Biography

Put it all in the genre blender and set it to pop. That’s been the recent motto for Vancouver’s Royal Oak and their no-holds-barred take on hooky alt-pop. Drawing inspiration from pop-punk, EDM, 80s synth-pop, hip hop, and everything in between, the four-piece has captured the maximalist energy of their anything-goes live show and distilled it into a string of high-gloss pop singles. That’s now. But it’s been a long time coming. The quartet—made up of Austin Ledyard, Brayson Wong, Myles Philpott, and Michael Kragelj—have been making music together since before they could see over the kitchen counter. Friends since early childhood, the four learned their instruments together, paving the way for an undeniable chemistry on- and off-stage. All that hard work has paid off on their most recent run of songs, which includes 2020's vibey hit "Steal My Hoodie" and 2021's "End of the Night" (featured on Hockey Night in Canada). Between live and virtual festival appearances, a slot opening for New Zealand superstars Six60, and a successful showcase at Canadian Music Week 2022/2023, Royal Oak has quietly been making strides online and onstage. Now, the band is slowly revealing its most ambitious project to date: A self-produced album shaped almost exclusively over Zoom in the depths of the pandemic, masterfully mixed by 4x Juno-nominee Brandon Unis (Karl Wolf, Shawnee Kish, FIONN). And you know what? Those kids who first started jamming together would be proud of how it’s turning out.