The Royal Concept

The Royal Concept is a Swedish rock band founded in Stockholm in 2010. It currently consists of lead vocalist and guitarist David Larson, guitarist Filip Bekic, bassist Magnus Robert, and drummer Povel Olsson.^[1]

The Royal Concept
The Royal Concept performing in 2013
Background information
Origin	Stockholm, Sweden
Genres	Alternative rock indie rock indie pop alternative dance synthpop dance-pop pop punk pop rock post-punk revival
Years active	2010–present
Labels	Columbia Records, Lava Records, Republic Records
Members	David Larson Filip Bekic Magnus Robert Povel Olsson
Past members	Oscar Nilsson
Website	www.theroyalconcept.com

Career

2010–2012: Early founding

Originally billed as Concept store, in 2010 they released their first single, "Damn", which has a mixture of sunny-pop and electronic elements. The band consisted originally of Oscar Nilsson, David Larsson, Filip Bekic and Povel Olsson.

In 2011, the band changed their name to The Concept. Oscar Nilsson left the band and became replaced by the bassist Magnus Robert. The same year they released "D-D-Dance" and "Gimme Twice". After getting support from the Swedish national radio channel P3, they soon made an impression on the Swedish live music scene, peaking in the summer of 2011 at the Peace & Love festival.

In early 2012, the band changed its name to The Royal Concept, signing to Lava Records and releasing their self-titled EP in June. They also released their tracks "World on Fire"^[2] and "Naked and Dumb", followed by a fall tour in the US opening for The Wombats, then Wolf Gang before returning to Sweden to finish recording their studio album. Their single "Goldrushed" was included in the soundtrack of FIFA 13, and also in NASCAR The Game: Inside Line(along with "In The End"),^[3] while "World on Fire" was featured on the soundtrack of MLB 13: The Show.

2013: Goldrushed

In 2013, the band released the single "On Our Way", and announced the title of their debut album, Goldrushed, which was released in Sweden on September 11, 2013. That fall the band toured with American Authors and Misterwives around North America. In addition the band also released an exclusive song on Spotify, "27 Forever". In spring 2014 the band went on tour with Switchfoot.^[4] In April 2014, the band announced the release date (May 7, 2014) of their debut album "Goldrushed" in Japan, which features five bonus tracks (Damn, Naked & Dumb, Gimme Twice, Knocked Up, and Someday). "On Our Way" is one of the songs featured in EA Sports's football game FIFA 14,^[5] and has been one of the players' most favourite songs. It was also covered by the cast of Glee in the Season 5 episode "The End of Twerk"^[6] and was also used several episodes of MTV series Big Tips Texas, Generation Cryo and Catfish: The TV Show.

2015–2018: Smile

The Royal Concept's second release was August 21, 2015, with the album Smile. "Smile" was featured in the game FIFA 16.^[7] "Fashion" was featured in the television program iZombie.^[8] The band toured in North American supporting the album.

After the release and publicity of Smile, members of the band decided to disband for a short time before joining back together and releasing an EP, The Wake Up, in September 2018 while on a tour of Asia.^[9]

2019: The Man Without Qualities

On May 24, 2019, TRC released The Man Without Qualities, their first release since breaking from Republic Records.^[10] The album was described as more mature than the band's previous releases, with a little bit of carryover but with more climaxes and emotion as well as showing more of a psychedelic side of their sound.^[11][12] The band originally planned for The Man Without Qualities to be their last album, but after exiting the bureaucratic world of major music labels, a newfound vibe pushed them forward, and worked with Chris Seefried to produce the album.^[13] The Royal Concept toured China before the album's release and subsequently announced a tour in Japan, Sweden and Spain.^[14]

Band members

Current members

• David Larson - lead vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards, synthesizers (2010–present)
• Filip Bekic - lead guitar, backing vocals (2010–present)
• Magnus Robert - bass, backing vocals (2011–present)
• Povel Olsson - drums, percussion, backing vocals (2010–present)

Past members

• Oscar Nilsson- Lead vocals (2010-2011)

Touring members

• Jonatan Larson - David's younger brother, additional live musician.

