Today we’d like to introduce you to Embi Royal.
Hi Embi, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
From a very young age, Mario Bruno knew he wanted to be a musician. Whether it was mashing the keys at two years old in his father’s jam room, or performing in his hometown opera scene in Tampa, Mario dreamed of becoming a successful artist. Cut to years later during a post-breakup college semester, and we’d find him trying to come up with the next chapter of his artist project. Feeling like he had the vocal chops and the lo-fi-crossed ballads to back that voice up, but not quite the identity yet, he knew his name probably wouldn’t carry too far with famed singer Bruno Mars being the well-deserving star that he was, plus he wanted something more unique anyway. So in 2017, he created the then-masked musical persona: Embi, using his initials phonetically. The last name Royal came a little later when he wanted an even more specific brand, using his late uncle’s first name. Over the years as Embi Royal, he has seen considerable positive feedback for a small independent artist making beats in his bedroom — garnering over 700,000 plays on SoundCloud and over 1 million plays across Spotify. This inspired not only his musical journey, but his physical one as well. In 2021, he decided to pack his things and move to Nashville, Tennessee to find like-minded creatives. Since then, he has released multiple singles, an EP, and even a compilation album consisting of many of the songs that helped him hone his musicality since the beginning, previously only released on SoundCloud. Now you can find him playing live around the Nashville area on the heels of his latest single and working on another album behind the scenes.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Like most independent artists, there have been challenges along the way — unreliable management, flaky collaborators, and rising costs of living can certainly take a toll on “the dream.” This has from time to time moved many of us into day jobs, taking away from creating. However, I don’t think we’d enjoy life to the fullest if we weren’t doing something creative, so we push forward anyway. This has led me and my friends to seek out adjacent ventures that help scratch that itch, such as hosting musical showcases, rounds, and house shows, and even opening a small video and audio content business we coined “Industry Uproot” (the opposite of industry plant — ha). Basically anything to keep the lights on and the music flowing.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
When it comes to music, I would say I’m more skilled in the vocal space, as I started classical voice lessons before producing myself. Think: roles in operas, theatre, and college a cappella groups — all of which were vital in forming the core of my vocal performances. However, as I continued to grow as a singer, I wanted to be able to match my vocals with equally stylistic production. It wasn’t until years down the line that I actually got proficient enough to make that happen though. I got my first real music software when I was 16, but it wasn’t until I was about 21 that I felt I had put enough time and attention — with sometimes copious amounts of help from good ol’ YouTube University — into it to release a digestible, marketable sound. When it comes to categorizing my art, I always wanted to exist in popular genres but with a few unique twists. For example, I am currently best known for laying alternative pop lyrics over lo-fi-based loops. This sets me apart from others, given that lo-fi music is typically instrumental-only and pop songs don’t usually use lo-fi instrumentals. It’s taken a while to get to the level of production I am at now though. I’ve never been much of an instrumentalist (besides tuba in high school — ha), so I’m definitely proud of how far I’ve come in creating songs from start to finish in light of that.
Any big plans?
My ultimate goal is to create a successful artist persona, though if I could simply find a way to wake up every day and solely work on any kind of art, I believe I would be happy. In the immediate future, I am working on an album that I would absolutely consider a passion project — taking everything I’ve learned over the years in singing and production to support the creative vision I have for it. Imagine a span of early-to-mid-2000s music genres styled after a multitude of video game soundtracks, but with vocals added… and maybe even a storyline of its own. What can I say — I’m a big nerd with lofty goals.
Pricing:
- Songs available for full purchase on Embi Royal’s iTunes!
- DM @embiroyal for details on Merch & More!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/embiroyal/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/embiroyal/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mario-bruno-3437a5280/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@embiroyal
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/embiroyal
