The Royal Foundry

Electro-folk band The Royal Foundry are dropping the video for their track “Running Away,” and we’ve got the exclusive premiere right here.

“This music video was shot in various locations across Canada,” said Jared Salte, the male counterpart in this husband-and-wife duo. “We really wanted to display it’s beauty and diversity. We had tons of fun getting to travel and explore these unique places. This song means a great deal to us in this season of our lives, but what’s really cool is to see how others are connecting with it on a very personal level too.”

Enjoy “Running Away” above. - Paste Magazine

There’s a conspiracy in Alberta — to make our music more focused, further travelled, stronger, better.

Clutching these goals like a sword of flame, the Peak Performance Project has run a second round of determined musicians through its boot camps, showcase performances and critiques by music industry vets and journalists (including the Journal’s Sandra Sperounes). From dozens of applicants, 12 indie Alberta bands have competed for a top-three position since spring, including an immersive summer training camp in B.C.

As one of three finalists, Sherwood Park roots-pop trio the Royal Foundry can already expect, at minimum, a cheque for $50,000 at the contest’s finale concert Saturday at Calgary’s Flames Central. Second place lassos $75,000. The top prize awarded by Calgary radio station The PEAK is $100,953, last year taken by Edmonton’s the Wet Secrets immediately after rolling their van on QEII Highway.

Also in the running with Royal Foundry this year is Calgary rapper Transit, who’s already won the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Emerging Artist prize to go along with more than a million YouTube views, and Lethbridge’s Leroy Stagger, a scruffy troubadour and former punk who has toured with Steve Earle, Modest Mouse and the Pixies.

Foundry is an interesting story in itself — comprising cellist-drummer Robbie Szabo, 26, and husband-wife team Jared and Bethany Salte. The couple had never written music together before wedlock a couple years back. Known for dreamily singing folk-pop into each other’s eyes, this is the band’s second trip through the Peak Performance Project. “We felt like we learned so much the first year,” says 25-year-old Jared, “but we were dropping pieces. The second year we sifted through the basics to get to the finer details.”

Says Bethany, 27, a Regina-born pastor’s daughter: “We’d started as a folk duo and only played five shows before last year’s Peak. Because of last year we really found our music and did this rebrand. We knew how to take our thoughts to the next level.”

“They complimented us for having added the cello,” notes Szabo, who plays it. “Even now we’ve played a couple shows with a bass player and it adds so much. We keep learning.” For example, the band had a neon crown logo made, which they broke on the way to filming a video. “We were turning a corner and — pssssh!” Bethany cringes. “We said many words,” Jared laughs.

The band will put whatever money they win on Saturday toward a new album, for starters.

As Bethany notes the economic pros and cons of adding members, Jared says one of the great things about the Project is how it unashamedly discusses money. “It’s become a lot more accepted to try and make money as a musician. It’s just bizarre: If you’re a plumber, no one shames you for taking a gig. And it’s not the end of the world if you write a song for a commercial — it’s actually a great way to supplement your art.”

“We really haven’t thought that much about whether we win,” says Szabo. “Fifty’s great, 75’s better, and winning, it’s like, let’s go drink.”

“Money’s great,” says Bethany, “but the position we’ve been put in, being played on the radio, everything we’ve learned, it’s more than money could pay for.”

PEAK supplies the contest cash as a rather brilliant way to fulfill its mandatory CRTC obligations to the community. Alberta Music, under the insightful direction of Chris Wynters, does a decent share of the legwork. Other Edmonton-area bands in the running this year included Braden Gates, the stellar Velveteins and Two Bears North.

Since winning a year ago at the since-shuttered Republik venue in Calgary, the Wet Secrets signed to Six Shooter Records, played the Mayor’s Arts Awards night, headlined a South by Southwest Festival showcase in Austin, Texas, and are blasting their horn section at halftime at the CFL West Final on Sunday. A new album, The Tyranny of Objects, is expected to be out in the spring.

“I was in bands that did a certain amount of touring, and I kind of thought I knew what I was doing. But going through the Peak thing you can kind of see there’s a better way.” says The Secrets’ singer Lyle Bell.

“One thing this thing does is validate your band to a lot of people who would never hear of you, an accolade which reaches far beyond the indie music scene. Even before we were finalists, I was already looking back on it as a Top 10 life experience. Anyone who has a chance should go through this.”

Says Jared Salte: “It’s just really good how it brings everything into focus. It’s easy to think of things like marketing or branding as business, but it’s really important to have a whole, clear image.

“It makes the art more interesting.” - Edmonton Journal

Every month, we call on public radio hosts across the country and around the world to ask a simple question: What's the one new song you're spinning nonstop these days?

Among September's offerings are the latest from cosmic-country rock star Israel Nash, a moody folk collaboration for the dreamer in all of us, and the best song for sticking it to the haters since "Shake It Off."

The Royal Foundry "Running Away"
Each year, the CBC holds a national contest called Searchlight: The Hunt For Canada's Best New Artist — and each year, we find plenty of excellent artists who don't win. One of those bands from 2015's contest is Edmonton, Alberta's The Royal Foundry. The duo is husband and wife Jared and Bethany Salte, who'd had no aspirations to form a band when they met five years ago. But with both partners being musical, it happened naturally. Within the first year of their marriage, the Saltes have experienced success in the form of songwriting awards, radio play and national contests. They've created a huge sound for a duo: If Mumford & Sons ever held a super-jam with Arcade Fire, it might sound something like The Royal Foundry's new single, "Running Away" — except that would be about a dozen people, and The Royal Foundry is only two. And, yes, if you listen closely, the banjos are in there. - NPR

You may have noticed some new theme music playing on Edmonton AM on Tuesday, just after World Report.

We've spent the last month collecting your musical submissions in the quest to update our theme song.

Now, we've picked our three favourites, and are giving each a test run on the show before we make any decisions:

Nuela Charles, The Good in Me
Billed as "Edmonton's soul-pop siren," Nuela Charles is known for her atmospheric electronic and future-retro music. She's the 2013 recipient of the Edmonton Music Prize and also won the Lieutenant Governor General Emerging Artist Award in 2014.

