Royal City: Rough Trade, Vinyl and The Resurrection

Royal City lead singer Aaron Riches is a man on the move.

The Guelph native has done time in Toronto, Montreal and is now living in Brooklyn, New York. But not for long — in the fall he's moving to Charlottesville, Virginia to pursue his Ph.D. in religious studies.

In the midst of all this transition, Royal City became the second Canadian band ever to be signed to the U.K.'s Rough Trade Records. Label founder Geoff Travis was originally lured to Toronto to hear The Hidden Cameras (who he also signed), but after listening to a copy of Royal City's Alone At The Microphone he decided that he wanted to take the band under his wing.

"He's [Geoff Travis] into doing good business," Riches says. "He treats everyone like human beings and takes chances with music. There's no big promises of fame, no bullshit. If we make money, he makes money. If he makes money, we make money."

Riches then pauses and laughs.

"And if neither of us makes money — neither of us makes money!

"It's a very simple record deal and I really respect him for offering such a simple deal to us," he continues. "It's not biased in our favour or his favour — it's really fair. I appreciate that about him. And I like a lot of bands he's signed in the past. It's exciting to number my band among them."

Rough Trade will license and re-release Alone At The Microphone in the U.K, parts of Europe and the United States this Friday (May 9). The album itself will remain unchanged, but will now be available on vinyl in addition to CD.

"I really like records," says Riches. "It's a tactile and material experience. It feels like something you want to keep. I throw out CDs all the time. Whenever there's stuff I don't want anymore and I don't know who to give it to, I just pitch it. I would never do that with a record.

"We live in a time where ritual and tradition are being undone. We're getting rid of all of them. We're a completely practical, utilitarian society now. We think all those things meant nothing, but they meant so much! All these things we used to do as a culture. I'm a traditionalist. I love tradition and I love ritual. I think that's why I like records."

Recently married, Riches moved to New York a month ago to be with his wife. Unfortunately, despite the benefits of marital bliss, the move means that he is separated from the other members of Royal City.

"I don't know how feasible or unfeasible something like this is," Riches says of the distance between himself and the rest of the band. "I did a long distance relationship with my wife before we were married. If I can do it with her, I can do it with these guys. It's an obstacle, but it just changes. It's hard to know right now because we haven't started practicing. You'll be able to judge for yourself by the show. If we're terrible, then you'll know that it's not working."

He's laughing as he says this, so it's safe to say that he's pretty confident that things are going to work out. In the meantime, Riches has continued to write and we can expect a mini Royal City album in the fall and a full-length effort next spring. He cites the yet-unreleased albums by Sufjan Stevens and bandmate Jim Guthrie as his favourite new recordings.

"I've felt really blessed that my favourite new music is by these really great friends and that's such a rare privilege in life," he says.

Riches once said that Royal City's first album was about life and the second album was about death. How does this new deal fit into that dichotomy?

"It's the resurrection. It's Easter. Hallelujah, the Lord is risen, indeed."

Upcoming dates:
May 7 Waterloo, ON @ Jane Bond (w/Lonnie Lames)
May 9 Toronto, ON @ Lee's Palace (w/The Nils and Cuff The Duke)
May 12 Ottawa, ON @ Tulip Festival (w/The Rheostatics)