The Royal Foundry is a Canadian alternative pop quartet band whose core is the Edmonton couple Jared Salte and Bethany Schumacher.[2] They initially formed as a folk duo[3] but, in 2015, began a significant revitalization and revision of their sound, incorporating elements of 1990's Brit-Pop with power-pop stylings of groups like Arcade Fire, and 1970's Progressive Rock elements inspired by groups like Yes and Supertramp[4] Their music has been described as alt rock, indie rock, alternative pop,[5] and Synth Pop.[1]

The Royal Foundry
The Royal Foundry - WAKEUP WAKEUP
The Royal Foundry
Background information
OriginEdmonton, Alberta, Canada
GenresAlternative rock, indie rock, alternative pop, synth pop.[1]
Years active2013–present
LabelsPeermusic, MapleMusic Recordings
Members
  • Bethany Schumacher
  • Jared Salte
Websitetheroyalfoundry.com

History edit

Early life edit

Jared Salte was raised in a musical household and began playing piano and guitar at age five.[6][2] By age 11, he was running the recording studio Salt Shaker Studios.[2] By age 15, he had won his first international songwriting competition and released his first album.[7] At 19, his band, the Junkyard Poets,[8] opened for The Newsboys in stadiums across North America.

Bethany Schumacher grew up in the church as a Pastor's daughter,[6] with her mother as the pianist and choir director. She often sang at church, and at fundraising and community events.[2] In high school, Schumacher played the female lead in all of her high school musicals.[4][2]

2013-2016: Formation & Early Work edit

In 2013, shortly after their wedding, The Royal Foundry was formed as a Folk band.[9] In 2014, they independently released their first album, Wherever We Go.[10]

In 2015 they won $75,000 as part of the Peak Performance Project[11] for their song “Running Away” which peaked at #21 on Alt-Rock Stations in Canada.[12] “Running Away” was featured on TSN as the opening song for the CFL,[13][12] and in two commercials--for ENMAX and the Government of Alberta Climate Change Campaign).[14][15]

In 2016 their single “Start This Fire” was featured in an ad campaign for Purina Dog Chow,[citation needed][1] which led to their signing with Peermusic.[16][17] In the fall of 2016 they released their single “Dreamers”, which was first performed at a concert they played in Toronto during the World Cup of Hockey week.[18][15] Soon after the release, Disney licensed the song for their 2017 line of wedding dresses.[citation needed][15][18] and the song hit #35 on the Alt Rock charts in Canada[15]

2017-2018: Lost In Your Head edit

On August 15, 2017, The Royal Foundry released their second album, Lost in Your Head.[19][20][21] By 2018, the album had achieved 1 million streams on Spotify.[citation needed] The video for the single "All We Have" went viral.[18][22]

Lost In Your Head won the Canadian Songwriting Competition Grand Prize, the John Lennon Songwriting Contest Grand Prize,[23] and garnered The Royal Foundry a Pop Artist of the Year nomination from the Western Canadian Music Awards, as well as three nominations from the Edmonton Music Awards[3] In 2018, the song "Never Have Time" was used in an Explore Edmonton commercial;[24] the song "Lost In Your Head" was used in the Catfish: The TV Show.[25]

2019-Present: Wake Up Wake Up edit

On September 27, 2019, The Royal Foundry released their third album, Wake Up Wake Up.[26][27] By 2020, the album had achieved half a million streams on Spotify.[citation needed] The first single to be released "Hopefully" reached #27 on Alternative Rock Radio in Canada and the third single "okay?" reached #16 on Alternative Rock Radio in Canada.[citation needed] Prior to the release of Wake Up Wake Up, The Royal Foundry performed a live performance of the album in Calgary, AB for the Stampede City Sessions.[28] The concert aired on Shaw TV in Canada and PBS in the USA.

Discography edit

Albums

  • Wherever We Go (2014), Independent
  • Lost In Your Head (2017), Independent
  • Wake Up Wake Up (2019), MapleMusic Recordings

Singles [29]

  • “Running Away” - March 3, 2016 #23 on Alternative Rock Radio across Canada
  • “Start This Fire” - April 1, 2016
  • “Dreamers” - September 23, 2016 #32 on Alternative Rock Radio across Canada
  • “Dreamers (Grey MTTR Remix)” - January 18, 2017
  • “Dreamers (Tep No Remix)” - March 17, 2017
  • “Never Have Time” - April 17, 2017 - #28 on Alternative Rock Radio across Canada
  • “All We Have” - May 5, 2017
  • “You Are My Sunshine” - February 14, 2018
  • “Never Have Time (Thauner & Westvik Remix)” - March 16, 2018
  • “Lost In Your Head” (Radio Edit) - April 6, 2018
  • “All We Have (Teddy Rose Remix)” - August 7, 2018
  • “Don’t Know” - September 14, 2018
  • "Hopefully" - April 16, 2019 #27 on Alternative Rock Radio across Canada – #44 on Canada Rock Radio
  • "Here We Go" - July 16, 2019
  • "Wake Up Wake Up" - September 6, 2019
  • "okay?" - May 8, 2020 #16 on Alternative Rock Radio across Canada

