Sweden-native, indie-rock band The Royal Concept is gaining notoriety in the U.S. for its catchy riffs and lyrics. Popular songs from the band include “Gimme Twice” and “On Our Way.” The Royal Concept continued to impress Dallas audiences last week at Club Dada.
Before the concert, the SMU Campus Weekly sat down with lead singer David Larson and guitarist Filip Bekic, who teamed up to answer questions.
SMU Campus Weekly: How did you guys come together to form The Royal Concept?
Bekic: “David and I met in high school. We started forming bands back then.”
Larson: “They all sucked.”
Bekic: “Yeah they did suck. Then we met our drummer and he kinda put is into shape. He’s much older than we are; he was a well-known drummer back in Stockholm.”
SMU CW: How many bands did you guys form before The Royal Concept?
Larson: “A lot of them, like one every week basically.”
SMU CW: Oh wow, what made them all fall apart?
Bekic & Larson: “Shitty songs. Shitty band names. That’s about it.”
SMU CW: What made you settle on your band name now?
Larson: “We were actually The Concept in the beginning. Then a week before we were supposed to release our first EP here, we found out that there was already a rapper named The Concept here so we had to change it. We snuck into our venue at Stockholm and put our name on the sign outside of the venue and we just added different words in between. And it works.”
SMU CW: What made your songs improve along the years?
Bekic: “I guess we got a little more mature.”
Larson: “I think that we got to actually play in front of people and try songs out and learn. That’s the problem with Stockholm right now is that there are too few live venues because the DJ scene basically took over. We have crazy good DJs back home so I understand that, but it’s a shame because we need venues like this.”
SMU CW: Do you like being on the road more because you can go to these different venues?
Larson: “Yes and we also get to meet new people and practice our English.”
SMU CW: What is the inspiration behind your music?
Larson: “We’re just musicians from the beginning. We also listen to very different kinds of music. The only music that we all enjoy is good jazz and Paul Simon. We listen to a lot of Paul Simon.”
Bekic: “Our drummer is a big Daft Punk fan. We’re more into singer-songwriters.”
SMU CW: I know you guys had a couple big hits, does that add more pressure to you when you’re creating new music or does it make you more excited for the future?
Larson: “With this new EP we felt like doing something different so the Spectrum is just bigger for us. We were also tired of the Phoenix comparison, even though they are one of my favorite bands, so we were trying to do something they would have never have done. Not just the Phoenix but every band, we are trying to stand out. It’s also important that we show the label that we are kind of unpredictable.”
SMU CW: What’s your favorite song to perform?
Bekic: “It’s different every night. Right now probably the new songs since they’re new to us too.”
SMU CW: Do you guys have any traditions or things you do before you go on stage?
Larson: “Filip is from Croatia.”
Bekic: “Yeah I do a Croatian pep talk.”
Larson: “No one knows what he’s saying still.”
SMU CW: What do you like about being on the road?
Larson: “When it comes to venues, you never know what to expect. It’s fun to be on that level when you don’t know what to expect. It’s also fun to be on social media and YouTube. We have only released two EPs in the states but we have released a shitload of songs back home and suddenly you can end up in Kansas City and someone is requesting a demo of yours from four years ago just because it’s out there.”
Bekic: “We actually added a song right now for tonight because people were requesting it so we had to learn it again.”
Check out the band’s latest album “Smile,” released Aug. 21.
