Watch Royel Otis cover Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s ‘Murder On The Dancefloor’ for ‘Like A Version’

Australian indie-pop duo Royel Otis have covered Sophie Ellis-Bextor‘s ‘Murder On The Dancefloor’ as part of triple j’s ‘Like A Version’ – watch the duo’s spirited take on the classic below.

• READ MORE: Sophie Ellis-Bextor on the return of ‘Murder On The Dancefloor’ – and watching ‘Saltburn’ with her mum

Today (January 19), triple j shared Royel Otis’ cover of the 2001 hit, which has enjoyed a resurgence following its recent inclusion in the Barry Keoghan- and Jacob Elordi-starring Saltburn late last year.

For ‘Like A Version’, acts participating typically perform one original track and a cover of their choosing for Australian radio station triple j. Royel Otis’ cover of ‘Murder On The Dancefloor’ sees them do away with Ellis-Bextor’s inclusion of strings, but double-down on guitar.

Watch Royel Otis’ cover of ‘Murder On The Dancefloor’ below.

Royel Otis are set to release a new album, ‘PRATTS & PAIN’ on February 16 via Ourness – pre-order your copy here. The record has so far been previewed by four singles, ‘Adored’, ‘Fried Rice’, ‘Heading For The Door’ and ‘Velvet’.

• READ MORE: Royel Otis are bringing a radically positive vision to Australia’s guitar scene

Their 2023 EP ‘Sofa Kings’ scored a three-star review, with NME‘s Sophie Williams writing: “The EP’s standout moment is its title track, which pushes Royel Otis’ musical ethos of efficiency front and centre, stripping away any spare moving parts to focus solely on a massive, starlit hook. Ridiculously catchy without being gimmicky, it’s here where Madden and Pavlovic sound delighted to be nearing their full potential, and that giddiness will likely increase tenfold when they truly nail the radiant and nimble sound they are searching for.”

Sophie Ellis-Bextor, on the other hand, recently spoke with NME about the return of ‘Murder On The Dancefloor’, and the track only now receiving its flowers in the US despite having released two decades ago.

“That’s what’s been quite extraordinary. To them it’s a new song, and that’s bonkers,” she said. “It didn’t do anything there the first time around, and I’m fine with that. If I’ve learned anything along the way it’s that you’ve got to go where the momentum is.”

She continued: “The glamour of being big in America would have meant a lot of time away, and I’d rather go where there are already things happening. I had an absolute ball with the first record in Latin America, South East Asia and all these places – but if this ends up being something that takes me there now then let’s see what happens.”

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