Getting to know Royal East
Melbourne-based indie-pop four-piece Royal East have revealed their new single. We asked them to tell us about themselves:
We are… ROYAL EAST. Indie-pop four-piece with an electro undercurrent from Melbourne, Australia. Pat, on vocals, specialises in hooks designed to stay on the mind for eternity, emerging and re-emerging when you least expect them. He is known to seize every opportunity to break into Kylie-inspired dance breaks. Fraser is our guitarist and riff-generation extraordinaire. Coupled with that, he is exceedingly nice. You should meet Fraser. In the rhythm section we find our sticklers for syncopation and groove. Tom, on the bass, specialises in all things low frequency. Nick our drummer, doubles as the Royal East synth guru. Not only does he keep the tempos and grooves in check, but he’s also responsible for creating the atmospheric synth lines that generate our distinctive Royal East sound.
‘Get With Me’ is… an expression of that relatable whirlwind of emotions that stems from fleeting relationships. You’ve found someone special and you want to write them charming and sensitive love songs forever, but then the realisation dawns: ‘you only wanna get with me tonight’. However, Get With Me is also a narrative intended to empower. The message is clear: do not let it get the better of you. Make lemonade. Write a song instead. Get With Me is an ode to that maelstrom of feelings. The gang-vocals chorus feels damn cathartic when you belt it out loud with a hundred other people, believe us. To bring this song to life we were lucky enough to work with Joel Quartermain from Eskimo Joe who was instrumental throughout the mixing and production process. His experience and feel-good vibes in the studio resulted in our best performances to date.
Home is… in Melbourne’s outrageously leafy eastern ‘burbs, where Fraser’s band room lies. It’s our musical home. Having a space where our equipment is always set up and ready to go is so valuable. It’s adjacent to Fraser’s family home, and we’re indebted to Fraser’s parents who must have heard each of our songs played upwards of one thousand times, and still have the good grace to come to our gigs. Rob and Sal, we appreciate you <3. Kudos must also go to our incredibly tolerant and generous neighbours. Their willingness not to file noise complaints allows us to do what we do, loudly, and we’re eternally grateful.
We spend too much time… laughing when we should be playing… and laughing when we are playing! We’re all great friends, which is both a blessing and a distraction. We love to experiment with our songs and to test out different riffs and ideas, especially ones that challenge our musical capabilities. The band room is a safe space and a breeding ground for the Royal East sound. Sometimes, the ideas land and we fall in love with them. Sometimes, they are catastrophic, and we fall to pieces. In either event, we generally end up laughing about whatever has just happened.
We’ve never… played a festival or gig outside of VIC, but boy do we hope to by mid-2020. Shout-out to the festival bookers: word on the street is that Tom makes a mean Thai green curry, and there’s plenty going around…
It might surprise people to learn that… our bassist is a part-time rapper. You must come to our shows to experience it for yourself. But be warned: his raw London accent is extremely appealing.
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ROYAL EAST – ‘GET WITH ME’ LAUNCH PARTIES
SAT 23 NOV | THE TOFF, MELBOURNE VIC
SAT 14 DEC | HOWLER, MELBOURNE VIC – Supporting Art vs Science
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