Sometimes, trolling a friend’s Facebook page can yield great results!
I’ve got to thank my main man Darrius for bringing my attention to The New Royales. This foursome-mainly from Canada-makes completely genre-unclassifiable music. It’s pop, it’s soul, it’s funk, it’s indie, and it’s definitely exciting. Their website tells me they’ve been around since 2007, which makes me want to slap myself for not discovering them earlier.
Not only are the New Royales not industry neophytes, they’ve worked with some of the most popular artists in the business, including Eminem, P!nk, and fellow Canuck Celine Dion. Most recently, the foursome has released a free album on their Bandcamp page entitled Freedom’s For The Brave. The all-covers album takes from a wide array of sources. There’s a White Stripes cover, takes on Depeche Mode’s “Everything Counts” and Yaz’s “Bad Connection,” a swing through the Foster Sylvers soul classic “Misdemeanor,” and, perhaps most impressively, a jaunt through Tom Scott‘s “Tomorrow.” For those unaware, “Tomorrow” is the song that spun off one of the most recognizable hip-hop samples of all time-the horn break that anchors Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth‘s “They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)”
(I also found out they worked with Pitbull. Oh well, hopefully they got some exposure out of it.)
You can download Freedom’s For The Brave here. Now, excuse me while I acquaint myself with some of their older (original) material!
(here’s a video for ya…I definitely dig this cut.)