The Royal Foundry, All We Have
Edmonton AM first met The Royal Foundry at our Canada Day show in 2015. Known for their up-tempo folk-pop blend, the band has been nominated for awards across Canada, and has performed alongside the likes of Paul Brandt and George Canyon.

Royal Tusk, Years Ago
This relatively new Edmonton-based band has some older roots in the city, in the form of several members from Ten Second Epic. Known for its "shaggy, tenacious force with hints of Americana, soul and a whole lotta heart," the band's first album, Mountain, was released on June 10 by Hidden Pony Records. - CBC

Bethany and Jared Salte had no intention of forming a band. The couple met in November 2009 at a show for Jared’s previous group, Junkyard Poets—he called dibs before his bandmates could as they saw Bethany walk up the front steps to the venue—and tied the knot in September 2013. They had begun casually writing songs together prior to the wedding, and it wasn’t long before there was a whole album’s worth ready to be recorded.

“It was more just like, ‘Hey, I’ve got this cool song idea and hey, these lyrics sound cool’ kind of thing,” says Bethany, who sings and swaps guitar, keys and banjo with Jared, adding they wrote about 10 songs over the course of three weeks during the Christmas holiday in 2013 and were calling themselves a band by January 2014—they made it to the Top 12 at this year’s Peak Performance Project and received a GMA nomination for Best Folk/Roots Song of the Year.

“Through that entire process Jared and I never really had that conversation of like, ‘Hey, do you want to be in a band and do you want to start this,’ so it just kind of organically happened very naturally,” Bethany continues. “Ever since then it’s been quite fun, but kind of shocking to think back even a couple of years—being in a band never crossed our minds.”

It was the encouragement of others that finally led to the duo releasing the tracks—recorded at Jared’s Salt Shaker Studios. The move seemed fitting in hindsight, considering Jared’s musical background in Junkyard Poets and the prevalence of music in his family as well as Bethany’s upbringing singing in church choirs.

“My roots are in photography, so before I was a musician and became the Royal Foundry I was doing a lot of photography work,” Bethany says, noting that her deft eye for visuals has helped her as a lyricist and the way she’s able to conjure images with words. “With Jared being a producer, even before we got married, I started working under his studio as a designer for album artwork and shooting bands and stuff like that so, again, getting married was quite easy as we fit our careers together quite naturally.”

The Saltes seem right at home playing music together on Wherever We Go, their folk-Americana debut driven by Jared and Bethany’s contrasting yet uplifting vocal harmonies. The songs also possess a palpable sense of new love and optimism attributed to that first blissful year of marriage.

“It’ll be really interesting to look back in 10 years and say, ‘Man, we had no idea what was coming,” Bethany laughs, adding that the title track was actually the song Jared sang to her right before popping the big question. “You can definitely hear the newness of this new marriage and the excitement of conquering the world, you know?”

It doesn’t hurt that those same sentiments can also be a useful tool in smoothing over mild disagreements, either.

“It’s really fun to actually sing these songs now, and even if Jared and I have been fighting, or whatever, we always have to hone in that same energy that we had,” Bethany says. “We’ve found, a few times, before a show where we maybe had a disagreement, but then we have to go on and sing these songs that were written when we were first married and super excited and so in love—even though we’re still so in love today—it’s almost like a healing process after the show.” - Vue Weekly

The longboarding trip that took two young men from Sherwood Park nearly a month to complete may be over, but their outreach to Burundi is continuing.

In July, Caleb Sinn and Jordan Smith rode their longboards all the way from the Capital Region to Portland, Oregon. Now, with the help of some friends, the two will be involved in a benefit concert to raise money for an organization in Burundi during an event called Rock for Burundi.

Sinn, a member of folk group North of Here, will be performing, as well as Beth and Jared Salte, who are also from Sherwood Park and make up The Royal Foundry, an uptempo folk pop group.

“We’re really good friends with the guys that are working with Push for Burundi,” Beth Salte explained.

“They’re actually also connected with this amazing organization called Loveworks. Because they finished their whole longboarding trip, Push for Burundi, they just want to continue the hype. They asked us to step on board and make an evening of it.”

The money raised at the evening — which includes a silent auction — will go towards raising money for supplies and chickens.

“Having a chicken farm is one of the easiest things to maintain down there, and they’ve already sent people there to teach them about chicken farming and they’ve set up coops and things like that, so we’re trying to fulfill that,” Salte said.

“Burundi’s political state right now — it’s a little bit crazy down there. The poverty and employment rates are so low. One of my best friends that I actually grew up with visited there last summer in hopes of rebuilding a community that had been destroyed and rampaged over…. It’s kind of hard to say, ‘Let’s raise money for the entire community, or communities in Burundi,’ … and one of the main things that they really need… is supplies and food.”

“It’s a lot more simple when you just focus in on the one thing, which is for us, chicken and poultry and supplies and things like that,” she added.

“They just finished building an orphanage down there, where they’re sending people to help teach and bring in some community sense and especially some security.”

Those at the event will also have the opportunity to purchase Good Coffee, a fair-trade coffee company from Portland.

“I think one of the biggest reasons my band wanted to get involved is because we’ve just seen so much goodness come from (Sinn and Smith), and they’ve gone so far with it that it’s just something that we want to be a part of, and to bring as much awareness as we can,” Salte said.

“We have a spoken artist coming in who’s from Haiti, and she’s just going to be sharing some of her brilliant art through her spoken word, and she’s just amazing. Plus, the boys from Push for Burundi are going to be talking about their longboarding experience, we have a gallery that’s going to be there showing off pictures from Burundi as well as from the longboarding trip.”

In addition, Loveworks founder Graeme Watt will be sharing few words.

“It’s kind of just an all-arts night,” Salte said.

The concert will take place at McDougall United Church in Edmonton on Friday, Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. Tickets are free, but donations at the event are encouraged. - Sherwood Park News

Four Edmonton-area acts will be vying for more than $200,000 in the second annual Peak Performance Project, a talent contest sponsored by Calgary radio station, 95.3 The Peak.

