Hailing all the way from Girdwood, Alaska, 18-year-old Ava Earl is an avid fan of folklore. In fact, it was an encounter with Patricia C. Wrede’s The Enchanted Forest Chronicles that inspired her marvelous new single.

That single is “Cimorene,” a gorgeous and gracefully finger-picked folk song which aims to take the listener to an “enchanted space during a time of collective isolation, nostalgia, and longing.” “Cimorene” borrows its title from a character in The Enchanted Forest Chronicles with whom the young folk songwriter found kinship.

“The book was a sweet love story with a badass feminist female character named Cimorene,” she said. “[It was] right up my alley.”

Ava originally wrote “Cimorene” as a Christmas gift to her parents. She then revisited the single after reading Wrede’s Chronicles at the beginning of quarantine, drawing even more inspiration from its pages. In fact, the bridge lyric, “Dance with me amongst the trees, like we did when we were wed/When I showed you the connections all tied up in glowing thread” is a direct reference to the story.

Sonically, Ava’s sweetly-sung vocals provide a dash of magic to this romantic acoustic soundscape, while painting a vivid picture that leaves the listener in a state of reflection and wonder. We invite you to dream on with us, and be among the first to hear “Cimorene” below!