Royal K Interview

We chat to Royal K about his secret love for Trance Music, Food & Beverage Management and the fact that he has no embarrassing DJ stories.


Q:

So first things first... how did you get into DJ'ing... how exactly did the bug bite?

A:
Well it all started out at my mates house the one day, playing around on his decks and an old mixer, and after that day i kinda got hooked, went and bought myself a mixer and some old decks and gave at it for a while you know.

Q:
Royal K... how did that name come about? Any true blue blood in those veins?

A:
haha many cant figure it out, but my surname is Alroy and if u play around wit the letters u get royal, and k from kyle.

Q:
Most people know you as one of SA's top Electro/Fidget DJ's, but a lot of people might not know...
You started out playing Trance... Why the transition?

A:
well when i grew up trance was the in thing u know, and for a while i played commercial in some of jhb';s clubs, but needed to break away, i really liked the electro/fidget sound and decided to stick with it,

Q:
If the SA market allowed it... would you rather be playing Trance? or Is House your true love now?

A:
Trance has always been my passion, nothing beats a good melodic trance tune, but the SA market isn't in favour of that unfortunately, however i do love all types of house music,

Q:
Any DJ's, Producers or Artists that you specifically look up to?

A:
Wow there are so many hey, local guys, Kyle Watson, Nick Supply, Chris Sen, Ryan Murgatroyd, Mark Stent etc,
international, Stupid fresh, hijack, nom de strip, eats everything

Q:
When you're not out doing major Damage on dancefloors around SA, where would we find Royal K?

A:
ha ha well, I'm from JHB, most of my time i spend at home in studio working on new stuff, and besides DJ'ing which i do 3-4 times a week i don't go out that much, like to chill and relax at home.,

Q:
Was there ever a different plan for you... if DJ'ing hadn't work out for you the way it has, any other passions?

A:
well before djing came along i got a degree in food and beverage management, in which i worked for a while, but djing is my passion, and I'm really glad it worked out!

Q:
You've released singles across the world... is there a specific country outside of SA that has specifically shown a lot of attention towards your productions?

A:
Its quite hard to know where your stuff is getting bought or downloaded, but when fidget was still big, a lot of guys i know from the UK and Canada paid attention to my music :)

Q:
Trends come and go... like fashion, 10 Years back it was uplifting trance, and more recently things like Electro and Fidget... the buzz word among party goers at the moment seems to be "Tech"...where do you see electronic dance music in South Africa and the world for that matter going in the near future...

A:
To be honest hopefully back to uplifting trance, its never really died. but ye tech is pretty popular at the moment, music is constantly evolving, its always like a cycle, electro will come back again just in a new form.

Q:
Is Dance Music and The scene as good now as when you started out or better?

A:
it has its moments u know, like i said i started playing commercial, and i think more people these days are open minded and willing to listen to new styles of music, which is great for us! so i think its better these days!

Q:
What are your current top 3 tracks?

A:
01.Jack beats - revolution
02.Jayye Jackin & Dappa D pres. Mr No 1 - Come With Me (Royal K's who's with me Remix)
03.Royal K And Kabz - Hillbilly bass (jho fm remix)

Q:
Any embarrassing DJ'ing stories?

A:
Not that I can recall actually

Q:
Is there a track that you never leave out of your box... that just seems to work every time?

A:
There a couple of those, all time classics, just newer versions u know, like a newer show me love or something along those lines

Q:
The best gig you've played up to now?

A:
H2O has to be the best so far!!!

Q:
The Worst gig you've played?

A:
been a few of those, private parties that just don't get going and u kinda stuck haha

Q:
Anything you are looking forward to in the near an not so near future? any exciting projects coming up for you?

A:
Yeah i got a few new releases coming out soon, few different styles as well ranging from regular house, tech prog etc, tunes like disco lover (ep) a remix ep on flexual records, a tech remix on miniflex, and a couple others.

Q:
You seem to make a lot of your remixes and tracks available for download, for free... what are your views on
the downloading of mp3's both legally and Illegally?

A:
well i make alot of bootlegs of commercial popular tunes for my own sets and then i hand them out for free after i played them a bit, just to make my sets unique and also to give somin to the supporters.

Buying music is the right way to go at the end of the day, cos it shows that u truly support artists, and what they do.

Q:
If you could work with anyone on a track or DJ alongside anyone who would it be?

A:
i would love to watch the Swedish house mafia in studio as they are amazing.

Q:
Lastly where can people get hold of you and check out your work?

A:
on facebook look for Royal K, myspace http://www.myspace.com/royalkdj and on soundcloud look for royal k

Posted in: Interviews