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John Leon of The Royal Arctic Institute (part 3)
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Interview with John Leon of The Royal Arctic Institute. John returns for the third time to talk about The Royal Arctic Institute's new self titled album.
The Royal Arctic Institute is a cinematic instrumental post-jazz group from New York City. They have been recording and releasing records since 2017. Since forming in 2016, the band has been a revolving door of different musicians comprising several different lineups. The current lineup is composed of drummer Lyle Hysen (Das Damen, Arthur Lee), guitarists John Leon (Roky Erickson, Summer Wardrobe, Abra Moore) and Chris Robertson (Elk City, James Mastro), and bassist David Motamed (Das Damen, Two Dollar Guitar, Arthur Lee, Townes Van Zandt). The band name is a reference to the fantasy trilogy His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman. All four members of the Royal Arctic Institute have spent decades playing in various ensembles, working as studio musicians, backing musicians, and touring musicians.
This self-titled fourth full-length recording from The Royal Arctic Institute is the first to include guitarist Chris Robertson. According to the band, Robertson is a crucial addition to the group, as he provides an added dimension to The Royal Arctic Institute sound and creative process, particularly because this debuts the group as a two guitar quintet. The decision to present this new album as a self-titled record is tightly connected to the band’s excitement about their current musical direction.
The new album also marks the first time The Royal Arctic Institute is working with Ray Ketchum of Magic Door Recording. Ketchum, often noted for his engineering and recording work on the last handful of Guided by Voices albums, helped steer the band towards an approach which allowed for a rich and fully developed sonic experience. Ketchum’s keen and well attuned ear in the studio made it possible for The Royal Arctic Institute to focus more on the nuances they had been developing on previous releases, something apparent on “Twigs Of Cries, Feathers Of Sobs.” As guitarist John Leon points out:
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