Just a few hours before they hit the Mainstage at Hellfest, we had the opportunity and pleasure to spend some time with three quarters of the excellent band Royal Republic. Despite the sweltering heat – which they joked about – Hannes, Jonas, and Per answered our questions with humor and insight. Needless to say, after such a performance, they’re finally getting the recognition they’ve long deserved.
Welcome to Hellfest, ready to go for the show?
Ready to go!
With the leather jackets and everything (about the extreme heat today)?
Hannes Irengard (guitar): Can’t wait… (jaded)
Per Andreasson (drums): Worst decision ever. (laughs) It’s all fun and games until you come to Hellfest.
Jonas Almén (bass guitar): It’s gonna be hell.
Hannes: …fest. (laughs)
Your sound has a strong 80s album rock and disco vibe, reminiscent of bands like Reckless Love on Turborider. Many people seem to connect with that era, even if they didn’t live through it. How do you explain that?
Per: 80’s and 90’s were the best music ever created. We grew up back then, so it’s not surprising that it made its way into our sound. People like this period because there’s a lot of emotion in it, and nostalgia too.
Jonas: Lots of iconic styles of music.
Per: The freedom to create songs that maybe wouldn’t be possible to create in other styles.
Hannes: The songwriting was a little weird sometimes, but it worked.
Speaking of songwriting, was the process quick this time around? Did everyone contribute equally?
Hannes: Everyone was chipping in, everyone writes, all four of us. But no, it has never been a fast process.
Jonas: This time, it took over a year.
Per: And then at the very end, we sat and we had ten songs. But we needed more songs, we were kind of in trouble, and then, in like two days, we wrote three songs. So I guess, it’s all about pressure.
When you’re writing music, do you hold back on complex vocal arrangements if they might be too difficult to perform live?
Hannes: No, the other way around actually. But we did run into problems with this, that we solved. I mean, “LoveCop” was one of those, with a big fat 80’s choir backing vocals package. It sounded great, sounded awesome, but all of a sudden we had to go on tour, and we’re like: “How the fuck are we going to do this?“. But we do it and it’s fine with the three of us, it works well. I mean, it’s never gonna sound like on the album, but it’s part of why you go see a show.
Per: We like to use tricks in the studio.
Was there a particular song that gave you a hard time finishing it?
Per: I think “Ain’t Got Time” was a long time coming. It’s a song that was already around during Club Majesty, but we couldn’t get it right somehow. It’s one of the three songs we finished at the very end. It was just about finding the right sort of chorus.
Jonas: And then in the studio, we changed and re-arranged the song on the spot basically. Like: “No, skip this part“.
Per: Even the verse wasn’t quite done yet. It was like: “Skip the verse, we’ll work on it later”. (laughs).
We loved the Schwarzenegger quote “My body is like breakfast, lunch and dinner. I don’t think about it, I just have it” at the beginning of the “LoveCop” video. Was that just for fun, or was it meant as a kind of tribute?
Hannes: Leo (ed. Akesson – video director) put that in himself, but I love it. But it’s all him.
Per: But I mean, Leo obviously thinks about his body. (Laughs) He put a few hours in to be in shape.
You just released “Venus”, a cover of Shocking Blue. If we’re not mistaken, it’s part of a larger project to release several cover songs – is that right?
Per: Yes, it’s a four-song project. We wanted to do that for a long time. We already did a Lenny Kravitz cover in the past. But I don’t know how the Blastbeaters corpse-painted band came into the picture. (laughs) They seem very nice guys…
Jonas: Yeah, lovely, lovely. (laughs)
Did you meet them?
Jonas: Yeah, yeah, I met them a few times. (laughs) They’re really cool, but they don’t really do press anymore. (laughs)
Per: They don’t talk a lot.
Do you know when the second cover will be released?
Per: Yes, in August. But other than that, no information.
Jonas: We know nothing. (laughs). The Blastbeaters will not tell us.
Is there a track from the new album that you’re especially excited to play live, but haven’t had the chance to yet?
Per: We didn’t play “Love Somebody”, we barely played “Wow! Wow! Wow!”, and we haven’t played “Sha-la-la-Lady” either. We already had 7-8 songs from the last album at the beginning of the tour. All the songs are fun to play but challenging.
Jonas: Yeah, you gotta stay sharp and focused.
We consider “Anna-Leigh” like a songwriting masterpiece. We don’t mean lyric-wise… Who’s that girl? (laughs)
Per: (laughs) I had a girlfriend when I was in fourth grade whose name was very similar.
Hannes: Did she get in touch with you after the release of the song?
Per: No, I could find her on Facebook and say: “Sorry it didn’t work out”. She was very tall, I was tiny.
Are you going to play it today?
Per: No, we don’t have time today. We have to cut a lot of stuff. It’s unfortunate because I really enjoy playing it. I like to interact with the audience on “I got a name for that kind of game“. Sometimes they get it, sometimes they don’t understand. (laughs)
Would you say you’re more of a live band than a studio band?
All: Live.
Per: We always say that live is our sex life and the rest of it is the struggle of…
Jonas: Marriage. (laughs)
Per: Yeah, you have to make it work somehow.
Do you feel that bands like yours – with a playful image and fun songs – aren’t always taken as seriously as they should be?
Per: I think we will get there with everyone, one day, at the end of our career. Everybody will understand what we were doing, that it’s meaningful. I didn’t understand it at first – how can you be meaningful being this goofy and not very serious about anything?
Hannes: Yes, that’s what we do, but at the same time, I don’t know any other band that is more serious about what we do than us… But it’s interesting…
Per: Everything we do is taken very seriously by us. There’s an increasing importance of bands like us. People can put their troubles away for a moment, their personal life, and just relax and have a good time. That’s really important these days.
Hannes: And you can tell – it is. A lot of the time, people come to us to say: “You’ve been really helpful to me with your music, you helped me through tough shit“. And it means a lot. Because I remember having these conversations with my friends, with my family: “Imagine being a doctor, saving lives, that would be something“. But some people are saying that it is exactly what we do with this band. It’s awesome when you hear that.
It’s time for us, so here’s the last question: we’re RockUrLife, so, what rocks your lives?
Per: My four-year-old daughter is completely rocking my life. In the good ways and the bad.
Hannes: Today is rocking my life – the heat and the thought of getting on stage with my leather jacket in this weather is REALLY rocking my life right now. (laughs) Taking the leather jacket off after the show is going to rock my entire world. (laughs)
Per: Yeah, it’s Midsommar in Sweden today, when we celebrate Mother Nature and the high point of the summer season. It’s really about getting drunk and fucking in the bushes outside. (laughs) And you, Jonas?
Jonas: The same. By the way, his (ed. pointing at Hannes) leather jacket zipper is broken and so he’s stuck in it if we don’t help him…
Per: And we always say “Sorry Hannes, we have to go halfway over and we can’t go down and he can’t go up”. (laughs)
Hannes: And I’m stuck in it.
You should consider a set for the warm period and one for the cold period…
All: Yeah, good idea!
Website: royalrepublic.net