Indie-rockers The Velveteins, folk-adventurists Two Bears North, singer-songwriter Braden Gates, and Sherwood Park duo The Royal Foundry are part of this year’s Top 12 artists. They’ll compete in a series of challenges — including a songwriting/performance bootcamp — for the grand prize of $100,953. (Second place gets $75,000, while third place receives $50,000.)

Edmonton’s The Wet Secrets snagged the inaugural PPP last November — hours after drummer Trevor Anderson wiped out in his minivan on the QEII.

Could another local act take home this year’s prize? Well, The Royal Foundry were one of last year’s competitors, so the husband-wife pair of Jared and Bethany Salte might have a slight edge …

This year’s other eight PPP acts are:

Meisha & The Spanks (Calgary)
Cowpuncher (Calgary)
Layten Kramer (Canmore)
Leeroy Stagger (Lethbridge)
Transit (Calgary)
The Wisers (Calgary)
Northern Beauties (Calgary)
Beach Season (Calgary) - Edmonton Journal

Oh! Canada returns for our twenty-fourth Edition. This month finds a number of previous Oh! Canada artists returning with new material, and plenty of brand new discoveries from all over Canada. Some of the artists will be heading to the UK in the near future, so if you like what you hear be sure to let them know!

The Royal Foundry – “Gone”

Based out of Sherwood Park, Alberta, The Royal Foundry are husband and wife duo Jared and Bethany Salte. The band’s debut album Wherever We Go, released earlier this year, demonstrates the couple have a fine line in life affirming anthemic folk-pop, complete with hand claps, wailing harmonica, glockenspiels and triumphant horn sections. - The Line of Best Fit

Each week at CBC Music, our staff members pick a list of songs you need to hear, writing passionate words with the hopes that you’ll add said artist to your playlist. Once a month, though, we do something different.

This time around, public broadcasters from across the globe weigh in on those must-hear songs. NPR Music, BBC Radio 1, Australia’s triple j, Ireland’s RTÉ and CBC hosts give an international voice to Songs You Need to Hear, choosing a song from an artist you shouldn’t miss.

In this seventh instalment, NPR Music's Robin Hilton, BBC Radio 1’s Huw Stephens, RTÉ's Dan Hegarty, triple J's Zan Rowe and CBC's own Grant Lawrence make a case for five artists you should have on your radar.

Host: Grant Lawrence, CBC Music
Song you need to hear: "Running Away," the Royal Foundry

Each year, we hold a national contest called Searchlight: the hunt for Canada's best new artist. And each year, we find plenty of excellent artists who don't win, or even make it into the national top 10. One of those bands from 2015 is the Royal Foundry, from Edmonton, Alta. They are married couple Jared and Bethany Salte, who met just five years ago with no aspirations to form a band. But, being musical, it happened naturally within the first year of their marriage. Since then, they have seen huge growth in their band in the form of songwriting awards, radio play and national contests. They have also created a huge sound for just two people: if Mumford & Sons ever held a superjam with Arcade Fire, it might sound something like the Royal Foundry's new single "Running Away." Except that would be about a dozen people — and the Royal Foundry is only two. And yes, if you listen closely, the banjos are still in there. - CBC Music

Twelve musical acts, including five from the Edmonton area, will vie for more than $225,000 in a talent contest sponsored by a Calgary radio station.

Soul-pop songstress Nuela Charles, hip-hop artist Mitchmatic, folk-rockers Scenic Route To Alaska, dance-rockers The Wet Secrets and Sherwood Park folk duo The Royal Foundry will take part in the first Alberta Peak Performance Project.

They’ll be competing against Brooks’ Lauren Mann and the Fairly Odd Folk and six acts from Calgary — including indie-rockers Port Juvee and folk-rockers SAVK— for what is one of the richest contests in Canadian music.

The Peak Performance Project awards $100,953 to a grand-prize winner, $75,000 to second place and $50,000 to third.

Singer-songwriter Samantha Savage Smith, avant-pop duo Sidney York, psych-popsters 36?, and art-rockers Boreal Sons are Cowtown’s other finalists.

This musical battle of Alberta is organized by a new Calgary station, 95. 3 The Peak, which is owned by the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group. Its sister station in Vancouver administers a similar contest in British Columbia.

The 12 Alberta finalists will take part in a bootcamp with industry experts, followed by a series of gigs at a Calgary venue and an online voting campaign. The winner will be announced in late November.

Edmonton’s entrants are no slouches. Charles won the inaugural Edmonton Music Prize in 2013 and recently received a Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Emerging Artists Award — the same honour granted to Mitchmatic in 2012. The Royal Foundry, a husband-and-wife duo, features Jared Salte, who has won several awards from the Gospel Music Association. He used to front Junkyard Poets.

Previous winners of B.C.’s Peak Performance Project include: songstress Rykka, indie-rockers We Are The City and roots-rockers Current Swell, starring two St. Albert-bred, Victoria-based musicians, Dave Lang and Scott Stanton. Their band won in 2011 and used the prize money to finance their latest album, Ulysses, and tour Europe, Australia and Brazil.

“Getting the money definitely helped us with a couple of our international tours. We didn’t have to save up the money to go,” Lang told the Journal last fall. “It gave us a little bit more freedom to tackle some of the things on our To Do list.” - Edmonton Journal

On this episode we soften the music on The Antidote. We’re joined by a new folk duo hailing from Edmonton, Alberta. Listen in as we speak with The Royal Foundry about their debut album, wherever we go. - Dave Hawkins

GMA Nominated Folk Duo the ROYAL FOUNDRY Release Video for New Single "All We Have"

What do you get when you combine the edgy rock vocals of Junkyard Poets front man (the youngest nominated producer of the year in GMA history) and the beautifully artistic sensibilities of a photographer whose musical history is that full of worshipful melodies?

The Royal Foundry.

The GMA Nominated Folk Duo are releasing their debut album Wherever We Go January 31st to follow up their nominated Folk/Pop hit "Run Back."

