Industri Royal is not a regular rock band that can easily be pigeonholed. They live together like hippies,
like to dress like dandies but hit the stage with the intensity of punk rockers. The band tries to be epic
and minimalistic at the same time, but basically it is all about making killer pop music, three minute songs
where ideas and whims crowd and converge in whatever way they can. But for Industri Royal it is also about
looking as good as they can while they are doing it.
This band was formed in Umeå, Sweden in 2004 by Joel Dunkels. He had since early childhood a head full of
both new wave music and Napoleon complex and realized that the next best thing after invading a country is
to form a band. A few members have come and gone since then and over the years the music has changed. The
original idea has remained the same though - to become a great fucking band. The band has worked towards
that goal with a commitment you usually only see in religious fundamentalists. And since the band live
together and rehearse seven days a week they view themselves a cult as much as a rock band. The constant
dilemma is the difficulty of squeezing in revival and stadium rock in a punked-out live-set that rarely
exceeds 30 minutes.
The debut album "Tacky Skills", which will be released on the 28th of January on Alleycat Records, was
recorded and produced by Oskar Sandlund in the summer of 2008. Shortly before the recording sessions the
band changed guitarist for the hundredth time. Finding someone dedicated enough has always been a problem,
and the amount of dedication needed has always been staggering. The solution was to bring in Erik Dunkels,
brother of Joel and one year his junior. Just like the rest of the band he is not a musician in the
technical sense. But that does not matter. Industri Royal do not seek those ideals. Technique is nothing -
heart and feeling is everything.
If you dismiss Industri Royal as a vain, tacky and populistic band you are probably right. Their delusions
of grandeur are clearly grand and are bound to get them in trouble wherever they go. Because the things
Industri Royal do, they do with passion.
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