Album Premiere: The New Royales / Freedom's For The Brave

Each of The New Royales have been stirring things up behind the music scene for quite some time now, writing and producing for clients such as  Pink, Eminem, Pitbull and Dr. Dre just to name a few. Now with their debut it;’s there time to shine and that is exactly what they do on Freedom’s For The Brave. The music is a new breed of a indie, fused with a vintage 60’s rock and roll sound. No doubt this band that  will make you rock out  air guitaring like no one is watching. The New Royales’ diverse makeup, Liz (Portuguese), Erik (English Canadian), Chin (East Indian) & DJ Khalil (African American) does add to the uniqueness of their sound but their musical boundaries are their own and there, there are no borders.

The band release Freedom’s For The Brave: The Mixtape is a cohesive album of covers featuring some of their various influences, including tracks by Depeche Mode, The Zombies, Jefferson Airplane & more.
Check out the premiere of the album below and an interview with Liz and Erik!
How did you guys all meet?
LIZ: Chin introduced us while working on his record.
ERIK: We met through Chin when he was recording his record.
Why the name The New Royales for you band name?
LIZ: We went back and forth with some pretty interesting suggestions…inside joke:) I think Chin came up with The Royales. It’s been used so we threw in New.  Pretty sure that’s how it went.
ERIK:It came from a bit of a joke, but we liked how “regal” it sounded.
You guys all have quite diverse musical and life backgrounds, any songs or bands you listen to collectively for inspiration?
LIZ: I would say all the different groups and artist we cover on the Mix Tape is a pretty good example of what inspires us. That was the goal…cover some of our favourite songs and experiment.
ERIK: The Beatles, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Blondie, A Tribe Called Quest, Outkast…. Lots actually!
Love, love, love your “Fell In Love With A Girl” cover. Have you had many White Stripe fans reacting to this?
LIZ: I love how this song turned out.  There’s been some reactions from fans and from people who hadn’t heard it before.  The same thing happened with Drugs In My Pocket.
ERIK: Thanks! Haha yep, a few. At first the reaction is skepticism that a cover will do the song any justice, but so far everyone’s liked it.
Any word from the White Stripes on the cover?
LIZ: Not that I know of. I’d love to know what they think through!!
ERIK: Not yet. Fingers Crossed.

What inspired “Drugs In My Pocket?”
LIZ: I can’t put my finger on exactly how we decided on this one. One of the guys might remember.  We threw around a lot if ideas and this one worked right away.
ERIK: It’s a cover by The Monks. Totally under appreciated band.
Liz what is your background? You sound so beautiful on “One Note Samba” Did you have to practice that song a lot?
LIZ: My background is Portuguese.  I grew up in a predominantly Portuguese community and some of my first experiences performing were for Portuguese events.  I’m a big fan of Portuguese and Brazilian music.  I really love Ellis Regina and Jobim. I’ve been singing this song for a while, so I guess you can say I practiced it a lot:)  Can’t take credit for the instrumentation though…the guys killed it!
Your sound has a very 60’s mod vibe. Did you know what you were going to sound like when you started playing together or did you just start fucking around in the studio?
LIZ: We never talked about what it should song like.  We just went with it.  I think we all really needed a place to explore and do what we love.
ERIK: We went into the studio to write for fun… I don’t remember every discussing what our sound should be… For this mix tape we really just winged it and had a laugh. I think there are a few stifled laughs in the vocal performances actually…
What do you guys have coming up next?
LIZ: Finishing up our original material and rehearsing our show.
ERIK: We have a record of original songs that we’re finishing up and we are rehearsing for Spring shows.
What is your dream tour? Place and with what other acts?
LIZ: Definitely Europe.
ERIK: Personally, Europe with…. Well the band changes, but right now I bet it would be amazing to tour with Arctic Monkeys or Justice.
Why did you decide to release this mix tape as your debut?
LIZ: We have this collection of music that we really love and have been holding to. Feel like the right time, ramping up to the release of our originals.
ERIK: We thought it would be a cool way to showcase our different musical backgrounds while at the same time putting songs we love into our own style.
Coming into the music scene how had you been received?
LIZ: It’s been really positive. When our songs started getting placed on records, people really liked our sound.  I always knew it was special but purposely put no expectations on it.  To hear the positive reaction is an honour.
ERIK: We spend so much time locked away in a studio writing songs that we love, but once they’re recorded you don’t really get to sing or play them again until you get to do it live. The excitement of playing to a crowd when anything can happen is unparalleled.
What is your favorite thing about playing live?
LIZ: To finally be play what we spent so much time piecing together. The reaction people have to the songs. We get approached about how they connect to certain songs…it’s pretty cool.
What are you most excited about playing together as a group?
LIZ: The personal experiences we’ve had a long the way.  The level of musicianship in the group really raises the bar for me…and it just feels natural.
When are you putting out your next release or video?
LIZ: Aiming for around March.
Any group mantras?
LIZ: Not sure about mantras but, some pretty funny ongoing jokes! (Guys seem to love that sort of thing…it’s entertaining haha;)
ERIK: Sure, but that’s personal haha.