such barriers, playing such music for genuine
pleasure, and raiding the sort of brittle 80s funk
bought today for ideas as much as Metallica.
“Let music be boundary-less, let it be genre-
less,” Grahn declares. “Rarely did a genre stamp
change the way I feel about a song. The only
common factor between Yesterday and Helter Skelter
is that they were by the same people. And what
if The Beatles didn’t cross that line? Would we
have Sgt. Pepper?”
“The world would be less colourful if we all went
middle-of-the-road,” Irengård agrees. “I justwatched Bohemian Rhapsody, and there’s that scene
where Freddy’s saying, ‘This is a single’, and the
label guys are like, ‘No, it’s five hours long, it’s
opera, with made-up words.’ And we got one of
the most beautiful rock anthems ever because he
had the balls to stand up for himself.”
For those about to Zig-a-zig-ah!, we salute you.Club Majesty is out on May 31 via Nuclear
Blast. Royal Republic play Download on June 15
followed by a U K headline tour in October.Daydreamin’ by Prince contemporary Morris Day.
“I fell for another cover,” Grahn confesses. The
image of Day pulling up in a posh car to meet a girl
in a swimsuit, presumably before jetting off
together in the adjacent private plane, is
arrestingly impractical. In a sign of changing times,
Grahn says that RR recently took their first private
plane – not for mile-high hi-jinks, but to rush from
a festival before his wife gave birth to their daughter.
Irengård has also taken a punt on a cover which
“freaked me out” by a band he’s never heard of,
Human Bell. Its boy standing outside a shack
wearing a too large Halloween mask is nightmare
stuff. “It’s amazing how important covers are,” he
says. “Management always tell us no one cares
now, it’s just going to be a thumbnail on Spotify.
But people who really care like to hold the album
in their hands, and if you don’t treat them well,
you’re screwed.”
Leaving Flashback for the cafe next door, the
Royal duo consider how their ridiculously diverse
swag reflects with their own music.
“People were saying after our first album, you
should do the exact same thing one more time,”
says Irengård. “Their perspective is ‘This makes
money, do it again’. And instead we turned the
whole thing upside-down with our second record.
It might not be the greatest we ever did, but it was
part of our journey to this album, where we are
actually pushing the boundaries of what a rock
band should sound like.”
“We’ve done so many interviews with typical
rock journalists, and in their world this,” Grahn
says, holding up the first Spice Girls cassette ever
totted in CR’s accounts, “is as taboo as being gay
in the forties.”
Royal Republic’s Pop Liberation Front admits no
Nirvana – In Utero
Adolescent Irengård’s riff Rosetta stone.Bob Dylan – Highway 61 Revisited
Another classic on cassette.The Beatles – At The Hollywood Bowl
“My father was a walking Beatles
encyclopaedia,” Grahn says, explaining this
childhood influence, “down to the difference
between the guitar on different shows.”Human Bell – Human Bell
An unknown quantity on Chicago indie-rock
label Thrill Jockey.
“Very slow, suggestive blues-grunge
instrumentals,” Irengård finds. “Hangover
music. Or good for meditation, I guess.”Sonic Youth – Dirty Boots
Irengård icons.Rex The Dog – Bubblicious
“I’m very excited about this one,” Grahn says of
the disco-fied 2009 electronica from the DJ.The Martyn Ford Orchestra – Smoovin
“This record just spoke to me,” Grahn says of
this orchestral disco tat from 1976. “How many
shots did it take for the cover photo? Everything
about it is perfect. Look at the angle of her back.
I just hoped it would be reflected in the passion
she plays with. Then I heard it, and the love
was enforced.”Morris Day – Daydreamin’
“The production on these eighties records is
astonishing,” Grahn says of this album by the
singer of Prince peers The Time. “The
programmed bass and brass and guitar are
good to steal from. You find really good
rhythms, and nobody knows what this shit is.”Spice Girls – Spice
“It was this tape that pushed us over the fifty-
pound budget?” Grahn queries. “Yeah, well I’d
go over any edge for the Spice Girls.”Commodores – Midnight Magic
Bought because Grahn couldn’t find Earth,
Wind And Fire.CHECKOUT
ROYAL REPUBLIC
WHAT ADAM AND HANNES ENDED UP SHELLING OUT FOR.