ROMES (band)

ROMES was formed in 2015, composed of Canadian brothers Jacob and Nicolas Bitove along with Irish friends James Tebbitt and Andrew Keyes. The four original members of ROMES all met while attending school in Wicklow, Ireland before relocating to Jacob and Nicolas' hometown of Toronto.[3] James and Andrew left the group amicably in 2020, as per an official statement on ROMES' Facebook page.[4]

ROMES released their debut EP titled "BELIEVE" on April 8, 2016 and later released their debut, self-titled full-length studio album "ROMES" on October 6, 2017 via Five Seven Music.[5] Both the EP and album were produced and mixed by acclaimed, Grammy-nominated L.A. producer Tony Hoffer (Beck, M83, Phoenix, The Kooks).[6]

In August 2016, ROMES' debut single "Believe" was put into rotation on Sirius XM Alt Nation's Advanced Placement program.[7] "Believe" is also featured in EA Sports Madden NFL 17 and was selected as CBC Radio One's Here and Now Song of the Week.[8] "Believe" reached over 1 million Spotify streams within its first few weeks of release and reached a peak position of #23 on Spotify Ireland's Viral 50 Chart and #48 on Ireland's Radio Charts.[9]

The band made their U.S. major festival debut at Austin City Limits Music Festival on October 6, 2017[10] while on a 34 date U.S. tour supporting Mutemath.[11] The band has also supported artists including The Strokes, Silversun Pickups, and COIN.

In January 2017, ROMES were selected by Alternative Press as one of their 'Artists to Watch in 2017'.[12]

The band has produced several self-directed and self-shot music videos which have been featured on Billboard[13] and Earmilk.[14] The music video (directed and shot by Michael Silvestre) for ROMES' album track "In The Wild", co-written with Kai (Flume, Diplo, Childish Gambino, Skrillex), was featured by world-leading drone company DJI.[15]

In September 2017, ROMES was selected by Rogers Communications Canada as their "Artist to Watch". The following month, Bell Media, iHeartRadio Canada and Virgin Radio Canada chose the band as their Emerging Artist.[16] On the day of ROMES' EP release, Paul Lester selected the band as The Guardian's "New Band of the Week" saying, “The four tracks on their EP virtually knock you down with their brio and self-belief…Surrounded by swirling synths and ebullient percussion, ROMES sound giddy with possibility."[17]

ROMES debuted their first music video for title track "BELIEVE" on Noisey, part of Vice Magazine, who stated “’Believe’ is an indie-pop anthem replete with layers of unexpected percussion and rippling synths. Meanwhile, singer Jacob delivers a topline melody that's lithe and catchy as hell.” Lead singer Jacob explained the meaning of the song, “Everyone has the power to dream and no one can take that away from you. I wanted to write a song to motivate all the dreamers, myself being one of them. Live your life how you want to, not how others think you should.”[18]

On April 23, 2016, "Believe" was licensed by Turner Broadcasting to soundtrack NBA on TNT's NBA Playoffs coverage.[19] It was also used by the NHL's New York Islanders for their Stanley Cup Playoff montage video. The band's song "When The Night Comes" was featured during the MLB All-Star game broadcast on Fox Sports on July 11, 2017. The band has had multiple songs including "Deja Vu" and "Someone" appearing on MTV, with the band being one of MTV's featured artists.[20]

Upon the release of ROMES' debut EP, the band received praise from superstar artist Hozier who endorsed their EP saying "So thrilled ROMES have released their debut EP. First releases are rarely this strong.".[21] The band was selected as The Irish Times' 'New Artist of the Week'.[22]