Cork indie-soul band The Flavours have released their latest single, Other Song. We asked them the BIG questions . . .
Speaking about the song, the band say, "The song is ultimately about a breakdown of a relationship. This breakdown is not because the protagonists don't love each other but because their own individual mental health isn’t at the right place to give each other what they need.
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"The first verse and chorus mirror the simplistic opening stages of the relationship, followed by a rhythmically and harmonically different bridge to represent changes in the protagonist's feelings.
"The final crescendo takes place sometime after the relationship is finished, with a retrospective horn idea mirroring the backing vocals."
Tell us three things about yourself . . .
Some of us were in school together, We used to be called Room 18 after our school music room. Our rhythm section is related.
How would you describe your music?
I guess it's an amalgamation of our own individual tastes - psychedelic rock, funk, soul, reggae, r&b -we take inspiration from all that. We try to retain something organic about our recordings - lots of them are just live takes. We rarely record to a click or anything like that.
Who are your musical inspirations?
We love old records, like Stevie Wonder, Steely Dan, Bill Withers, Johnny Cash and Carole King to name a few but we also love more modern stuff like Amy Winehouse, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Khruangbin, Men I Trust . . . it's quite varied. Jordan Roche is forever trying to get us to listen to Rammstein. We all come from musical backgrounds. Ella has great memories of listening to her dad’s extensive CD collection on family holidays. Julian’s biggest inspiration for music would be his Dad, a former musician himself, who passed away in 2021.
What was the first gig you ever went to?
Jordan Devlin: Billy Talent, Olympia 2012.
Jordan Roche: U2 in Croke Park 2009.
Julian: Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, Cork Opera House on Jazz Weekend 2014. Massive inspiration for musical taste and for picking up the bass.
Ella: The Staves, Everyman Theatre in 2015.
What was the first record you ever bought?
JD: Evil Empire by Rage Against the Machine.
JR: American Idiot by Green Day. Still one of his favourite albums ever.
Ella: Lily Allen - It's Not me, It's You.
Julian: The Royal Scam by Steely Dan. In his opinion greatest record of all time (it's not as good as Countdown to Ecstasy - Ed).
What’s your favourite song right now?
Julian: Burning by The Whitest Boy Alive. Saw them live last summer at Roskilde Festival and it was one of the wildest gigs ever.
JD: Do I Do by Stevie Wonder. It has this energy that is really apparent in the groove. Very powerful and intricate, especially the vocal run during the chorus.
JR: Redstripe Rhapsody by Lausse The Cat. This is a beautifully blended three-part song incorporating lo-fi hip-hop with a gentle rap tone that makes it just so easy to listen to and even easier to listen to again.
Ella: Olympus by Blondshell. Have her on repeat at the moment, absolutely love her sound and her lyrics in particular.
Favourite lyric of all time?
Julian: 'Each one believing that love never dies, Watching her eyes and hoping I’m always there’ from Here, There and Everywhere by The Beatles. The album Revolver lived on the turntable at my family home and it’s always been a particular favourite.
JD: ‘In my eyes, Indisposed, In disguises no one knows, Hides the face, Lies the snake, And the sun in my disgrace’ from Black Hole Sun by Soundgarden. The song itself is brilliant, the music video had a profound effect on me when I was much younger. Very weird, eccentric and dream-like. The rhyme scheme is like its own work of art within the song.
JR: ‘Jimmy died today, he blew his brains out into the bay’ - Green Day. Always loved that album, and always remember hearing that powerful line from that song for the first time and being completely shocked.
Ella: ‘I know you're the type to tip waiters with all your emotions’ - Joy Crookes. I went through a massive phase of listening to her. That line always brings me back to a different time pre-band when my own musical tastes were being developed.
If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be?
JD: Polka Dots and Moonbeams by Wes Montgomery. It has this romantic quality to it and it sounds like the musical equivalent of butterflies in your stomach. It’s emotional, it’s humbling and it's very memorable.
JR: Deepest Darkness by Ocean Alley. The song evokes feelings of escape and freedom that very few other songs have unlocked within him, meaning that ‘if I had to listen to it and it only that ‘til the day I died I’d die happy’.
Julian: Domino Line from Casiopea’s 1982 classic album Mint Jams. Greatest bass solo of all time by bassist Tetsuo Sakurai - and it’s a live album!
Ella: Bitter with the Sweet by Carole King or She’s Always a Woman by Billy Joel. The former was heard at a time in her life when I really related to the song and needed it. The latter being another singalong classic on family road trips on holidays. Those trips really provoked an outside interest and love for music.
Where can people find your music/more information?
Facebook, Instagram, Spotify.