The Royal Foundry was formed just over 6 months ago. Shortly before band mates Jared & Bethany Salte were Married in late September. Since then they have collectively brought home 6 awards and 12 nominations from the prestigious GMA awards. They take their influences from bands such as The Civil Wars, Mumford & Sons and Sufjan Stevens. Bringing their beautiful Folk infused Pop to stages across North America. They will be kicking off the release of their album on January 31st with the biggest concert they have ever played, in front of an audience of 1800 at Evangel Pentecostal Church in Edmonton, AB.

"The name The Royal Foundry is inspired by the way that God is constantly working in our lives. As a blacksmith refines and purifies metals so does our Saviour through melting and moulding us daily." comments Jared. "In March they will be going on a missions trip to share their music, message and faith to schools across the countries of Belize and El Salvador, and in May they will be hitting the road to launch their first tour across Canada. All of these plans made in the short time that they've been together as The Royal Foundry.

"Its been an incredibly jam packed journey thus far, doors have been opened for us so naturally, we are stepping into this new chapter of our lives, hand in hand with great confidence with the Lord as our Guide." Bethany states while wearing her smile as proof of God's providence in their lives.

Needless to say, this jumpstarted folk/pop husband and wife duo are stepping out in faith, taking their ministry with them to all corners of the earth right from the get go. Their hearts and minds aligned with their confidence in God's plans for their lives through this exciting endeavour together.

Crossroads 360 asked Jared Salte a few questions about the upcoming album:

WHAT INSPIRED THIS ALBUM?

J: It's hard to explain, as our 'Band' just came to be without us really thinking or acting on it. We wrote 'Run Back' shortly before we got engaged and then took a break as we prepared for our wedding. Then after we got married in September, all this recognition occurred and opportunities just presented itself to us. After the GMA's we naturally just poured out the rest of the album - and its inspiration was all sorts of things. Our new marriage and life together, love, how relationships are perceived in the world vs. our own biblical perception, and more clearly in more specific songs, such as Abraham; biblical stories/scriptures/people. A lot, we know, but like we said before, it just came pouring out of us so naturally - which is inspiration enough.

This album was created very naturally. It felt very unintentional. We didn't really have a definite moment of decision to become a band. We got married in September and just started writing and recording right off the bat and before we knew it we were getting some attention for our music and now we have an album in our hands.



WHERE DID YOU RECORD AND WHO PRODUCED IT?

J: It was recorded in Edmonton Alberta at Salt Shaker Studios. I (Jared) run and operate the studio where Beth, also as a photographer, does the album and artwork for other artists/bands, so it was just the obvious choice to record there.




WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURIATE SONG AND WHY?

J: We each have different favourite songs. Mine would have to be "In The Middle" which talks about our relationship early on and how we chose to keep our marriage bed pure before marriage. That was a huge part of how Beth and I even began dating - we promised each other that God would be in the centre of our relationship, along with doing daily devos together (some 50+ devotional books over the course of our 3 years of dating) a passionate ministry that we love talking about. And Bethany's favourite song is "Waiting" which is about being Lukewarm in your faith - a song inspired by her time in Youth Ministry. She wrote this song as she struggled through trying to reach out to others, to bring an active change in people's lives...not just a stagnant 'change' that happens for a few weeks or so, then disappears.



WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS AS A DUO IN 2014?

J: Our goal is to get on the road and tour like crazy! We're really happy with our music and just really want to be sharing it anywhere we can!



Watch a performance of Royal Foundry at the 2013 GMA Covenant Awards Show "Run Back": - Crossroads 360

The Royal Foundry are closing out 2014 with growth and acclaim that surprised even them.

The local folk pop duo of Jared and Bethany Salte came together in 2012, just a few days after the pair were married.

It was one of the pair’s own songs that played a role in their romance.

“That song is the last song on the album and is the song I wrote when I proposed to Bethany, and it was about this journey, let’s take an adventure here, let’s get married, let’s go on this journey together wherever we go. So that’s been the title for the album, but kind of the motto for the whole project,” Jared said as he explained the origin of their first album, Wherever We Go.

The album was initially a musical exploration of the folk style done for fun by the pair, that would take off beyond their expectations.

“We just put our album on iTunes and thought, ‘Hey it would be fun to try this new style,’ ” Salte said.

At the Covenant Awards on Nov. 13, The Royal Foundry took home the awards for New Artist of the Year and Folk/Roots Song of the Year. In October, the band ran a fundraising concert looking to provide for at-risk children around the world that raised more than $15,000.

“I think we have this catchy pop music, but it’s also reflective. I think that’s something people are attracted to right now. It’s a genre that’s really popular with bands like Mumford and Sons, Lumineers, that sort of style. I think we started writing for this style at the right time and things lined up nicely with that,” Salte said on what he felt was behind the band’s successes.

The band’s folk pop has kept an exploration of love and relationships as central to the themes of their music.

“We’re a married folk duo, so relationships and all of that, we sing about that quite a bit and stories behind that. Not just stories about us personally but fictional situations and characters as well,” Salte said.

Salte called “All We Have,” one of the pair’s prominent songs, a celebration of the joy of love.

“It was a song that we wrote just after we got married, so it was a spot that we were at,” he said.

The Royal Foundry are currently at work on their second album and planning a spring tour of Canada to accompany it. - Sherwood Park News

Meet the new king and queen of the Edmonton Music Awards.

The Royal Foundry — featuring singers (and married couple) Jared and Bethany Salte — took home three honours during Tuesday night’s ceremony at the Winspear Centre.

“Thank you so much,” said Jared, after winning their third and final award, Group of the Year. “This is really overwhelming.”

The electro-folk-pop group also won Single of the Year and Music Video of the Year for Running Away, a soaring number filled with synth squiggles and joyous vocals. The video features the couple and their cellist/drummer Robbie Szabo playing in various locations across Alberta.

The awards cap off a stellar eight months for The Royal Foundry, including winning second place (and $75,000) in the Peak Performance Project, a talent contest sponsored by a Calgary radio station. The band’s song, Start This Fire, was also featured in a Purina Dog Chow ad.

