No Rome at Reading tells us about his fans, fruit, working with The 1975 and his ‘romantic’ new material

Watch our full video interview above

“I think it’s more about just the expression of being yourself on stage,” No Rome tells NME when asked about what inspires his fans’ feral dedication just after he played at Reading 2019. “When I get on stage, I just go nuts. I can’t dance but I don’t care. It’s like being in my bedroom but in front of 15,000-20,000 people. People relate to that, in terms of how they feel or how they are as a person. I’m just up there dancing my heart out.”

Watch our full video interview with No Rome above

He goes on: “That’s why people resonate to it. As much as there is more meaning to what I do, I think that’s why fans love. I think making a song with Matty Healy also worked to its benefit. People understood who I was and the artistry I make.”

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Being thoroughly embedded into the “family” of the label Dirty Hit, No Rome made a huge impact when he dropped the huge track ‘Narcissist‘ – a collaboration with The 1975‘s Matty Healy and George Daniel. Tipped as NME’s ones to watch in 2019, he’s since been making waves on his own. His last EP, ‘Crying In The Prettiest Places’, was inspired by the confusion of being melancholy while touring and living out his wildest dreams. From here, he’s going to open things up to be even more widescreen.

“Right now I’m working on a mixtape,” he reveals. “I’m not going to say a lot about it because I’m still kind of working on it. The first single is coming out in a month. It’s a project I did with a lot of people. It’s a collaboration with a lot of people. I haven’t done that since the first one with ‘Narcissist’. It’s with people who I have high respect for. We just got into the studio and made some songs that mean something to us.”

No Rome. (Photo: Danny North)

And what’s inspiring him this time?

“Lyrically, I’m always inspired by what happened the day before, the day after and the month before,” he replies. “I feel like at the moment I’ve just been writing about a lot of my romantic experiences and finding myself in the midst of this position.”

Asked about the impact that his collaborators have had on his work, No Rome replies: “Matty and George helped me in a way of being in this kind of industry. 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.”

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And what can he tell us about his work on The 1975’s next album ‘Notes On A Conditional Form’?

“I’ll get back to you on that one, it’s not up for me to say!” He laughs. “We made so many songs when we were living together, but I don’t know which ones they’re going to use. Matty makes a lot of music and I don’t know which ones he’s going to put on the album. I’m excited to see what they’ve got up to. I’m excited to show what I’ve been up to as well.

Next up, 2019 holds the exciting prospect of a Dirty Hit UK tour with two of his labelmates, and his continuing work on his hotly-anticipated debut album.

“I guess we’re just going to have to wait, but there’s definitely going to be a message that I want people to hear,” he tells us of his debut. “I want to wait for a proper time because I want that message to be seen and heard in a way that me and the people I work with really want it to come to life. I want it to be seen and I want it to be heard.”

Watch our full video interview with No Rome above where he opens up about his love of apples and bananas, touring arenas with The 1975, an ideal name for his tribe of fans, what went into ‘Crying In The Prettiest Places’, what’s on his rider and much more.

Check back at NME for the latest news, reviews, interviews, photos and more from Reading & Leeds 2019. 

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