, I never really listened to Australian music as a kid because I didn't really know any popular artists. But today I think people are finally seeing Melbourne music as a serious community because finally, we recognise our value separate from the US or UK. I think as well social media gives artists more autonomy over where they want their fanbase to be located or how they present themselves.
I know you’ve been writing/performing music for over a decade now - growing up, what role did music play in your life, and how has its presence in your life manifested itself over the years?
Music has always been a part of my life. Mum and dad were never musicians but always loved music and had it playing constantly. Reggae was usually playing in my dad's car with UB40 and Bob Marley being his favourites, and RnB usually was my mum's favourite with Whitney Houston's high notes usually playing every day after school. I also used to do performances with my cousins all the time as a kid and we loved making slideshows for the lyrics of our favourite songs with pictures and animations and all (lame I know).
One day my mum and my aunty decided to put us all in choir. I think I was 6 at that point. I enjoyed singing in choir but it was not what I was expecting. Instead of singing 2000s pop songs we were singing classical songs which wasn’t my vibe as a 6-year-old, so I began one on one singing lessons at 9. I remember for my first lesson after 45 minutes of classical vocal exercises my teacher asked me if I had a song I wanted to share. I sang Rihanna's Only Girl In The World', and she quickly realised what kind of singer I was. After that, I carried on lessons and developed my style. I then began songwriting seriously when I was around 16 and found it really helped me through a lot of what I was going through. It was a very awkward and uncomfortable experience at first but slowly, like singing, I fell in love with it and now I can't imagine my life without it as an outlet.
You reference influences like Erykah Badu, Beyonce and SZA – if you had to choose just one Beyonce album to take to a desert island, which one would it be and why?
I love this question and I am very opinionated on the matter. Whilst it may not be the majority vote, I would definitely choose Lemonade. It was basically the only album I listened to in 2016 and I have so many memories on the bus with that playing in my headphones. The reason I chose this album is that I feel like it was Beyonce's first album where she just laid it all out on the table and she was ready to be 100 percent honest and be in charge of her work.
I think the self-titled album set her up for this and that is why that one is my second favourite, but in Lemonade Beyonce went beyond her personal experience to create a body of work that criticised the systematic oppression of black women and showed how this translates into the experience of the black family etc. She went deep inside herself for that album and it will forever be one of my favourites because of this. It is such a masterpiece and I would happily watch it every day on a desert island.
Speaking about your sound, you mention gospel – I wanted to know more about how you’ve gone about updating gospel sounds to suit the contemporary nature of your music?
I think everyone knows gospel singers are some of the best in the world. Whilst I think my songs may not sound gospel, my vocal tone is very inspired by gospel and soul tunes. Also in trying to create pieces that are very personal and soul-baring, I think my songs become a sort of personal gospel. I am a spiritual person and I think music is so intertwined with that.
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Finally, what are your next few steps, both personally and music-wise?`
After Business Man, I definitely am planning to release some more singles. Then I would love to plan towards an EP that I could be really proud of and that just embodies me. In the far far future, I would love to keep creating music and hopefully have my own independent label and create a beautiful community of creatives.