Inspired #262 - Romanie
Melbourne based artist Romanie has just unveiled her dreamy indie-pop single ‘Fake Friends’ - she took a moment to talk to us about the inspirations behind her music.
Who are your top three musical inspirations and why?
I'm a massive fan of Phoebe Bridgers, Julia Stone and Lucy Rose and feel like it seeps through in my songwriting a bit. Thematically being honest and real is something I find really important in music. I really believe that your music taste highly influences your own personality and writing. Lately I've been listening a lot to Middle Kids' fantastic new album - I'm really amazed by how many amazing female identifying talent there is in our music industry.
Is there a certain film that inspires you and why?
I actually don't know how and why, but lately I've been writing songs each time after I went to the movies! I went to see Nomadland & The Father, came home and started writing until I finished two full songs. I think great movies (and books) can leave such an impact on you and become a big source of inspiration so I'm trying to continuously educate myself by reading and watching.
What city do you find the most inspiring and why?
Of course: Melbourne. I moved here end of 2019 after moving away from Belgium and have never been writing more music. It's just a city full of music and creativity - I really feel at home here.
Who is the most inspiring person to you and why?
I feel like a lot of people that cross my path inspire me - I feel really lucky to have so many amazing friends and family that keep challenging my musically and make me want to grow in music. Also my partner said I have been writing a lot of shady songs about him, so I would say he is my biggest inspiration haha.
What were your inspirations when writing your new track?
Fake Friends started after a conversation I had with a friend back home. He said something over a chat conversation that hurt me a little but which was for my own good and I was like 'why was this necessary?'. Then I started to think about how friendships are built - how you have friends that really want you to be at your best and want to be honest, or friends that would not say anything that could potentially hurt etc. I started writing and 10 minutes later I had the lyrics for Fake Friends. I definitely wanted this to be a project in collaboration with my friends, and to show there's always hope to friendship. Some of my friends also sing on the bridge, chanting 'there's hope for us, we'll toast to us. Here's to real friends’.
How would you like to inspire people?
I think my biggest goal in music is to have an impact. We all want to tell our story and I'd like mine to be inspiring for people to be real and honest. Mental health, insecurities and hope are always themes that come back to my songwriting and I would love if my music can help people to believe in themselves and make them feel related to something.