Avenue 68
Dublin-based band, Avenue 68, are the newest, freshest faces of RnB/Soul, Jazz in the city’s capital. Taking influence from artists like Eryka Badu, D’Angelo and Olivia Dean, this band explores sexuality, relationships and identity through silky smooth vocals, intricate guitar lines and melodies.
Their debut single ‘Venom’, blending elements of RnB, pop-Soul, and jazz, gained great traction for the band - reaching just under 10k streams since its release and was chosen as 2FM’s Grassroots Pick of the Week, while also being picked up by the likes of Today FM and Phoenix FM.
"Saffron" is a captivating blend of playful storytelling and heartfelt emotion, born out of an unlikely source of inspiration. The band describe the tune as having emerged from a "light-hearted conversation about the skyrocketing price of saffron", the song personifies saffron as a character—someone who, like the spice, is both beautiful and rare, yet ultimately destructive.
With its unique mix of humour and heartbreak, this tune captures the complexity of relationships, diving deeper into the exploration of love and betrayal.—how someone can be as precious and alluring as the spice, yet just as capable of leaving a bitter aftertaste.
Sometime - Mix #9 - Erykah Badu
Cal: In a 43 second song Erykah managed to encapsulate an incredible groove constructed with bongos, tasteful backing vocals, beautiful chords and a lyrical flow that left Barry and I in awe. This tune went on to inspire our debut single ‘Venom’ highly.
Sun For Someone - Oscar Jerome
Cal: Oscar Jerome’s guitar neo soul, guitar-based compositions have shaped how we write music as a band and how I write guitar parts. His knack for using clever and complex harmony packed into catchy digestible music is something we’ve been hoping to capture in our music.
Untitled (How Does It Feel) - D’Angelo
Cal: D’angelo’s masterpiece changed where we wanted to go as a band. After a 30 minute “6/8 D’angelo jam”, we all knew that we would be making RnB music. The layers of vocal stacks, the incredible production and the raw sexuality moved each member of the band in a profound way.
Nardis - Miles Davis
Cal: We are all huge admirers of jazz (Killian especially, being a jazz student). Nardis to me is a perfect balance between beautiful and bumping music. Davis’ composition influenced our tune ‘Gifted Wine’ when we flipped the progression into a sample of sorts, cycling through the chords of Nardis. The improvisation in jazz music inspires us in our live shows where we try to keep things fresh and spontaneous.
Miss Black America - Curtis Mayfield
Cal: Curtis Mayfield to me is the epitome of great soul music. He incorporates strings and horns to accompany his incredible guitar playing, gorgeous percussion and to top it off Phil Upchurch plays the grooviest bassline line you've ever heard. Mayfield will always be an inspiration to me as a guitar player, songwriter, composer and activist.
No One’s Watching Me – Ezra Collective feat. Olivia Dean
Lauren: Ezra Collective as a whole has had a huge impact on our music. Their insane talent in blending soul and jazz, with their tight rhythm sections and energetic arrangements have greatly influenced us when it’s come to our live performance. This song, in particular, is one that stands to me. Olivia Dean’s rich vocal style and emotive delivery heavily inspires my approach when it comes to singing our own music.
The Steady Song – Republic of Loose feat. Isabel Reyes Feeney
Lauren: This is a tune that our legendary producer, Daniel De Burca, showed to us a while back, saying that we reminded him of this band. Their laid-back blend of funk and soul is one we could all identify with in our music.
Got to Be Good – Gotts Street Park
Lauren: When it came to writing our tune ‘Not That Kinda Girl’, we were heavily influenced by the smooth jazz and relaxed groove of this tune. It has such a rich bassline and soulful melody line that we couldn’t help but be drawn in by it. The mellow vibe of it, paired with the catchy hook makes it an effortlessly cool track, something we wanted to implement in our own song.
Red Room – Haitus Kaiyote
Lauren: Another class blend of soul and jazz music, everything about this song is just unreal. From the unconventional structure and shifting rhythms, to the beautifully layered textures, the uniqueness of it is something we aim to achieve in our own music.
Promises – Cleo Sol
Lauren: I have always identified with the vulnerability that Cleo Sol explores through her lyricism. The minimalistic character of this soulful track is also something that I hold close to me. Cleo’s ability to sing in such a tender yet powerful way is to be admired. Although, we don’t have many stripped-back songs on our set, exploring the power in a more laid-back arrangement is something I definitely want to try more in the future.