Discover up and coming artists in 10 questions…

From Gothenburg, Sweden please welcome… ROME IS NOT A TOWN

This Swedish all-female noise turbo scored one of the most outstanding longplayers of
2017 with full-length debut IT’S A DARE. A mighty crackerjack of a record. A rowdy flow
of loud and clear eruptions, a non-stop avalanche of human reflections on daily life, on being young, on being female, on right here and right now. Intoxicating riffs, sharp hooks, brawny licks and fiery vocals. Electrifying intensity with storming echoes from yesterday’s heroes Sonic Youth to today’s Canadian powerhouse Metz. Before meeting the ROME IS NOT A TOWN girls let’s warm up with one of their knockouts off the album…

Hello Caroline, Susanna and Kasja!
Thank you for joining Turn Up The Volume!…

1/ When, how and why did the band form?
Caroline:” Hmm, we known each other for quite some time. Back from where we all played in different constellations and bands. You know when you’re out late at night and you start a hundred new bands that never make it to their first rehearsal? This is one of those bands, but this one made it.”

2/ When did you know “this is how want we to sound,
this is what we want to tell the world”?
Susanna: “You always known, but you never know. Our music is a mix of our four pretty different backgrounds, our personal taste in music and the capturing of a moment in time. The outcome will be different depending on where you are on your personal mood board that day. Times 4. It´s a pretty advanced equation.”

3/ If the band was an animal, which one would it be?
Kajsa: “An octopus. Because it has eight arms.”

Never underestimate a band with 4 girls and 8 tentacles…

4/ What’s the signature track so far for ROME IS NOT A TOWN?
Kajsa: “Well, so far we’re not a signature-track-kind-of-band. Our song ‘I’m In A Brand’ is
on top of our most played songs in the Spotify-app, I guess that has to mean something.”
Caroline: “Yeah I agree, the lyrics are on point. So signature of us. I would also say that “21/27” is quite signature for our sound in general. Drums, guitars, bass, vocals. Playing together.”

https://soundcloud.com/romeisnotatown/21-27
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5/ What other Swedish bands should we listen to?
Kajsa: “School ‘94, Kollapse, Shitkid, Pale Honey, Tyred Eyes,
Vicious Irene, Growth, IBEN, True Moon, Radula.”
Caroline: “Makthaverskan, Skin Care, Holy Now, Spice Boys, Hater.”

6/ What’s on the van’s stereo when driving to gigs?
Susanna: “Filosofiska rummet”.
Kajsa: “Mm, yep. It’s a philosophy-podcast. Perfect to listen to in the car when you´re
on tour. The next day, or days, you have a basis for group discussion. Sometimes good discussions, sometimes it can get better. But we never ever fight.”

7/ Who’s your number one artist /band to go on a world tour with?
Kasja: “PJ Harvey in the 90s. No, wait.. it would have been cool to go on tour with Bikini Kill in the 90s, maybe 1993, on the Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah tour. Yeah that would’ve been nice.”

4 x Yeah…

8/ What movie would you pick to visualize your music when playing a gig?
Kasja: “Trainspotting. The mood, the crazy eyes, the humor, all of it, except the four boys.”

Spotting trains while playting…

9/ If you could go back in time on which artist’s front door would
you knock and ask for a selfie together?
Kasja: “Mm, we would go to the Rock’n’Roll legend Gene Simmons in Kiss and take the picture. After the selfie – it’s actually a groupie right? – we’d have to ask him about this line in Burn Bitch Burn: “Oh babe, I wanna put my log in your fireplace, maybe, baby, you wanna get played?”. I mean, are you sure you can put it there?!? Doesn’t sound like a question to me, bitch…”

10/ Plans for 2018?
Caroline: “We’re playing at the festival in Austin, Texas (note TUTV: probably the most prestigious showcase festival for alternative bands on the planet). Gonna get ya! We have some really crazy good shows planned but can’t tell you nothing about that yet… just keep your eyes on all upcoming festival announcements. We are going on a Germany tour in late spring, and we will start recording some new songs during fall. 2018 is just another busy year.”

Thank you Caroline, Susanna and Kajsa for the A’s.
May the road rise with ROME IS NOT A TOWN!…

One of the best 2017 albums.
IT’S A DARE here in full…

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ROME IS NOT A TOWN: Facebook – Label: Startracks

(pic on top: Turn Up The Volume!)