Awards edit

  • GMA Canada 36th Annual Covenant Awards: Folk/Roots Song of the Year, "Folk Song" (2014)
  • GMA Canada 36th Annual Covenant Awards: New Artist of the Year (2014)
  • Peak Performance Project Alberta, Finalist (2014)[30]
  • CBC Searchlight Finalist (2014)[31]
  • CBC Searchlight Finalist (2015)[32]
  • Peak Performance Alberta, Second Price (2015)[33]
  • Edmonton Music Awards: Single of the Year, "Running Away" (2016)
  • Edmonton Music Awards: Group of the Year (2016)
  • Edmonton Music Awards: Music Video of the Year, "Running Away" (2016)[34]
  • Edmonton Music Awards: Pop Recording of the Year, "All We Have" (2018)[35]
  • John Lennon Songwriting Contest: Grand Prize, Pop Category, "Never Have Time" (2018)[36]
  • Western Canadian Music Awards - Nominated as Pop Artist of the Year (2018)[37][23]
  • Unsigned Only: Grand Prize, Rock Category, "Lost In Your Head" (2018)[38]
  • Canadian Songwriting Competition: Grand Prize, “Running Away” (2019)[23]
  • Edmonton Music Awards: Indie Rock Recording of the Year, "Don't Know" (2019)[39]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "The Royal Foundry: Duo Ditches Folk for Synth Pop". Beatroute. 2017-10-08. Archived from the original on 2019-02-19. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Artist Profile: The Royal Foundry". New Release Today. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Local Spotlight On The Royal Foundry". Sonic 102.9. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  4. ^ a b "SPILL TRACK OF THE DAY: THE ROYAL FOUNDRY – "LOST IN YOUR HEAD"". The Spill Magazine. 2018-05-31. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
  5. ^ "Local Spotlight: The Royal Foundry". Sonic 1029. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
  6. ^ a b "Five Questions With… The Royal Foundry's Jared Salte". FYI News. 2018-11-09. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
  7. ^ "Artist Profile: The Royal Foundry". New Release Today. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
  8. ^ "Junkyard Poets". newreleasetoday.com. New Release Today. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  9. ^ "The Royal Foundry- All We Have". FYI Music News. 2017-08-04. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
  10. ^ "The Royal Foundry – Wherever We Go". discogs.com. Discogs. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  11. ^ "AND THE ALBERTA WINNERS ARE…". Peak Performance Project. Archived from the original on 5 November 2018. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  12. ^ a b "The Royal Foundry". Reverb Nation. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  13. ^ "Thursday Night Football". tsn.ca. TSN. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  14. ^ "Alberta's Climate Leadership Plan, Jly 2016". youtube.com. YourAlberta, YouTube. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  15. ^ a b c d "The Royal Foundry". Alberta Music. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  16. ^ "peermusic Signs The Royal Foundry, Jan 2017". peermusic.com. Peer Music. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  17. ^ "Roster". Peermusic. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  18. ^ a b c "The Royal Foundry". Peermusic. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  19. ^ "The Royal Foundry – Lost In Your Head". discogs.com. Discogs. 15 August 2017. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  20. ^ "First Play: the Royal Foundry, Lost in Your Head". CBC Music. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
  21. ^ "The Royal Foundry Release Debut Album Aug. 15". Music Life Magazine. 2017-08-10. Retrieved 23 December 2018.
  22. ^ Murphy, Sarah. "The Royal Foundry". Exclaim. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  23. ^ a b c "The Royal Foundry". Halifax Pop Explosion. Retrieved 21 December 2018.[dead link]
  24. ^ "Explore Edmonton Year Round, Oct 2018". youtube.com. Explore Edmonton, YouTube. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  25. ^ "The Royal Foundry". tunefind.com. Tunefind. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  26. ^ "The Royal Foundry – Wake Up Wake Up". discogs.com. Discogs. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  27. ^ Lava, Migs (9 October 2019). "Review - The Royal Foundry | Canadian Beats Media". Retrieved 2020-11-24.
  28. ^ "The Royal Foundry – Stampede City Sessions". Global News. Retrieved 2020-11-24.
  29. ^ "The Royal Foundry". Apple Music. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  30. ^ Sperounes, Sandra. "Peak Performance Project unveils Alberta finalists, June 2014". edmontonjournal.com. The Edmonton Journal. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  31. ^ "The Royal Foundry, Mitchmatic...Sept 2014". cbc.ca. CBC Alberta. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  32. ^ "December 2015 Archives". cbc.ca. CBC Alberta. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  33. ^ "Leeroy Stagger Wins Alberta Peak Performance Project, Nov 2015". victoriamusicscene.com. Victoria Music Scene. 24 November 2015. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  34. ^ "Winners". edmontonmusicawards.com. Edmonton Music Awards. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  35. ^ "2018 Winners-- Edmonton Music Awards". Edmonton Music Awards. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  36. ^ "2018 Grand Prize Winners - Session I". jlsc.com. John Lennon Songwriting Contest. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  37. ^ "2018 Western Canadian Music Award Winners". breakoutwest.ca. Breakout West. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  38. ^ "Canadian Country Artist Eric Ethridge Wins Prestigious Grand Prize in 2018 Unsigned Only Music Competition". PR Web. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  39. ^ "2019 Winners". Edmonton Music Awards. Retrieved 2020-11-24.