‘Sometimes it can get tiring’: how Royel Otis became indie’s next big thing

This time last year the Sydney indie band Royel Otis was up for breakthrough artist at the Arias. They didn't take the gong home but this year they just might: the duo leads the pack with eight nominations including album of the year, song of the year and best group.

"It's just so mind-blowing," says Royel Maddell, the guitarist. "I was dizzy after hearing it."

Otis Pavlovic, the singer, agrees: "It's pretty, pretty surreal."

To say it ha been a nonstop year is an understatement. Royel Otis are Australia's next big thing, making waves worldwide with their sunny indie rock. In February they released their debut album, Pratts & Pain; they've been touring the world since.

When we speak, the band is in the US, where they made their live television debut in October on Jimmy Kimmel. They're now playing their way through Europe in mostly sold-out shows before coming home to Australia for a run of summer festivals.

Their rise feels less like a whirlwind, Maddell says, and more like meeting a friend's kid as a baby and not noticing they're growing up before your eyes. "It's just been like a step, step, step sort of thing, rather than going from being tiny to [big] venues," he says.

The band's origin story feels fated: Maddell and Pavlovic ran in similar circles in the Byron Bay music scene for years but it wasn't until 2019 that they started collaborating – and found a perfect collision of tastes and interests. They released their first EP in 2021, and two more since. "We've turned from being friends into almost family," Pavlovic says.

The combination of Pavlovic's choirboy vocals and Maddell's jangly guitar feels timeless – their breakout single, 2022's dreamy Oysters in My Pocket, sounds as though it could have come out at any point in the last 30 years. But the band might not have blown up without two cover songs, both of which went staggeringly viral.

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First, in January, Royel Otis reimagined Sophie Ellis-Bextor's disco-pop classic Murder on the Dancefloor into an effusive sunburst for Triple J's beloved cover series Like a Version, racking up 50m Spotify streams. A few months later they performed the Cranberries' lovelorn ballad Linger for SiriusXM. That stripped-back cover, featuring just voice and guitar, has topped 82m streams.

These songs tap into a broader cultural nostalgia. "So many people love Nirvana now who were definitely not even in the womb for another 10 years," says Maddell, though he's cagey about his own age. "I'm older than Otis," he says, making it clear that's the end of the answer.

Royel Otis's own music is suffused with hints of the past too. Maddell names the Smiths and the Cure as his influences but there are also echoes of 2010s indie bands including Phoenix, Passion Pit and MGMT. "It's not intentional but maybe it's in our roots from what we listened to when we were younger," Pavlovic says.

It might be a double-edged sword to go viral for other people's songs but Maddell says they're "both really grateful" – even if the band's success has chafed against his own penchant for anonymity. On this Zoom call, as in all photos and videos, his long hair obscures his face. Has it been harder to remain hidden?

"People have gotten more respectful," Maddell counters, a smile visible under the locks. "Now when they want to get photos, they want to cover their face with me, rather than being like, 'Just show your face,' which used to happen a lot ... I'm definitely glad it was my choice."

The band is now on the home stretch of their mammoth tour before returning to Australia. "I saw the schedule late last year, and I was like, 'That'll be fine, we'll be able to do it' – I didn't really think twice," Pavlovic says. "Sometimes it can get a little bit tiring. But it is what it is, and ... it's really exciting."

Royel Otis's songs to live by Each month we ask our headline act to share the songs that have accompanied them through love, life, lust and death.

What music do you clean the house to?

Sinéad O'Connor, 'cos we love her.

What's the song you wish you wrote?

Just Like Heaven by the Cure – because it fits any mood that you're in.

What underrated song deserves classic status?

Corridor of Dreams by the Cleaners From Venus. Have a listen and you'll know.

What song do you want played at your funeral?

These Days by Nico.

What is the best song to have sex to?

The Mario Kart theme song ... or anything by Frank Ocean or Steve Lacy. Mario Kart to get the heart racing, Frank or Steve to slow things down.

If your life was a movie, what would the opening credits song be?