Twenty-three awards were handed out at the sixth annual EMAs. As well as recognizing Edmonton’s musical talent, organizers were also celebrating their first gala at the Winspear Centre — hosted by CityTV’s hysterical Bridget Ryan. The event used to take place at the 417-seat Royal Alberta Museum Theatre but moved to its new home to accommodate more fans. About 900 people attended Tuesday’s ceremony.

Lucas Chaisson performing during the 2016 Edmonton Music Awards at the Winspear Centre in Edmonton, Wednesday, June 28, 2016.
Lucas Chaisson performing during the 2016 Edmonton Music Awards. ED KAISER / EDMONTON JOURNAL
The Provincial Archive and Lucas Chaisson were the night’s other multiple winners, each picking up two awards.

The Provincial Archive, a folk-grunge trio, nabbed Album of the Year for their self-titled effort, and Indie Recording of the Year for their single, Bad Connection.

Chaisson, an Americana artist, went into the ceremony with a leading seven nominations. He won Singer/Songwriter Recording of the Year for My Lover and My Ghost and Country Recording of the Year for Start a Fire.

Chaisson tripped on the stage as he walked to the podium to accept the former. “Yeah, I fell already,” he said, then thanked his family, band members and neighbours.

The bearded singer-songwriter, who grew up in Cochrane, was also one of several performers during the two-and-a-half-hour gala. Others included Celtic rockers Captain Tractor, cow-punk veterans Jr. Gone Wild, and Female Artist of the Year winner Kimberley MacGregor.

Country-punk-metal pioneers the smalls were honoured with the Legacy Award. The band, featuring a pre-country star Corb Lund on bass, broke up in 2001 and briefly reunited in 2014. All four musicians were in attendance, including guitarist Dug Bevans and drummer Terry Johnson, the only member to still live in Edmonton.

“It didn’t matter where we were playing on any given night — what city, what country, continent, whatever — we never failed to tell the people, right at the beginning, where we were from,” said singer Mike Caldwell. “the smalls are from Edmonton, Alberta. We were proud of it. Thank you for your support then and I want to thank you for the recognition tonight.”

“It’s an incredible music scene and there are still incredible bands coming out,” added Johnson. “We did it, you can do it, too. You just got to get in a van.”

Mohsin Zaman accepts his award.
Mohsin Zaman accepts his award. ED KAISER / EDMONTON JOURNAL
While most EMA winners and presenters praised the warm embrace of Edmonton’s music scene, some made pleas for even more support. “We’re lucky and we’re blessed,” said Male Artist of the Year winner Mohsin Zaman, who was born in Pakistan.

“Unfortunately, it’s not the same for all of us. We have this luxury and not everyone has it. So I hope we find acceptance for everyone around us in all walks of life and I hope that we carry that with each other. All this is great but it’s very short term.”

Like a true Canadian, The Royal Foundry’s Beth Salte felt the need to say sorry to the band’s fellow nominees in the Music Video category, including Concealer’s Place To Hide and Striker’s Too Late.

“So we obviously didn’t have amazing production skills, so I apologize ‘cuz the rest of the music videos were just amazing,” she said. “AWWWW,” replied the crowd.

“We broke an $800 neon sign for it, so hopefully that makes up for it,” she continued. “Thank you so much for this.”

“That was really depressing,” quipped her husband. “I’m the negative one,” she giggled. So did the crowd. - Edmonton Journal

Jared and Beth Salte make up The Royal Foundry (they’re also married!). Their music is a combination of Mutemath meets Coldplay and The Civil Wars. They have infectious melodies and uplifting lyrics. The Royal Foundry recently played SXSW, JUNOfest, and are slated to play Canadian Music Week.

They won $75k from Peak Performance Project in Alberta and they used that to fund all their recent recording.

Learn more about The Royal Foundry in the following All Access interview:
Thanks so much for your time today! How’s 2015 been treating you two so far? What were some of the highlights of 2016 for you and your music?

[Jared] Hey! Thanks so much for having us! 2015 went by way too quickly. I think we are still digesting some of the amazing opportunities we had, but looking back it really felt like a whirlwind of a year. With playing some amazing festivals for the first time and touring to playing in Europe and winning $75,000 – to highlight a few – we think it was a great 2nd year as a band! All of these amazing experiences have lead us to some much needed writing time in early 2016 year, playing some more shows and breaking into the US market with a big commercial placement and Top 20 in College radio!

Can you remember first deciding to start this band? How did you come up with your band name? What other names were you thinking of?

[Beth] With Jared being so musical – with his upbringing, having a few high school bands and with the Salt Shaker Studios business producing music from the age of 12 – it just continued to naturally fuse into our newly married lives. We started writing right after the wedding in the fall, and by late December, we had 10 songs and went forth to get them pressed. I don’t ever remember having a conversation about starting a band, we just took things as they came, not ever thinking about what it meant; so this has really been a crazy ride for me.

We decided on the band name The Royal Foundry with Royal as a zeitgeist and Foundry being the act of purifying metals through intense heat and fire – an analogy I like to remind myself through hard times in life making me stronger. I do remember thinking of just having the name Foundry, but that also is the name of our favourite Cider (we aren’t really beer drinkers) and we didn’t want to be that lame.

What’s it like being in a band with your spouse? What are some of the silly or strange things you fight about when it comes to your music and/or recording it?

[Jared] Like everything, it has its ups and downs. It’s amazing to song write with someone you completely trust and who you can be honest with, even with the brutal critiques. But that also makes you very vulnerable at the same time, which can cause a bit of unrest. We laugh about this line of work being great counselling for couples because it forces you to be open but also to practice putting your spouse before you. We also happen to work really well together. From the very beginning our process has been very accommodating and organic. The biggest thing we fight about are: breaks and snack foods – Beth likes a lot of breaks and I like to push through, and I like the dirty snack foods where Beth would not be in the same room with me if I had them. So we have learned to find a balance.

