Royel Otis

Royel Otis is an Australian indie pop duo from Sydney, formed in 2019 by Royel Maddell (guitar/bass) and Otis Pavlovic (vocals/guitar). The pair, who met in a Sydney bar after Maddell returned from New York City, quickly bonded over a shared love of 1970s British rock and early 2000s indie, leading them to release a string of EPs including Campus (2021) and Sofa Kings (2023). They achieved global mainstream breakthrough in 2024 with two viral covers—Sophie Ellis-Bextor's "Murder on the Dancefloor" for Triple J and The Cranberries' "Linger" for SiriusXM—which propelled their debut album, Pratts & Pain, to the top of the Australian charts and earned them several ARIA Music Awards. Known for their jangly guitar melodies and signature tracks like "Oysters in My Pocket" and "Moody," the duo released their second studio album, Hickey, in August 2025, solidifying their status as one of indie rock's most prolific rising acts.