ROME has been the creative vehicle for Luxembourgish singer/songwriter Jerome Reuter for over 15 years now.
His prolific output has seen him traverse several musical plains, building what is by now a genuinely unique, distinctive and recognisable personality.
From the more martial industrial beginnings, the sound of Rome has flourished adventurously, touching upon folk, dark ambient, cold wave and even chanson – Jerome has revealed great admiration for such giants as Jacques Brel, Townes Van Zandt or Léo Ferré –, not to mention the myriad of different literary references that have acted as decisive inspiration as well, tracing an artistic path that is constantly braving new territories, permanently in exploration mode.
: HAS PLAYED
Brutal Assault Festival (CZ), Vendetta Festival (US), Eurosonic, Summer Darkness, Roadburn Festival (NL), Wave Gotik Treffen, Amphifestival, Melting Sounds Festival (DE), ArtMania Festival (RO), ...
: PRESS QUOTES
“ROME is one of those discoveries that alone is permanently upsetting your musical panorama.” - Chronicles in the Abyss
"Reuter legt an seine Songs einen nahezu perfektionistischen Qualitätsanspruch an." - laut.de
"Jerome ist ein Intellektueller, ein belesener Chansonnier, und seine Platten verweisen nicht selten auf literarische Werke. (...) Kritiker mögen ihm eine über-intellektuelle Verkopftheit attestieren. Doch dies gleicht er mit erstaunlich eingängigen Songs aus." - unter-ton.de
"Jerome’s greatest strengths is being able to marry these heady, conceptual records about the history of the 20th century and the cost of revolution to hooky, songs in a folk tradition." - idieyoudie.com
"A self-evident career high point and a fantastic way to infiltrate new territories, "The Lone Furrow" is the sound of a cult hero edging towards the light; still uncompromising, but increasingly impressive and quite possibly irresistible." - Blabbermouth.net
: BIOGRAPHY
Luxembourg-born singer-songwriter Jerome Reuter founded his multilingual project ROME (the name stems from the abridged version of his first name) in 2005 and has since created an authoritative body of work encompassing 15 albums and numerous other official releases. Reuter's compelling brand of Dark Folk merges various musical influences from Post-Punk to Chanson. Lyrically inspired by world literature from Burroughs to Brecht, Reuter's detailed, well-researched, yet particularily accessible concept albums combine his interest in history, philosophy and the arts in a most compelling way.
What is inherent in all of ROME's work is Reuter's love for the outsider. From the exiled Spanish Anarchist Revolutionaries of Flowers From Exile (2009), the French Resistence in Nos Chants Perdus (2010), Peter Weiss-inspired underground fighters in Die Aesthetik Der Herrschaftsfreiheit (2011), to the Rhodesian bush fighter of A Passage to Rhodesia (2014), ROME's protagonists are often those beyond the pale, trying to walk through life's fires with their dignity and composure intact. 'Bewegung entsteht durch Haltung' - this famous slogan featured on ROME's very first release of 2005/2006 still rings true today.
The intimate version of ROME live on stage is Reuter solo on acoustic guitar. The other one is a loud full-band not refraining from sing-along hymns and up-tempo beats. ROME's 10-year-anniversary tour plan included dates in such diverse places as Jerusalem, Saigon, Berlin, Athens, Los Angeles, Moscow, Kiev, Rome, Madrid, London, Vienna, Zurich, Brussels, Cologne, Stockholm, Bucharest, Prague and many many more.
