Biography
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Years Active
2010 – present (14 years)
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Founded In
New York, New York, United States
The Last Royals are a two piece band from New York City comprised of writer/producer Eric James and drummer extraordinaire Mason Ingram. The Last Royals are nascent, having only recently emerged from a joint project that brought the two musicians together in Spring 2010. The connection urged a new chapter in Eric’s career as a musician, evolving him from a solo artist who played under the moniker The Early Hours to one-half of a self-proclaimed pop band.
Originally an outlet from producing, co-writing and a previous production deal, The Last Royals began as an experiment inspired by the miles of NYC concrete that Eric James walked daily on Manhattan's Lower East Side. Recording in the early off-hours of the morning, James wrote and tracked one song per day for 8 days of self-described “urban walking music”. He posted the resulting A Week & A Day collection on iTunes under the name The Early Hours in early 2009.
Though the songs found their way into a number of commercial outlets (including MTV’s The Real World, Keeping Up With The Kardashians and a national Miller/7Eleven ad campaign), the initial concept of restrained laptop music left James yearning for bigger, organic beats. James recorded some additional tracks but was left looking for the right creative partner to complete the concept and bring his more aggressive, vibrant vision to life.
Enter Ingram, whose Ghanaian rhythm studies, indie experience (including Australia’s Angus & Julia Stone), and classical percussion pedigree, provide the needed organic, big-beat foundation. The two hit it off while tracking a record James was producing in Spring 2010 and James played Ingram a couple of his new demos. The concept clicked straightaway and the duo began fleshing out a forceful indie-pop collaboration, rechristening it The Last Royals.
The Last Royals were born from life’s drudgery, from the soaring highs and bottomed-out lows of daily urban existence. The lyrics reveal the slog of any city, the world’s unending grind, and ultimately reflect the perspective that beneath the grit and the weight is the faint gleam of hope. The stories woven through the verses and the choruses are earthed in reality and grounded in truth, telling tales of characters who live in urban landscapes as they come and go, love and fail, and desperately desire things of the heart and things of the flesh.
The band was discovered and signed shortly thereafter by Ooh La La Records in Brooklyn, NY (1,2,3 “Confetti”), which set them up to record in August at Headgear Studios (TV On The Radio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs). The debut single “Crystal Vases” began charting on national submodern charts in the fall of 2010 and was added to regular rotation on SiriusXM's AltNation in early 2011. The Last Royals posted several free downloadable cover songs in the Spring 2011, including the Prince classic "Nothing Compares 2 U". A debut full-length followed in January 2012 via Ooh La La Records.
THE LAST ROYALS are:
Eric James (vocals, synths, guitar)
Mason Ingram (drums, percussion, samples)
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