Discography

Studio albums

• 2013: Goldrushed (Swedish Release)
  • 1. "World On Fire"
  • 2. "On Our Way"
  • 3. "D-D-Dance"
  • 4. "Radio"
  • 5. "Cabin Down Below (feat. Kenny G)"
  • 6. "In the End"
  • 7. "Busy Busy"
  • 8. "Girls Girls Girls"
  • 9. "Shut the World"
  • 10. "Tonight"
  • 11. "Goldrushed"
  • 12. "Damn!" (Swedish Bonus Track)
  • 13. "27 Forever" (Exclusive Spotify Track)
• 2014: Goldrushed (Japanese Release)
  • 1. "World On Fire"
  • 2. "On Our Way"
  • 3. "D-D-Dance"
  • 4. "Radio"
  • 5. "Cabin Down Below (feat. Kenny G)"
  • 6. "In the End"
  • 7. "Busy Busy"
  • 8. "Girls Girls Girls"
  • 9. "Shut the World"
  • 10. "Tonight"
  • 11. "Goldrushed"
  • 12. "Damn!"
  • 13. "Naked & Dumb"
  • 14. "Gimme Twice"
  • 15. "Knocked Up"
  • 16. "Someday"
• 2019: The Man Without Qualities
  • 1. "The Wake Up"
  • 2. "The Man Without Qualities"
  • 3. "Wild Things"
  • 4. "Need To Know"
  • 5. "Why Why Not"
  • 6. "Kick It"
  • 7. "Silver Lining"
  • 8. "Up All Night"

Extended plays (EPs)

• 2012: The Royal Concept
  • 1. Gimme Twice
  • 2. Goldrushed
  • 3. Knocked up
  • 4. D-D-Dance
  • 5. In The End
• 2013: Royal
  • 1. World On Fire
  • 2. On Our Way
  • 3. Gimme Twice
  • 4. Radio
  • 5. Shut The World
  • 6. Goldrushed
• 2015: Smile
  • 1. "Smile"
  • 2. "Fashion"
  • 3. "Higher Than Love"
  • 4. "Hurricane"
  • 5. "Just Wanna Be Loved By U"
• 2018: The Wake Up (Asia Release)
  • 1. "Wild Things"
  • 2. "Need To Know"
  • 3. "Kick It"
  • 4. "Up All Night"

Singles

• 2010: "Damn!"
• 2011: "D-D-Dance"
• 2011: "Gimme Twice" #35 Billboard Alternative Songs
• 2012: "World on Fire"
• 2012: "Naked & Dumb"
• 2012: "Lost in You"
• 2013: "On Our Way"
• 2019: "Need To Know"
• 2019: "Up All Night"
• 2019: "Kick It"

References

1. "The Royal Concept Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
2. "The Royal Concept - MusicBrainz".
3. "NASCAR The Game: Inside Line soundtrack at RacingSoundtracks.com". racingsoundtracks.com. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
4. "Switchfoot". Archived from the original on 2014-08-14. Retrieved 2015-04-08.
5. "FIFA 14 – List of All Soundtracks [Exclusive] | FIFANOW". Archived from the original on 2013-09-22. Retrieved 2013-09-18.
6. Volta, Rae (15 November 2013). "'Glee' Recap: The 'End of Twerk' Episode Not As Bad As It Sounds". Billboard. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
7. "FIFA 16 soundtrack: Here's the official list of songs featuring in". The Independent. 11 September 2015. Archived from the original on 2022-06-18. Retrieved 2016-04-13.
8. "TuneFind". TuneFind. Retrieved 2015-11-17.
9. "The Royal Concept talk about new EP The Wake Up, their return to Manila, and Filipino acts they listen to". Bandwagon. 26 September 2018. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
10. Mosk, Mitch (24 May 2019). "Our Take: Freedom Reigns in The Royal Concept's 'The Man Without Qualities'". Atwood Magazine. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
11. Påhlsson, Gustav (22 May 2019). "Mognare, bredare och ett steg närmare det riktigt stora". Gaffa (in Swedish). Retrieved 22 July 2024.
12. Franklin, Dave. "Need To Know – The Royal Concept (reviewed by Dave Franklin)". Dancing About Architecture. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
13. ""Vi skiter i listor, och vill bara lira" – The Royal Concept är tillbaka med nytt album!". MyNewsDesk (Press release) (in Swedish). Retrieved 19 July 2019.
14. Shipley, Beth. "Interview With The Royal Concept As They Release Psychedelic New Album". NeonMusic. Retrieved 19 July 2019.

External links

• Official website
• The Royal Concept on Facebook
• The Royal Concept on Twitter
• Official shop