What was it like playing at SXSW and JUNOFest? What does it mean to you to be able to play at the upcoming Canadian Music Week? What have been some of your favourite shows in the past? What makes a truly excellent gig?

[Jared] Getting to play at the big festivals are really an honour because you know that the other artists there have been chosen because they stand out in some way. Although these shows are quick and dirty, they also come with amazing opportunities to network and meet some amazing people. Any chances to get your music to places you’ve never been, or places to get your name popping up again and again is always a good thing – and a lot of opportunities that we have are because of showcases like these. Also, just the general vibe is so electric, you can feel it in the air – it’s inspiring!

What was it like winning the Peak Performance Project in Alberta? I understand that you have used that money to fund all your recording? That’s pretty awesome!

[Jared] Winning $75,000 towards our career in the Peak Performance Project was so amazing, and the push it gave the band turned out more than what money could buy! The project holds a lot of credentials and that alone, has acted as a catapult in our careers!

So, what was the inspiration for your newest single, “Start This Fire”?

[Beth] I think all the excitement and our consistent climb upwards with our music was the main inspiration. The song is about the importance of working hard until you have accomplished your goals, even when you might feel out of place or different. Its so easy to see failure as a dead end, when really it’s a stepping stone to get you closer to accomplishing your goals.

Who are some of your favourite artists? Who would you love to collaborate with in the future?

[Jared] Oh man, this is always one of the harder questions because I love listening to music – especially newer indie artists, so my ‘favourites’ list is always growing. The Beatles played a huge part in my creative writing growing up, along with Bruce Springsteen, and Dylan, Supertramp. But I am a sucker for good pop like Betty Who, Taylor Swift, and Katy Perry. But even still, I love listening to Brandon Flowers, Bleachers, Laura Marling, Andrew Bird, Junip….too many to name. I would collaborate with any one of the artists listed above – but Paul McCartney would top the list as I just finished his latest biography (so good)!

At the end of the day, what do you hope is the message of your music? What do you hope listeners take away from your songs?

[Beth] A lot of our songs centre in love, love for yourself, love for others, love for your dreams, love for working hard, love for justice, and so on. Whatever love is for you at the moment. So we hope that our songs resonate with you as they did us, wherever you are in life, because in the end we are all the same and we all need love.

Is there anything else that you would like to share with our readers about yourselves or your music?

[Beth] Well, we obviously LOVE YOU GUYS. We are so thankful to be a part of this! And we are just so excited for life! We love what we do and even though we have no clue where life is going to take us, we are just so excited for what we have and for whatever is next – and we wish the same for you! We buy you all a cyber glass of delicious drink of your choice (or our favourite Foundry Cider cause its amazing) and cheers to you on life and happiness! Cheers! - All Access Music

Valentine’s day is fast approaching, and instead of giving you a list of love songs you can cry to, I’ve decided to expose some of my favourite Canadian artists for what they really are…MARRIED.

February is all about the mushy stuff, and these musical love birds will make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, plus they make great music together.

The Royal Foundry – The band was formed by Beth and Jared shortly after the pair were married. They quickly saw their audience grow, and the band’s first performance was live on TV (talk about stage fright)! Since then the couple have toured across the country many times over, and are currently working on a new record. You can see their new song Running Away below. Oh, and by the way, they also they make a mean guacamole.

Dear Rouge – Made up of Drew and Danielle McTaggart, Dear Rouge launched back in 2012 on the West Coast of Canada, in Vancouver, BC. Between the two of them, they have a ton of experience from touring and recording with multiple bands. Their debut full length “Black to Gold” came out in the spring of 2015 and now the couple is nominated for a Juno Award in the “Breakthrough Artist of the Year” category, (which will be announced in April). Good luck Dear Rouge!


Whitehorse – Described as a classic musical love story, Melissa McClelland and Luke Doucet are fantastic musicians in their own right, but their first release in 2011 as the duo Whitehorse took their music career and their love life to the next level. The duo’s live show is full of mesmerizing layering vocals, percussion and harmonies which you can see for yourself in the video below. Look for new music coming from Whitehorse this year!


Mother Mother – Mother Mother actually has 5 members, but only 2 are married. Molly (vocals/keys) and Jeremy (bass) have tied the knot, which means Ryan (lead vocals/guitar) and Jeremy are now brothers-in-law because Molly and Ryan are siblings. Confusing? Not really, just listen to how awesome the band is and it will all make sense.


Arcade Fire – This is probably the biggest married couple in the Canadian music industry. Win Butler and Régine Chassagne have been married for over a decade and in that time Arcade Fire’s career has skyrocketed to super stardom. After the band’s Grammy win in 2011 for album of the year for “The Suburbs” (beating out music heavy weights like Lady Gaga, Eminem and Katy Perry), they released “Reflektor”, which took the band across the globe and back to the studio. The band is getting ready for festival season, and are now working on new material. That’s right – new Arcade Fire! Yay!


So whether you’re rocking it solo, or have a partner this Valentine’s Day, you can enjoy the great music from some of the most creative couples to ever come out of Canada. Here’s some even better news – you’ll hear these musical couples and more on a special love edition of Press Play on Feb 14 at 8 ET on The Verge – SiriusXM 173. - Sirius XM

The Royal Foundry are an alternative folk band from Alberta, Canada. Their music goes in the direction of up-tempo folk-pop and has a very harmonic alignment. This is hardly surprising, as the two band members Bethany and Jared Salte are married. Both have a very different family background. Bethany is the daughter of a pastor who developed a love of fine arts and Jared is the son of a rock musician. But as you say so beautifully: opposites attract.



Since 2013, the two make under the name The Royal Foundry music. Her songs are inspired by her family life and her daily challenges. Enriched with thoughtful lyrics, mesmerizing melodies, and the coherent chemistry between the two, songs emerge that sound as if Mumford & Sons are meeting with Arcade Fire for a jam session. That would be a lot of people but The Royal Foundry can do it as a duo.



Live, the folk duo but then still supported by two other musicians, creating a promising alternative pop quartet that can convince the whole line.

