this week’s opener (6/14) is:

Royel Otis

🔮 the vibe…

indie pop duo making music that feels like it’s made for surfing in the 80’s 🌊

🏡 the roots…

formed in byron bay, australia in 2019

📖 the story…

• the band is named after it’s two members pictured above: otis pavlovic (left) and royel maddell (right)

• after living in new york for a few years, royel returned home to australia broke and started working in a bar

• he met otis at the bar - and otis showed royel some demos he’d been working on

• the two started making music together and then the pandemic hit, forcing them to stay in ‘music creation mode’

• their big break came when they covered ‘murder on the dancefloor’ live on aussie radio station, triple j

  • the single immediately exploded and kicked the door open for the band to release their only album: PRATTS & PAIN (named after the pub next to their recording studio…god bless australians)

🎧 the 🔝 songs …

sofa king - spotify / apple music

going kokomo - spotify / apple music

🎙️ the 🔝 performance…

'linger' (cranberries cover) - click below to view

• after the success of their 'murder on the dancefloor' cover - royel otis tried again, this time with 90's romcom anthem 'linger'

• the result has quickly surpassed 10m views on youtube…quite simply because it’s perfect 🤌

  • it also (finally) just got released on streaming service so you can consume it on repeat - spotify / apple music

📇 the rest…

• quick thought: these guys are very ‘green’. royel maddell barely shows his face in public (see above picture), and they're incredibly awkward in interviews…i love it.

  • there’s something about when a new band is already super polished in public which feels manufactured to me. give us awkward musicians again!

• us tour coming in the fall (link)

• IG/TikTok

📇 the word…

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