RC AVENUE TALKS MUSICAL JOURNEY, “DON’T KNOW WHY” & MORE [EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW]

BY BRENESSA ROACH | DECEMBER 1, 2023

Meet RC AVENUE, a nineteen year old Filipino-American singer, songwriter and producer from Central Coast, California. He debuted on May 16th, 2020 with the single “Sometimes (Clouds in the Wind)”. Throughout the years, he has experimented with his sound and style.

At midnight, RC AVENUE released his new single “DON’T KNOW WHY” which is in collaboration with tu!. Behind The Beat had the opportunity to talk to RC AVENUE to discuss the inspiration behind this song, his musical journey, future plans and more.

INTRODUCTION

Can you introduce yourself and what you do?

RC AVENUE: Yo what’s up, I go by the name of RC AVENUE. Feel free to call me RC AVE for short. I’m a Nineteen-year-old singer, songwriter and producer from the Central Coast, CA. I could label my sound as a fusion of all these different sub genres, but when it all comes down to it…I make pop music.

Where did your musical journey begin?

RC AVENUE: Listen, my pops is a KILLER musician. He mastered rock guitar, singing & the drums and produced his own home recorded records. Growing up I was always so inspired by his craft and naturally followed in his footsteps. Y’know, I was taught how to play all these instruments and ended up in choir, but it was pretty on and off… I was a curious kid who wanted to try to master everything *laughs.* That was until seven years ago, my middle school lent me a MacBook Air and I ended up clicking on this app titled GarageBand, it’s a beginner level music production software. All I gotta say I guess is, rest is history.

“DON’T KNOW WHY” SONG BREAKDOWN

Congratulations on the release of your new single “DON’T KNOW WHY”! What is the meaning of this song?

RC AVENUE: Simply, I’m not gonna spoil anything right now. I feel like the themes and feelings in this song are so emotionally ambiguous, I want my supporters to craft their own meaning that personally speaks to them. I guess I can give one hint tho…the first line in the song “headlights got me wide eyed, can’t save myself” refers to a deer in headlights. You can predict and/or see what’s coming so intensely that you don’t even move, which oftentimes ends in an accident. That’s all, next question *laughs*.

“DON’T KNOW WHY” is a collaboration with tu!, how did this collaboration come to be?

RC AVENUE: First of all, shoutout to my guy Darrell Wang. That’s quite literally my day one. He paints and does art, he actually did my “EVERGLOW” cover. Anyways, Darrell met Mark aka tu! at UCLA and they were roommates. As those two got close, Darrell told me all about how Mark makes music too. Then a season later when I still lived in New York, I flew out to LA and got to meet the fabled Mark, aka tu!. Dude…from the get go we clicked. Super great guy, dope style and our energies were just perfect. Several months later we finally went into the studio together and I showed him this song’s open verse. Listen closely y’all, listen very close…He wrote his verse in 20 minutes and absolutely killed it. He got the spot for the feature and I’ve never been so stoked.

What was the production process for “DON’T KNOW WHY”?

RC AVENUE: Funny enough, the same trip I took to LA back in February when I met tu!, was when I also met the co-producers of DON’T KNOW WHY. Raphael “Raph” George and Josh Mathew, they’re in an indie group by the name of Kidsnot$aints. Raph and all our buddies were sitting at the dinner table when he whipped out the guitar and pitched me the song. From there I took it, we planned on recording it together and several months later in May the song was produced. Like I mentioned earlier, a month ago tu! spontaneously hopped on the feature and the song was complete.

If you could describe this song using a colour, what colour would it be and why?

RC AVENUE: To set the record straight, I don’t have synesthesia. A part of synesthesia is when you can properly link colors to sound, oh I wish I had that gift. To me, I imagine listening to this song on a green grassy hill during a pink and purple sunset. It’s just bliss, man.

With his song, which emotions or feelings are you hoping to touch from your listeners?

RC AVENUE: Being sentimental is my brand. I want people to go to my catalog of music when they feel the need to reminisce on the past and imagine the future. With this song specifically, I want people to feel warmth and openness.

FINDING HIS SOUND

How would you describe your sound and how did you find it?

RC AVENUE: Genre wise, I grew up on Pop music. Pop melodies, Pop structure and upfront Pop vocals always took me away. In high school I dove into experimental sounds and R&B which is when I feel like I really shaped my uniqueness. Texture wise I always like my songs warm and smooth, yet also bold and upfront. That just naturally goes along with my themes of reminiscing and longing of the past, most of the time it’s a warm feeling.

FUTURE GOALS

And speaking of your sound, is there a genre you want to experiment with or try out?

RC AVENUE: Soul music. My friends say I have a great soul voice. One of these days you’ll catch me crying my heart out into the microphone Etta James style. That’s on me.

Without giving away too much, what do you have planned for the rest of the year and next year?

RC AVENUE: I have planned some really tight music videos coming up, and possibly one last single in December. I want some merch to drop on Christmas that would be so fun and festive. RC AVE in your stockings. Can’t wait for you guys to see it all, there’s a lot in store.

“DON’T KNOW WHY” is now available on all digital streaming platforms, so make sure to listen to it here. As well, make sure to follow RC AVENUE on all platforms to stay up to date with him!

Special thanks to RC AVENUE for taking the time to do this interview with us!

Listen to “DON’T KNOW WHY” by RC AVENUE and tu! on Spotify:

Check out RC AVENUE on Instagram: @rcavenue

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