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As disruptive as it was, the pandemic didn’t stop The Royal Ritual - the dark/alternative outfit fronted by UK-born musician, composer and producer David Lawrie - from making a dramatic impact on the alternative music scene with the MARTYRS album.

The project’s new album Pleasure Hides Your Needs simultaneously expands upon and reorients from the cinematic, dark, industrial soundscapes of the debut release. It sees David contemplate his own life and experiences, adopting a distinctive, more personal tone than the expansive and outgoing approach of MARTYRS:

“Pleasure Hides Your Needs is much more introspective when compared to the social and political commentary of MARTYRS,” says David. “For me, it is about the closing of three distinct chapters of my life. Finding the common threads through each of those chapters in order to represent them sonically, and in a consistent way, was a really interesting challenge - if at times quite emotionally exhausting.”

“The Royal Ritual was conceived not long before the pandemic, and MARTYRS was created in lockdown when I was living in California. It was a very strange experience. As the pandemic drew on longer and longer, the idea of live shows seemed to dwindle, and the material on MARTYRS was created with no real consideration for performing it in a live setting. With Pleasure Hides Your Needs, I definitely had more awareness of how elements might be represented in a live performance, and I think that is reflected in not only the arrangements, but in the overall writing style.”

“Most of the percussive elements on the album are derived from manipulated field recordings, and the overall flow of the album seemed to call for subtle use of Shepard Tones at various points. If anyone has the appropriate tools to view them, there are some hidden spectral messages throughout!

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