With its casual indie sound, which lies somewhere between guitar pop, nostalgia and summer lightness, the Australian duo Royel Otis has been talking internationally for some time. At the latest after her viral Sophie-Ellis-Nextor cover “Murder on the dance floor“And her debut Pratts & Pain, published in 2024, is clear: singer Royel Maddell and guitarist Otis Pavlovic came to stay.
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Her second album Hickey will be released on August 22, 2025, the first singles “Moody” and “Car” are already making a pretty good foretaste. In the me interview, Royel Maddell and Otis Pavlovic tell what it was like to be on the Glastonbury stage why the pressure on the second album may not be so bad and why the sound of the early 2000 is celebrating its big comeback.
You have to be totally exhausted, you just played at the Glastonbury Festival! Congratulations. How do you feel right now?
Otis Pavlovic: Good. I mean, we haven’t really stopped since then. But it was really incredible. The crowd was much larger than I expected.
Royel Maddell: It was strange to look out there. But cool.
Was that a dream of you playing at Glastonbury for a long time? Are there any other festivals on your Bucket List?
Royel Maddell: Yes, definitely a bucket list thing.
Otis Pavlovic: Fuji Rock. Lollapalooza.
Royel Maddell: Fuji Rock would be cool. Splendour in the Grass was also on it, but we already played that in Australia.
Is the audience different at festivals?
Royel Maddell: It depends on when you play. The earlier, the more relaxed people. Later it gets wild.
Otis Pavlovic: The intimidating thing is how quickly you just have to get started without knowing whether everything works.
Royel Maddell: Yes, I think, the earlier you play, the more intimidating it may be because people are not yet so relaxed.
Otis Pavlovic: And at festivals, the barriers are much further away – it is more difficult to really feel the energy of the people.
You once said in a podcast that “the people in Germany totally freak out” at concerts. How come?
Royel Maddell: Yes, that’s right. I don’t know exactly where, but that was the first time that the crowd shared and ran on top of each other was in Germany.
Otis Pavlovic: I love that. When the audience goes out, it’s just fun. That was the case in Germany and also in Paris. People are really crazy.
Your second album Hickey will be released in August. In this context, there is often talk of the so -called “Sophomore Slump” – the phenomenon that it is difficult to build on the success of their debut. Did you feel this pressure when writing?
Royel Maddell: I think so – especially because we were traveling so much last year. We were just really busy. After that there may be a little pressure, but not necessarily in a negative sense. That probably even helped to complete the album.
Otis Pavlovic: Yes, we didn’t really have time to write songs as naturally as the first album or the EPS before. We had to create a lot more directly at the moment. But it was not a negative pressure, I think.
How long did you start writing on the second album after the debut?
Royel Maddell: The first song – not really the first, but “Jazz Burger” from the new album – was created about a year ago. The rest is pretty fresh. We actually started writing this year.
Otis Pavlovic: And another song, “I hate this tune”, is a mixture of old lyrics and new music.
Was there a moment that triggered the theme of the album or did you go without a concept?
Otis Pavlovic: Not a real concept. We worked with many different producers, for the first time with songwriters.
Royel Maddell: It was rather subconscious. We just finished what we started, so the songs were created.
There are many collaborations on the album, but it looks very round. Was that planned from the start?
Otis Pavlovic: Not really. We just wanted to try new things. It wasn’t planned, but was fun.
Royel Maddell: It is interesting to work with other people.
Was it difficult to let the album sound coherent anyway?
Royel Maddell: More than usual, yes.
Otis Pavlovic: A good producer knows how to get out the original sound of a band and still bring in your own note.
Royel Maddell: And the songwriters we worked with always had an eye on that it doesn’t sound like something that doesn’t suit us.
Your last two albums blade. Could you imagine making a complete change of style at the next?
Possible it would be cool. Just like Radiohead at Kid A. But I think we have to have enough of our own sound before we completely swing around.
Would that be a conscious decision or something that simply develops?
Royel Maddell: It would probably have to be made consciously at some point. If you change completely, you would have to say: “No more guitars – only synths” or something.
Otis Pavlovic: Yes, go completely towards New Order.
There were moments in your previous albums when one of you said: “I know that sounds very different – but let us try it?”
Otis Pavlovic: At the last album there was such a song with a sample of some guy talking about money, that was already left.
Royel Maddell: Or sometimes we bring in an idea that almost sounds like R&B – a reef, what acoustic – and then it is somehow mixed.
Do you find it helpful to get feedback from the other immediately? Is this duo dynamics something you need personally?
Otis Pavlovic: That definitely helps. It ensures that you stay on course.
Royel Maddell: Exactly so that things don’t go out totally.
Otis Pavlovic: There was a song in the rehearsal room, which was constantly changed until we thought: “Okay, we fully strayed from the way.” Then we put everything back to the beginning and that was much better in the end. But that’s exactly what is exciting – to experiment.
You have spoken about influences, you sometimes try to consciously imitate other bands or do you always look for your own sound?
Royel Maddell: I think influences automatically come in, no matter what you do.
Otis Pavlovic: Yes, we take elements of songs that we like, but we never try to copy them. You should never say: “Okay, they used it and that.” But rather: “I like the guitar sound, can we get such a sound?”
Royel Maddell: I am probably not good enough as a musician to copy something completely, that may work to our advantage.
What does the term “indie” mean to you?
Otis Pavlovic: Actually it should be called “independent”, but now it is a genre. For me, indie is called: clinking guitars and not quite perfect vocals.
Royel Maddell: Something that sounds a bit weird.
Do you like such genre terms or do you find it restrictive that music is categorized?
Royel Maddell: I think it’s cool. Pop music is such a mixture of everything today. Indie can also be pop. Everything is somehow possible.
Otis Pavlovic: I like that. The more genres, the better, I think.
The 2000 sound is back-musical, fashionable, cultural. Why does it attract people again?
Royel Maddell: Good music remains simple. It is picked up again and again.
Otis Pavlovic: I think more is accepted today than ever. In the earliest in the 80s you were immediately a nerd when you danced out of line. In the 1960s there were mods against rockers, you couldn’t be both. Today you can wear what you want, make music as you want. This is probably due to the Internet. I like this mix of everything. And the 2000 revival is nostalgic for many because they grew up with it.
What is one thing from Australia that always makes it somehow in your music – consciously or unconsciously?
Royel Maddell: A certain looseness. When it comes to references, we usually don’t look at Australian bands, but rather UK or US. But somehow it still sounds Australian.
Otis Pavlovic: Sunshine. We are often told that our music sounds summerly, although we don’t plan it that way.
What is the first thing you do when you are back in Australia?
Otis Pavlovic: Sleep. Eat. To swim.