On September 13th, Canadian indie pop artist Royal released her new single “Wild” to Canadian radio, which marks her first radio single since being a Top 12 Finalist in 2014 The Peak Performance Project BC (you can check out the YouTube video here).
It was also her first collaboration with noted producer Ryan Worsley, who co-produced the album Black to Gold, which helped Canadian duo Dear Rouge earn a 2016 Juno Award for Breakthrough Group of the Year.
In addition to her work in music, Royal has also enjoyed multiple film and television placements from her first album, 2009’s Seasons, a Canadian HOT AC Top 40 radio single (2010’s “Christmas with You”), and first prize in the 2010 We Are Listening Singer/Songwriter Competition.
Here’s what she had to say about her emerging career in music, her upcoming plans, and how she overcame being a shy child.
CraveOnline: Tell us about your latest projects.
Royal: I’ve just released my new single “Wild”, which I am beyond excited about.
As an independent musician I wear many, many hats, which roam every realm of the creative and business sectors involved with a career in music. Over the past two years – with the help of a small team – I have accomplished composing and recording the single, the creation of the live and official music videos, new band merchandise, branding, publicity and radio campaigns, business plans, show bookings, etc. all for this release. Amongst all of this, I have been collaborating with electronica artists in various parts of the world including Turkey, Italy and France. It’s been a challenging and fun experience writing for different genres with very specific styles, all of which were generated from my collaboration of “City Lights” with producer/electronica artist Conro.
As for live performances, I have been booking and preparing a mini release tour within the interior of BC, which will kick off with my single release show in Vancouver on October 2nd at Studio Records. Following this, I will be performing on Vancouver Island and in the Okanagan.
The release of “Wild” is just the beginning. I have been working on the recording of my upcoming LP, to be released Spring 2017. So far it’s been an intense creative process. Over the past two years I’ve experienced a dramatic breakthrough confronting the lingering ghosts of my past broken relationships. From this I was finally able to harness those unfiltered emotions into melody. I have since brought those songs to Luca Fogale – an incredible artist, songwriter and producer – where we have continued to grow the dramatic and cinematic tones through instrumental experimentation. I am really looking forward to seeing how these songs evolve into a complete project of which I can share with the world.
What is your impression of the Canadian music landscape?
What makes me most excited about music today is how much of it there is, and how it is more popular than it’s ever been, and more accessible. Canadian music is also on the rise in popularity, which is good news for myself and all of the other Canadian artists out there. The landscape is forever changing and growing and it is an exciting time.
If you hadn’t gone into singing, what do you think you would be doing professionally?
I never intentionally chose a career in music. It somehow evolved from something I would do for my own therapeutic relief. I initially had planned to pursue my passion as a visual artist. I’ve been an artist for as long as I can remember. I was always sketching or painting, or covered in charcoal – basically anything I could get my hands on. Once music took over, my other passions were benched for a long time… until recently, where I’ve developed this odd obsession with painting/sketching Bob Dylan. I can’t explain it. Maybe it’s his hair… Whatever it is, as soon as I put a pencil/brush to paper, Bob emerges.
What is something that people would be surprised to know about you?
For anyone who met me post-high school, they probably would have never guessed that I was an extremely shy and quiet kid. And I mean extreme. I wouldn’t talk to anyone. Ever. I was this crazy, wild toddler and then as soon as I went to school, I – for whatever reason – concealed myself in a shell. It wasn’t until I was accepted into an outdoors program for half of a semester in grade 11 that I began to really come out of that shell. After taking on kayaking over the ocean, rock climbing and having to learn the basics of survival, it made many parts of daily life and beyond much less intimidating. After that, I went on to sing in front of many of my peers at a high school talent show, and took home first prize. Everyone’s jaws dropped when they saw me go on stage and open my mouth to sing. After that, I went on to play at one of the local open mic shows on a regular basis and the rest is history.
