Æves is a Pop duo out of Louisville, Kentucky, comprised of Molly O'Malley and Matthew Adam. They just released their very DOPE EP "Ignite" last week, so it was more than appropriate and necessary for us to connect with Molly and Matthew to pick their brains about the EP, their hometown, their awesome cover graphic and more. Enjoy our exclusive interview with Æves and then stream/download "Ignite" below! 

Carlton Boyd

How did you guys come together to form the group? And does the name Æves have a special significance?

MO: Matt and I met in middle school, actually. We’ve known each other for a while and were both in other bands throughout our school years. About a year and a half ago or so, since both of our then bands went kaput, we decided to start writing music together. It worked out really well, so now here we are!
The name is derived from the Latin word, Aves, meaning “those who fly,” but the original spelling was already taken, so we decided to get creative with it because we both felt that the name fit us. We wanted the name to be something empowering and stand for something positive -- flying a metaphor for success and all of that. So that’s where that came from. 

What's the music scene like in Louisville? It the city a hotbed for creativity?

MO: It’s quite eclectic. I think we’re all really lucky because we have a lot of genres that are well represented here. We’ve got some sick hardcore bands, some sick indie bands, some sick hip hop artists – it’s pretty much all across the board here.  I think creativity can honestly be found in any city, you just have to look for it. If you personally think it isn’t present, go out there and create it. Go after what you want, and create it for yourself. Create the precedent. Everyone and everything has a beginning, so why not take the initiative? 

Tell us about the "Ignite" EP; how long did it take to record and are there any songs that you decided not to include that may be released later?

MO: We originally went in and recorded a single, which took a few days, and then decided to kick everything into high gear and went back and recorded the rest. We did write a few songs that didn’t end up getting used, but I know for a fact that we’re dropping something shortly after this EP – in a month or two, I’m thinking – and that’ll feature some of the songs we left off of this initial release.  

Do you have a favorite song on 'Ignite'? If so, why?

MO: I personally really like Revolution. The atmosphere of that song really rides the wave I’m on right now, and it’s in my favorite key, which is always a big plus. 
MA: Undefeatable because we wrote it to be in Space Jam 2, hopefully it can be.

I really love your EP cover graphic; how did that come about? Was there a person with a fire extinguisher out of frame waiting for the shots to be taken so they could put out the fire?

MO: Well thank you SO much. That photoshoot was fun.  That came about because we were already set on calling it the Ignite EP, as this is something we’d like to ignite our career (ba dum tiss), and it’s also a lyric on the record. Our friend Zach Cunningham who is a photographer has done some cool work with fire, so we talked to him about it and brought him in and wanted him to shoot the cover.  We actually did not have a fire extinguisher out of frame or anything, we had to pat it out ourselves. By the end of the shoot my sweatshirt was actually burning a hole in it, but luckily we had gotten all the shots we needed so it wasn’t that big of a deal. But it was such a fun shoot, and Zach is great to work with. 

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Stream/Download "Ignite" by Æves