In 2015, The Royal Foundry participated in the "Peak Performance Project" competition, where they won the song "Running Away" for $ 75,000 in prize money. The Canadian television station TSN then used the song as an intro in the transmission of games of the Canadian Football League (CFL).

The Royal Foundry Band Press PhotoThis success led The Royal Foundry to say goodbye to their folk roots and take a musical direction that sounds more like muthmath bursting into a tea party for Coldplay and The Civil Wars.

This was followed by international showcases at the Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg, the Canadian Music Week and the Americana Music Conference. The song "Waiting" was featured on Good Morning America, the Huffington Post and on Buzzfeed and has been streamed over seven million times.

The Canadian and American radio and TV stations literally jumped on The Royal Foundry, and so their songs found use in numerous shows and programs. Of course, several music magazines became aware of the band and not a few of them named The Royal Foundry "Artist of the Month" or "New Artist of the Year".



The Royal Foundry have been creating great music since its founding and it's actually incomprehensible that they are still pretty much under the radar. Maybe we could make a small contribution with our article, that this will change in the future. It would be to wish the band. - Museek

The Royal Foundry are just fine with their music being used to sell dog food.

The Edmonton band's latest single has been selected as the soundtrack for a Spanish language Purina Puppy Chow commercial in the United States.

Bethany and Jared Salte — the husband and wife duo who founded the folk-pop band — think it could be their big break.

"You need money to make music," Jared said during a Tuesday morning interview on CBC Radio's Edmonton AM. "Album sales are super low and this is one way to combat that.

"We're just happy to make music."

The band's publisher submitted their song to Purina last year, and it was finally approved after months of negotiations, and market research by the pet food giant.

The 60-second commercial launches nationwide on April 1, the same day as their new single drops.

"So we'll get a large fee for this, and the exposure is going to be great," said Jared. "This is big."

puppy chow
(ewao.com)

The ad is apparently a tear-jerker.
"They've done an entire series that envelops the idea of 'man's best friend,' and if you're an animal lover like me, they're really cute," said Bethany.

"It's about this grown man and his dog, and shows how his dog has helped him over the years."

But just to be clear, dog food is not their musical muse.

The song Start this Fire, was inspired instead by a drive to stay dedicated to the music.

"The song is about not being complacent," said Jared.

"In the music industry, there are a lot of dreamers. And not that it's bad to be a dreamer, but it's about taking action, and taking matters into your own hands and working hard."

They don't own a dog, but after landing the commercial, the Saltes want to pay it forward to their canine friends, and are on the hunt for an English bulldog to adopt.

"We're going to name him Alfie," said Bethany. "I'm so excited." - CBC

The couple that sings together, stays together.

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Jared grew up listening to David Bowie and is the son of a touring rock musician. Bethany is an England-educated preacher’s daughter whose first love is her Leica M6 camera. Her second love is Jared, her husband of two and a half years. Together, they are The Royal Foundry.

Based out of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, The Royal Foundry formed just after Jared and Beth Salte’s marriage. There was never any discussion, any plans about music becoming their career.

According to Beth, “We never talked about it, we just started writing songs, and then, all of a sudden, it just happened. We never really had that conversation of, ‘So… do you wanna do this?'”

Whether or not they discussed it, they’re in neck deep now. In 2014, they gained some big exposure as finalists in the John Lennon Songwriting Competition, as well as when one of their songs was featured on ABC’s Rookie Blue.

“We started off just writing love songs,” recalled Beth. “We kind of just wrote whatever came out, and that happened to be basically the folk duo music that we started with.”

Over time, though, they realized who they wanted to be, and what they wanted to play.

“It was great, how it started. It totally helped us in terms of kind of realizing what kind of music we wanted to do… and that was that we wanted to be more energetic, more synthy, more pop, and then that kind of led us here.”

The difference in the music is evident. It evokes artists like Of Monsters and Men and Arcade Fire, the latter of which is a major influence on the band.

“With their live shows, they just have so much passion and energy on stage,” mused Jared. “We really want to bring that into our music, and the new music we’re creating.”

PC: official Facebook
PC: official Facebook
It’s not just bands similar to them, though. Jared cited two very different artists as influences: Nat King Cole and Rage Against the Machine.

“We’re kind of a mixed bag,” he concluded.

Beth added, “We have so many artists we love listening to, and we hear little bits and are like, ‘Oh, that’s so great!'”

The Royal Foundry are in a unique situation, as they are unsigned and relatively unknown, yet their music has climbed the Alternative charts in Canada. Their song “Running Away” climbed to #23 and featured on the same list as big names in the indie genre, including Coldplay, Mumford & Sons, and The 1975.

“It was really humbling. It was really cool, too,” reminisced Jared. “You’d see all the record labels by all these bands, and then by us, there’s just this little dash… But it was really encouraging that we were doing something right.“

They’ve taken the success to heart, and put their noses to the grindstone to hopefully expand on their success. The new music is coming. They’re working on their unnamed second album, their first since their style transition, and this time, they’re doing it right. They’ve recorded “maybe 40 songs,” according to Jared. From there, they’ll trim it down. For their first album though, they broke recording protocol in the music business.

PC: Unfolding Creative Photography
PC: Unfolding Creative Photography
“We just basically wrote ten songs and were like, ‘Yeah, that’s an album, right?’… which is apparently not what you’re supposed to do as an artist,” laughed Beth.

Doing what is unorthodox seems to be a strength of Jared of Beth, though. They’re self-described coffee snobs. Beth loves secondhand shopping and Instagramming, while Jared spends his downtime playing Halo, which he described as “kinda lame.”

This is a duo that loves to go their own way, and they’re very good at it. They’re learning their way in the world of music. They’re fresh off a spring tour which took them across half of their home nation of Canada, and they seemed to love every bit of it.

“We’re quite new to the whole idea of touring, so I feel like all of these shows that we’ve done, they all hold a new experience,” reminisced Beth. “We’ve never really repeated the same experience yet. We’re just exploring all these new venues and meeting people whose hometowns we’ve never even been to before, which is really cool.”

The Royal Foundry are just cracking the surface. What they’ve done is impressive; what they will do is very promising.

