Roya

Emerging from Brooklyn during summer 2014, Roya fuse a punk attitude of effortless nonchalance with an indie rock enthusiasm for intricate guitar textures. The project originated when Rahill Jamalifard, previously with Habibi, sought fresh musical endeavors following a tour with her former band. She reached out to Jay Heiselmann, a guitarist known from the Grooms, to collaborate on new material. Soon after, Hamish Kilgour—formerly of the renowned New Zealand outfit the Clean—reached out to Jamalifard with an offer to handle drumming duties. The moniker Roya, drawn from Farsi where it denotes a striking vision or dream as a woman’s name, was chosen for the ensemble. Christian Sawyer briefly added a second guitar layer before relocating from Brooklyn to the West Coast. Alix Brown then joined on bass, solidifying the lineup that tracked material at the local Death by Audio facility. Their first album, issued in June 2017 via the notable California independent imprint Burger Records, arrived amid further lineup shifts: Kilgour’s exit led to Lyla Vander assuming the drum role, while Tyler Love came aboard handling rhythm guitar alongside keyboards.