Photo courtesy of Adam Castilla

Ava Wilson looks back fondly on a childhood spent at her grandmother Mimi’s house in Memphis. It was a place where she fell in love with nature and music, spending as much time as possible either out in the backyard or in front of the grand piano. It was her grandmother’s influence that led her to a career in music.

“She’s a creative as well and has always been supportive and has pushed me to do what I love, which is making music and creating,” Wilson said. “She introduced me to music. Some of the first music I ever heard she played for me.”

Through her grandmother’s encouragement she taught herself piano and wrote original songs. Despite that encouragement, she felt as though she lacked the confidence of believing in herself as much as Mimi did.

It wasn’t until a stay at a residential treatment center in Utah that she found her own confidence. The center did not provide a safe and supportive environment, so she took it upon herself to give a bit of relief when she could. With good behavior she would earn privileges which included access to a guitar that she would play for her fellow residents.

“I would play for a lot of the peers around me who were also struggling with their own challenges and also the challenges of being in a place like that,” she said. “More people started listening and telling me that it was the best part of their day and helping them get through the stuff that they were going through. I think that hearing that was the biggest ‘a-ha’ moment for me.”

After escaping the treatment center a year later, Wilson considered moving to Nashville to pursue music before ultimately deciding on Los Angeles. She attributes part of that decision to producer Adam Castilla and the immediate connection they formed.

She recognized instantly that he wanted to make music that was uniquely hers. She enjoyed her previous sessions with other producers, but this was the first time she wasn’t being pushed to sound a certain way. Castilla’s first question to her was simple: What did she want from this? She barely finished describing her ideas before he was bringing them to life.

She took inspiration from an artist that was frequently played during her childhood, David Bowie, and channeled his boundary pushing into her own creativity. She wasn’t worried about sounding like anyone other than herself.

Her first single under the moniker Babyfangs, “Feelings Bleed”, delves into the concept of not only escaping the treatment center but escaping the emotions it left behind. She wrote the song to give herself the closure that she did not receive while she was there.

Her latest single, “Prima Bella Donna”, stemmed from a writing session with Castilla where Wilson found a book in the studio about poisonous flowers. One of the first flowers listed in the book was the Belladonna and inspired a poem that ultimately turned into lyrics.

The beautiful yet deadly flower inspired lyrics pertaining to toxic relationships. With experience in that department, the song compares those types of relationships to the flower.

“I wanted to be able to put something out there that other people can hopefully [recognize] as something they’re dealing with right now or felt before and take it as an initiative to either leave a toxic relationship or to take care of yourself more,” she said.

The accompanying music video is set in an abandoned home that gives off the same eerily beautiful vibe as the lyrics. Castilla directed and filmed the video, as well as scouted the location. When he showed Wilson the home, she instantly saw the resemblance of her grandmother Mimi’s house. It was bright with natural beauty and history, and the piano in the sitting room sealed the deal.

“It just felt like a very special place, especially to be creating something for my music,” she said. “I felt very excited and happy to be able to stumble upon something that felt that sentimentality even though I had never been there.”

Babyfangs could very well be a real-life Snow White, with her inherent love for animals and celestial voice. She has a gift for taking in nature’s beauty and crafting it into the perfect melody. Thanks to her grandmother, she gets to share her gift with all who will listen.