Death or Glory ended on a stage in Birmingham — 165 shows, 35 countries, a headline slot in front of 150,000 people in Poland. For Palaye Royale, closing a chapter has never been the hard part. It’s the threshold that gets you. We met the band in Paris, dressed in Ann Demeulemeester, to talk about endings, the slow construction of new beginnings, and everything that exists before change becomes visible.
Birmingham closed the Death or Glory era after 165 shows in 35 countries. When you stepped onto that final stage, what shift moved through you as the weight of that chapter settled and the awareness of a new one began to rise?
It was truly a bittersweet moment because of how grateful we are to this death or glory album and era, it was by far our most successful album to date taking us to headline Wembley arena to a stadium in Mexico and even headline a festival in Poland to over 150,000 people. So those final moments on stage apart of you doesn’t want it to end but the other part is even more exciting for what coming next.
You call your fans the Royal Council and the connection feels intimate and lived. During the Death or Glory era, which moments revealed the true depth of that bond and changed the way you understand the part your audience plays in your creative life?
Obviously our fans play the biggest role in our lives because of them we get to live our dreams everyday and get to have the most incredible life imaginable. We do keep them in mind when creating the music but we also have to make sure that what we write is personal and comes from our experiences because those are truly the most meaningful songs and the stuff that people connect with.
You have lived through several eras in your career. What internal markers tell you that an era has reached its natural conclusion, and what early signs tell you that transformation is already beginning?
It’s hard to explain but you just know when something is feeling the end and you feel like you’ve taken it as far as it can go. Death or Glory we really toured so much of the world on this album and we have had some insane shows but we all felt like it was time for this chapter to come to an end and also just because we are sitting on new music that we know is on strongest material to date so knowing that it’s hard to think about extending an album cycle when all you want to do is play your new music.
Building on that, your new single ‘Feel Something, Great.’ arrives with a strong sense of release and renewal. What emotional space shaped this track and how does it reflect the energy and instincts guiding this emerging era?
Feel Something, Great. We all agreed was the perfect single to kick off the new music and let people know that more is to come. Creating this track was like a breath of fresh air to me because even though I am expressing pain and my experiences of a dark time there is that hope that I think everyone can relate to and that’s “ I just want to feel something great” because the constant reminder of being in pain or in a dark place just gets exhausting and so I wanted a song with a sliver of a silver lining.
Your visual identity and your fashion have always moved as one with your sound. What is inspiring the imagery around your work today, do your clothing choices build the emotional tone you want each project to carry?
I believe the clothing just helps us feel more ourselves and authentic. It helps express our individuality and in this day and age that is one of the most important things.
Following that, the “Death Palette” brings your music’s dark, theatrical energy into a tangible, wearable form. What was the creative vision behind it, does it capture a part of the band’s identity that can’t be expressed through music alone?
I’ve always used makeup as kind of a mask and a shield to help hide my insecurities but now I wear in almost as a badge of pride or uniform to bring out my confidence and we want to share that with our fans.
People often focus on your bond as brothers, but I want to explore what exists beneath that surface. What part of your shared history influences the music in a way only the three of you can recognise, and how does that private language appear during the creative process or in the intensity of a live show?
Well we all have such different musical taste and you can really hear that in our music and that’s what makes us palaye royale. I believe it’s the creative differences that we have that makes our sound so unique.
You recently shared online how musicians today often have to be influencers for their music to succeed. How do you navigate the balance between creating art and managing that public persona, how does that pressure shape the way you present your music or connect with fans?
Obviously we would love it if you can just put on music and people show up and albums sell themselves but unfortunately in this time we live in you have to be on social media and get yourself out there in different ways but honestly I think we are having a lot more fun with it because now it’s just another creative thing we get to do instead of looking at it like a chore, so it feels like there isn’t so much pressure with it because we are having fun doing it.
You are heading to Australia soon. What energy do you associate with your Australian crowds, what does performing in that environment awaken in you as you prepare for this next run of shows?
Well first off I’m just excited not to be in the cold because we just spent the last 6 weeks on tour in the freezing cold so some sun will be nice. It’s been almost 6 years since we’ve been in Australia and I can not wait to go back! The country is so beautiful and I miss the craziness of an Australian crowd so I’m expecting it to be pure chaos.
Your music and visuals are shaped by the cities you move through and the environments you inhabit. As you travel, what places imprint themselves onto your work the most and do landscapes or atmospheres change the tone of the songs you write?
We definitely take inspiration from cities in our writing and in our most current works we wrote a bunch of songs for the new album in a windmill in the Netherlands so hopefully you will be able to hear that in the upcoming music.
Credits:
Talent: Palaye Royale / @palayeroyale
Photographer: Alex Hall / @alexhallcreative
Stylist: Ana Balandina / @pr0bl3matique
Hair: Eingel Geranio Angel / @eingel_geranio_
Interview: Irina Klisarova / @its.irka.bitch
Editor: Anca Macavei / @ancamacavei
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