Royseven frontman Paul Walsh talks German success and flying fears

Irish indie-rockers Royseven release their new album You Say We Say this week. JOE speaks with lead singer Paul Walsh about the new album and getting it right.

By Padraic O'Connor

Loaded with attitude and up-tempo catchy songs You Say, We Say is the follow-up from Irish 6-piece Royseven to their debut album Art of Insincerity that gained the band critical acclaim, top ten singles, support and headline tours across Europe, plus appearances at top European festivals like Rock AM Ring, Rock IM Park and Oxegen.

Since their debut album, Royseven have spent a lot of their time torn between Ireland and Germany where the indie-rockers have garnered a reputation for their storming live shows.

JOE.ie catches up with lead singer Paul Walsh to chat about their German adventure, getting things right and the power of Bowie.

JOE: So how did the name Royseven come about?

Paul: We wanted to call the band Roy - that was the name of the first song we wrote – but there were 4 other bands named Roy around the world. There are six of us in the band, so we looked at Roysix, but phonetically it didn’t work. Then I saw David Bowie on Planet Rock profiles and he said that a song isn’t complete until someone outside the writing process has heard it. So we thought the six of us plus the listener makes seven, and came up with Royseven.

JOE: You split your time between Ireland and Germany?

Paul: Yeah, Germany’s been really good to us.  We were there last week but we’re in Ireland now to focus on the album’s release. Then we’re back in Germany supporting OneRepublic in April. Unfortunately we travel back and over a lot.

JOE: Unfortunately?

Paul: Yeah, I hate flying! I love other languages, countries, people and food but I hate flying. It’s a nail-biting journey that wrecks my head. All those hours wasted in airports shitting yourself!

JOE: How did you get to work with Andreas Herbig & Jem (top German producers) for You Say, We Say?

Paul: The first single on our debut album was Older, which charted at No 6. Andreas was friendly with our management, he really liked Older but thought we could do it much better.

JOE: He’s a big fish in production in Germany?

Paul: He’s been the number one producer in Germany in the last two or three years. He asked to do a remix of it, invited me to Hamburg and I re-sang it. He changed the dynamic of it and we came away thinking that it was a much better product than the one we had and that maybe we should be working with him.

JOE: So you tried to get him on board for this album?

Paul: We asked Andreas and he said yes but he was massively in demand at the time. We had to wait over a year to work with him, even though we’d already signed a new record deal.

JOE: But it was worth the wait?

Paul: Very much so. We’ve a superior product to the one we imagined we’d have. And the sound is definitely bigger than we anticipated.

JOE: You’re gigging all over the country in the next few weeks, including your own hometown in Tipperary.

Paul: Yeah, we’re playing a special acoustic show in Clonmel on 12 March and we’ve loads of shows and in-stores around the country.

JOE: Any festivals lined up for the summer?

Paul: We’re hoping to get festivals in Europe, UK and Ireland and to do some supports as well as OneRepublic. But first we’re just looking forward to our upcoming shows here in Ireland.

You Say We Say by Royseven is available online and in all good record stores from 11 March. For all upcoming Royseven Irish shows go to www.royseven.de