“Start This Fire” is their latest release, and it’s available now. - The Indie Sound

The powerhouse Canadian indie pop-rock group, comprised of Jared Salte, Bethany Salte, Robbie Szabo and Jeremy Dehek released their EP Lost in Your Head this year - which is their first full-length record with a full piece band. At the roots of The Royal Foundry are the two lovebirds Jared and Bethany who joined forces in life and in music. They released their first track "All We Have" as a folk-pop acoustic duo and then quickly transformed their sound and doubled their band members.

The creation of Lost in Your Head was a coming of age for the band, they came into their own musical identity and came out with a colorful explosive album. Filled with anthem driven lyrics, infectious synthesized beats and catchy riffs, we talked to founding members Jared and Beth on the inspirations and stories behind their new EP.

You describe your new EP “Lost In Your Head” as a ‘fusion’ between your old folk acoustic sound and new synth electro-pop tunes. How would you say this transition came about?
Beth: One of the first songs from our folk/americana album that we wrote was ‘All We Have’. It was one of the only songs that didn’t really fit into the folk album, as it was ‘too pop'. After we released the album, it was that song that garnered a lot of attention and, at the same time, helped transition our desire to explore different musical genres. Jared, having a background in music producing, dealt with a lot of bands in different music genres, so for him, exploring different synth sounds, and fusing acoustic elements with pop/alt tones, seemed natural.

Who would you say are your biggest musical influences right now and why?
Jared: Our constant musical influences remain to be The Beatles, Bruce Springsteen, YES, The Killers, Coldplay and Arcade Fire, among otherrs. Each of these bands speak to us in different ways, The Beatles for their unabashed creativity that exceeds expectation (even to this day), Bruce Springsteen for his incredible musicianship and live show. YES for their intensely interesting compositions. The Killers and Coldplay for creating catchy melodies and Arcade Fire for creating a world that celebrates music and politics while striking a chord in realism that we can all relate to.

We’ve read that the band loves photography and visuals. How are they weaved into your music live show?
Beth: Just like in movies/TV, how music can make a specific scene all the more intense, I think adding visual to a band can also drive that point or moment or emotion all the more. Going to see a live band is an experience, both visually and audibly.

Cue: awesome album artwork for Lost in Your Head.
EPART


If you had an unlimited budget to put on a concert for your fans, what would be your dream city and ultimate stage setup be?
Jared: I think it would be sweet to play at a venue where you need to take an indoor rollercoaster to get to the place (think space mountain). The intro to the concert would be during the ride and once you got into the venue, the entire place would feel like stepping into a secret dark unknown space, and there would be cool interactive elements. Lots of screens and laser lights and it would be really spacey! That would be the ultimate!

What is your favorite song to play live and why?
Beth: We love to get crazy on our more pop-y songs. "All We Have", "Rollin’ Out the Window" and "We Keep on Dancing". Those ones are fun!

Of all the songs on Lost in Your Head which song do you think represents the band’s current sound and direction?
Jared: "Just Say You Want It" mostly because its got both the pop/alt sound along with some sweet electronic elements that weave itself throughout our album!

Jared, how has your background of being a producer, shaped the way you made this album?
Jared: Being able to work with so many different musical genres helped create a space of experimentation with fusing different genres together. My high school band, Junkyard Poets, was as experimental as it gets, and then switching to a folk album was the sort of opportunity to explore more subdued musicalities. Now with this album, I feel for the first time I’ve found my ‘groove’ in musical styles.

What is your earliest memory of what sparked your love for music and passion to perform and write lyrics?
Jared: My dad was a touring musician and so I was constantly surrounded by music and musicians. He toured a lot during the summer, and so our entire family would travel with him. Not only did my dad make music, but he also was diverse with his musical genres, starting with a rock album, than a country album, and a few children’s albums too. So, music was really in my blood. Beth came in completely fresh, with her first live performance using wedges, and with it being broadcasted nationally. She really was thrown into the deep end of things after we got married, but took on everything very naturally - almost like she was made for it.

What was it like co-producing this album with Sam Hanson?
Jared: It was very nerve-racking, as this was the first time ever that I co-produced our own music. At first listen, I definitely had that moment of ‘Ah! What did you do!?’ but it turned out to be such a great experience, and it helps that Sam is just a great human too!

How did you come up with the concept of the “All We Have” music video, and what was that filming process like?
Beth: The music video and concept was totally chance. We didn’t really have any ideas as to how it would turn out or what to do. We had a few locations picked out, but everything from meeting the right people, to having the perfect weather, was a complete fluke. It was just insane to be in the middle of nowhere, Illinois, meeting complete strangers who happen to own a 1950’s diner frozen in time, that also has a giant pink elephant in the yard, who then say they have two pet monkeys!?!?!?! And who then, invites us to shoot some video with them? I mean first, is that legal, to own monkeys? And then have one of the oldest Drive-In theatres completely accommodate us and let us invade their space?! It was so much fun, and we had the best team in the world - SongFreedom and Switzerfilm! It was just so much fun!

See The Royal Foundry perform live in the Drake Underground with Living Hour on Friday OCT 27 @ 8PM. Get your tickets here. - The Drake

It is rare that a song hits with sufficient force to immediately self-propel to the upper tier of a listener’s go-to playlist. “Never Have Time” accomplished the improbable. Better yet, because the track has emotional balance, tempo variations, and some whimsy, it is likely to have staying power.
The emotional balance is a result of clothing a discussion of deflating subject matter in an uplifting melody:

She was going her own way
Clearing a path too treacherous to pave
And here I was just screaming out her name
Calling her back from digging her own grave
She said:
Never have time for me
Never have time for you

For most of “Never Have Time,” the tempo is electric, but the energy levels transition on a regular basis. The song begins with a somber feel. The mood changes temporarily at the 0:23 mark. Still, it’s not until the second minute of the song that a listener is aware of the acceleration and drive that “Never Have Time” has to offer.
Instruments and vocal interjections that are more common in the “World” genre provide the whimsy. - Indie Obsessive