Meet love ave. | love ave. | Music Producer, DJ, Engineer

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

Hi love, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I’ve always been a creative person. Throughout my life, I tried to pursue multiple different types of art forms at least once; I went through multiple school years in choir but never sang outside of school, then I tried to be a painter and experimented with different types of pencils, brushes, etc; then I wanted to become an author and wrote a rough draft for two different books (both of which I never released); and finally I wanted to become a photographer so I bought a Nikon D3400 and only used it for around two months. Nothing ever really stuck with me until I started mixing and creating my own music in 2015, which has absolutely changed my life and I could not imagine another creative outlet that would make me happier. It allows me to express myself in ways that no previous art forms could and since the beginning it has felt extremely natural creating music.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I have been DJing since 2015, and creating music since 2017; starting this journey of creating music has been one of the greatest decisions I have ever made and just as with most things in life, it was going to happen eventually if it was truly meant for me.
I have always wanted to create different genres of music, and I started with different types of electronic music and lo-fi study beats towards the beginning of my career. I didn’t know how to play any instruments, so all I knew how to do was program drums in my music software, and eventually I learned to play very basic piano which was enough to get me by when I needed to create my own melodies. This was one of the most challenging stages of my music career as I was exploring the type of music I wanted to make and who I truly wanted to represent myself as, especially since I was in college at the time and was also extremely indecisive on the career path I wanted to take.
In 2019, I changed my name from my previous EDM persona over to my current one which is “love ave.” (short for love avenue), and switched my style over to primarily hip-hop and trap beats. From there, and especially since moving to Dallas, I’ve expanded to lots of different genres including amapiano, house, and jersey club.
What I believe sets my artwork apart from others, especially the experiences I create when performing live at a venue or in a radio guest mix, is that since my range of music is so wide I can curate to any crowd of people and make every single performance different. I am most proud of the history of music that I have and the more you dig into my past genres the greater of an evolution becomes apparent to the music I create currently. I believe that the more you dig into yourself and explore the art that you enjoy creating, the more you will surprise yourself at what you previously thought you were unable to do, or what things you didn’t even know you wanted to try.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
A typical week in Dallas would involve plenty of good food and by the time the weekend comes, there are plenty of places to have a fun night out.
One of my favorite things to do in Dallas and the surrounding cities is explore different coffee shops;
My number one spot is by far Triumphs in the Design District; they are a coffee shop and bar and have some of the most inventive drinks you can find anywhere in Dallas. When it is available, their oatmeal creme pie latte is one of my favorites, and their double smoked old fashioned is another heavy contender. Their overall ambience is unmatched and they also have live jazz on Wed-Sat nights; it is always a great experience.
I really enjoy going to White Rhino Coffee in Uptown as well; their coffee and matcha are both incredible, and they are located in a building that was either previously a two story house or is just made to look like one; nonetheless, they have a lot of different places to sit and relax and their balcony at the top to sit outside and enjoy the view is very calming to relax at on a Sunday morning.
For breakfast, one of my favorite spots is Taqueria Taxco; they have multiple locations around the city and their chilaquiles and breakfast tacos are incredible. They also make a type of coffee called “cafe de olla” which I enjoy much more than regular coffee and it goes great with anything you can order there. Another place I enjoy getting breakfast at would be Bread Winners Cafe & Bakery in Uptown, I haven’t had a single thing there that I have disliked but their chicken and waffles were probably my favorite. They fill up quickly on the weekends so it is best to go early before the brunch crowd starts squeezing in.
My favorite hispanic restaurant downtown for lunch/dinner would have to be Meso Maya; they have incredible authentic Mexican food and their drinks are also VERY good. Attached to their side is another great little restaurant called Taqueria La Ventana which is also hispanic but has some very good tacos and margaritas.
If i’m in the mood for sushi instead, I’ll more than likely head to Uchi Dallas after making a reservation online (which is always necessary as their food is incredible and they fill up very quickly), or their sister restaurant right above them which is Uchiba Dallas. Both have incredible sushi, their cocktails are great, and their service is always top notch.
On the weekends, there are always shows going on; and if one of the incredible collectives in Dallas are hosting (such as Family & Friends or Safehaus), it is always worth it to get a ticket to see their incredible artists perform. Otherwise, there are always events going on at places such as Ladylove, Stereo Live, or even any of the various concert venues in Deep Ellum like Trees, Club Dada, or The Factory.
If you are already in Deep Ellum and you are hungry, I would highly recommend going to Deep Sushi as they have weekly specials and a happy hour menu that is unbeatable; and if you are in the mood for a drink, Ruins has some cocktails with ingredients you can’t find anywhere else (they also host events some days), and check out Armoury D.E. for some more rare spirits in a nice dimly lit bar.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Since I have lived in Dallas, the support of my other friends in music has been the biggest driving factor to push me to be the best DJ/curator of music that I can be. Some of the first people I met after coming to Dallas, Isaac and Emanuel, being the owners of the Family & Friends collective here in Dallas, are two of the most important people that I have had the blessing of getting to know. Seeing them perform live at multiple venues around the city and speaking with them about how passionate they are to create new experiences for not only themselves but our community as a whole has been extremely inspiring and has helped me to further push myself out of my comfort zone.
Being in Dallas has given me the opportunity to meet more of some of the most talented people I’ve ever met, including Sean Dream, Ashley and Mike of the HO/ME Collective, and my incredible friends who own the Safehaus collective as well; all of which have given me opportunities to express myself in ways I could not do alone. Such a huge thanks to all of them for being absolutely incredible people.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onloveave

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@loveave.0514

Other: https://linktr.ee/onloveave

Image Credits
aziz sanusi, sarah mulatu, kenneth gutierrez, steven ray martinez