Artist to Look Out For: No Rome

He's become a familiar face to fans of The 1975 for his appearances in music videos, co-writing "TOOTIMETOOTIMETOOTIME" and collaborating with Matty Healy and George Daniels on their joint single, "Narcissist," but who exactly is No Rome?

Born Guendoline Rome Viray Gomez, No Rome grew up in Manila, Philippines, listening to the UK's biggest 80s stars like My Bloody Valentine, The Cure and New Order. Both of his parents had musical propensities– his father, an instrumentalist and songwriter and his mother, a vocal coach– so it was no surprise when he started releasing his own music on SoundCloud.

"I'd just upload them for the sake of it really," he says, "nothing more nothing less – and apparently you got people who like the way it sounded."

Originally a self-proclaimed "Shoegaze R&B" singer, No Rome has drawn from house, R&B and hip hop in his music. His early works include SoundCloud singles "Flowers On My Neck/Breaking," "I Spend Endless Days Thinking of Different Ways" and "Heaven."

Someone in particular DID like the way it sounded: visual artist/creative director and frequent collaborator of The 1975, Samuel Burgess-Johnson. From there, No Rome was introduced to Healy, inducted into British label, Dirty Hit– whose roster also includes The 1975, The Japanese House, Wolf Alice, Pale Waves and Beabadoobee– and burst into the Western music scene.

No Rome, "Seventeen"

He's since moved to London, where he now resides and collaborates with The 1975 on their own endeavors when he's not working on his own material.

"Matty and George helped me in a way of being in this kind of industry," he said.

"I came in and didn’t really know anybody on the same level as them. Going on tour with them and having Matty overseeing my stuff with George co-producing the music that I made, that made me learn a lot. These guys are so creative."

The British four-piece reciprocate those feelings. In an interview with Beats 1 last year, Healy even referred to No Rome as his "muse."

"Rome kind of became a bit of a muse of mine once I was working on his stuff and then his ideas were on parallel with everything that me and George were doing," he said.

In fact, the three of them collaborated on a sultry single off No Rome's 2018 EP, RIP Indo Hisashi called "Narcissist."

No Rome, The 1975, "Narcissist"

"The UK uses bigger words, so to say," No Rome said, of drawing inspiration for the song.

“When I was writing with some people, they’d say ‘Maybe that word’s a bit too big to be in this song?’ But I’d say ‘That’s the point though! These aren’t the words you hear in songs, so let’s put them in there, because these words exist!’ I wanted to make sure that no-one’s ever put ["narcissist"] in a pre-chorus before."

Released in 2018, "Narcissist" has now racked up over 6.3 million views on YouTube and over 23 million Spotify plays. No Rome even performed the song at Coachella this year, becoming the first Filipino artist to take the stage!

No Rome and The 1975 at Coachella

His latest EP, Crying in the Prettiest Places, is absolutely Cashmoney. It consists of six tracks: "5 Ways to Bleach Your Hair," "Stoned in the valley," "Cashmoney," "Pink," "Rimbaud, Come and Sit for A While" and "All Up in My Head." He says he found inspiration for the music in fashion, poetry and his emotions on tour.

"I’ve always written songs about fashion," he said of "Cashmoney," which he wrote when he was 16.

"It’s an inspiration and form of expression for me. I just never really knew how to put it in a pop context before."
No Rome, Cashmoney

Like other artists– notably Bob Dylan and Patti Smith– he also drew some inspiration from Arthur Rimbaud, a French poet of the Symbolist movement. He's said that his childhood love of poetry from the likes of Frank O'Hara and Robert Frost is what got him writing songs in the first place.

No Rome, "Rimbaud, Come and Sit for A While"

No Rome is currently touring in Asia, New Zealand and Australia promoting the new record (including a hometown show in Manila). You can find tour and ticket info on his website, and check out his itinerary below!

No Rome 2019 tour dates:

09/14 – Xieng Mai, Thailand @ Thunder Dome

09/16 – Singapore, Singapore @ Star Theatre

09/18 – Auckland, New Zealand @ Spark Arena

09/20 – Melbourne, Australia @ Margaret Court Arena

09/22 – Brisbane City, Australia @ Riverstage

09/25 – Adelaide, Australia @ Entertainment Centre Theatre

09/27 – Perth, Australia @ HBF Stadium

10/06 – Manila, Philippines @ Activity Center, Ayala Malls

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Last updated: 29 Mar 2024, 10:37 Etc/UTC