Polymathic Actor, Recording Artist, and Filmmaker Amir Royale Releases New Single “Phonics” (feat. Sydney Palmer and Declan Sheehy-Moss)

Mr. Disney Dilla’s Latest Soulful Jazz-Pop Earworm Urges Empathy

By StageScene MagazinePublished about a year ago • 7 min read

Amir Royale in front of the Hollis, Queens Public Library across from his alma mater Renaissance Middle School 192 ; photograph by Danté Crichlow

From Amir Royale

I don't think I've ever really felt well-understood by my peers or mentors. Most my life I was outcasted for my passionate and exuberant outlook. "Phonics" was a way for me to define what that felt like — but, furthermore — showcase to others how to combat it. I've had this song sitting in a vault since before the pandemic. Thus, I recruited some of my favorite people in this whole wide world to share the stage for one of my last few "harder" stories to tell. Or, well — at least I think so. Declan Sheehy-Moss (a good friend of the next J. Dilla and Robert Glasper - Cisco Swank); as well as Sydney Kate Palmer (an NYU student of mine) both bring this so beautifully to life — and, I don't know — I just hope you finally get it one day. Maybe, just maybe — I even pray I'll still be here on Earth to know finally what it feels like. That's if God decides I'm lucky enough. I love and miss you all, always.
Walk good, take care. 🌺❤️‍🩹🌺

• Buy & Stream Everywhere

• Lyrics on Genius.com

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artwork by: Dylan Assed

design by: SPECTRUMM Animations

composed by: Amir Angelo Oliver

lyrics by: Amir Angelo Oliver

performed by: Amir Royale, Sydney Palmer & Declan Sheehy-Moss

exec. produced by: Prince Royale & Amir Royale

produced by: Amir Royale

saxophone by: Declan Sheehy-Moss

arranged by: Amir Royale

vocal arrangements by: Amir Royale & Sydney Kate Palmer

horn arrangements by: Declan Sheehy-Moss & Amir Royale

engineered by: Amir Royale, Sydney Kate Palmer & Declan Sheehy-Moss

mixed by: Amir Royale

mastered by: Amir Royale

musical key: Ab minor

bpm: 92

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NEW YORK -- January 20, 2023 -- Amir Royale, a polymathic actor, recording artist, filmmaker, and entertainment entrepreneur, released his new single “Phonics” featuring Sydney Palmer and Declan Sheehy-Moss, which sheds light on the failure of society to empathize with others.

Click here to listen to “Phonics.”

“Phonics” is a soulful, electronic pop-jazz duet written and performed by Royale and the miraculously exquisite Sydney Kate Palmer (an up-and-coming pop-star vocalist from Plymouth, Massachusetts), over a catchy “hip-pop” beat infused with jazzy saxophone accompaniment and arrangements from NYC-based master musician, young Declan Sheehy-Moss. In the record, Royale calls out the status quo of shunning others within society without truly trying to comprehend them first – aiming to compel listeners to make a true final effort in seeing our world from each other’s perspectives and not simply one’s own. As per usual, “Phonics” sets forth another passionately moving and introspective slap by Mr. Disney Dilla himself.

“People don’t really want to learn how to talk to anyone these days. At least I don’t think so,” Royale said. “They only seem to care about you learning to speak their own language first and foremost — them happening to learn yours in return barely ends up on their list of priorities. And maybe they’ll never care, you know?”

In addition to performing the record, Royale routinely completed various aspects during the musical creation of “Phonics,” including being the lead composer, songwriter, melodist, producer, arranger, as well as mixing and mastering the record. “Phonics” was predominantly recorded, produced, mixed, and mastered at Splendor Palaces Screen & SoundWorks (Royale’s home studio in Saint Albans, Queens). Sydney and Declan’s performances on “Phonics” were recorded respectively by them both in their own hometowns (Plymouth, MA and Manhattan, NY). The promotional artwork for “Phonics” was originally imagined by Royale and realized by Dylan Assed of Eraser People 408 Productions (a 2021 graduate of the renowned Visual Arts University SVA NYC). The cover design for “Phonics” also sees a return of collaborative oversight with Royale from New York-based visual arts conglomerate SPECTRUMM Animations.

“Phonics” follows the release of Royale’s 5-track Stories of the Lost, Rich & Tormented EP in December 2022, certified dance banger “For A Day” in February 2022, the thought-provoking masterpiece “Paradox” in Spring 2021, and a flurry of releases in 2020, such as Royale’s debut horror/comedy short film Les Poissons Morts, the “hip-pop” infused electronic hit “Turnin You Out” (which was a collaboration with fellow NJ/NY polymath and pop singer-songwriter/producer DOMENICO). Prior to that, Royale re-released his debut 2015 mixtape Magnificent, released the surreal short film drama Please Stop Calling Me (starring A Beautiful Noise Broadway star Kalonjee Gallimore), and acted in the comedy sitcom podcast NEXT STOP. Royale also dropped the soulful hip-hop record “Hold It Down (Freestyle),” and his debut emotional single “People Say” back during the early months of 2020.

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Artwork Imagined by Amir Royale & Realized by Dylan Assed (of Eraser People 408 Productions). Designed by SPECTRUMM Animations.

Click here to listen to the record.

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About Amir Royale

Photograph by Kyra Williams (of The Kyra Williams Media)

Amir Royale, is a multi-talented actor, recording artist, musician, filmmaker, producer, director, and creative entrepreneur with M. StageScene Communications / Blues Bell Music. Royale is a graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music (where he also earned a minor in Cinema Studies, and currently teaches as an adjunct professor). Royale also is a graduate of the acclaimed Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, where he studied drama. Royale hails from St. Albans, Queens—a neighborhood that was once home to many legendary musicians, such as James Brown, John Coltrane, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Lena Horne, A Tribe Called Quest, and Count Basie.

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About Sydney Kate Palmer

Sydney Palmer, is a 17-year-old singer-songwriter and producer from Massachusetts. Her love of music and performance started at a young age and has lead her to pursue a career as an artist. Highly influenced by classic rock, R&B, and pop artists, Sydney has a fresh, genre-bending sound and style. Her recent EP, Sunshower, gives a wide range of musical nuances, from the bubbly, Alt-pop title track, to the brooding rock anthem “Pluto.” The Sunshower EP, recorded in Virtue and Vice as well as Pulse Studios in New York City, encapsulates the light-hearted spirit and ever-changing emotion of the teenage years. Sydney draws on the briefest of real-life moments to inspire her songwriting and invites her listeners to experience them with her.

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About Declan Sheehy-Moss

Declan Sheehy-Moss, is a genre-bending saxophone player, composer, and producer born and raised in New York City. Influenced by Herbie Hancock, Joe Henderson, Thundercat, and more, Declan blends jazz, pop, funk, and electronic music to produce a searing fusion of sound. Recently involved with projects by Henry Threadgill, Roscoe Mitchell, Anna Webber, and more, Declan is carving a path for himself in today’s musical world. Declan’s digital production and recording skills along with his instrumental and technical prowess combine to create a digital and acoustic mix, supported by analog synths, EWI, and the other quirky instruments assembled at his home studio in Brooklyn, NY.

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About Dylan Assed

Dylan Assed, is a Texas-based 2D animator, video editor, and graphic designer with experience animating in both digital and traditional mediums. A graduate of School of Visual Arts’s Class of 2021, his work takes stylistic inspiration from early-2000s cartoons, UPA shorts, and Hanna Barbara which he often pairs with darker, absurdist themes.

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