View source for No Rome

{{Short description|Filipino musician}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name              = No Rome
| image             =
| caption           =
| birth_name        = Guendoline Rome Viray Gomez
| alias             =
| birth_date        = {{Birth date and age|1999|8|30|df=y}}
| birth_place       = [[San Francisco del Monte]], Metro Manila, Philippines
| label             = [[Dirty Hit]]
}}
'''Guendoline Rome Viray Gomez''' (born 30 Aug 1999), better known by his stage name '''No Rome''', is a [[London]]-based Filipino musician from [[San Francisco del Monte]]. He is best known for his 2021 single "[[Spinning (song)|Spinning]]", which featured [[Charli XCX]] and [[the 1975]], and charted at No. 94 on the [[UK Singles Chart]]. Gomez also cowrote the 1975's "[[TooTimeTooTimeTooTime]]", which charted at No. 26.
== Life and career ==
=== Early life ===
Guendoline Rome Viray Gomez<ref name=":8">{{Cite news |last=Morris |first=Damien |date=5 December 2021 |title=No Rome: It's All Smiles review – a hyperpop headache |language=en-GB |work=The Observer |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/dec/05/no-rome-its-all-smiles-review-hyperpop-headache-guendoline-rome-viray-gomez |access-date=24 November 2023 |issn=0029-7712}}</ref> grew up in the suburb of San Francisco del Monte within [[Manila]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Lo |first=Ricky |title=No Rome is a 'gender-blind' singer |url=https://www.philstar.com/entertainment/2019/10/23/1962391/no-rome-gender-blind-singer |access-date=23 November 2023 |website=Philstar.com}}</ref> His father was a former DJ and his mother a church singer, while his younger sister Gabriel performed under the name Aunt Robert and his older brother Zeon under the name U-Pistol,<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |title=Growing Up With Rome Gomez — Out of Print |url=https://outofprint.ph/Growing-Up-With-Rome-Gomez |access-date=25 November 2023 |website=outofprint.ph |language=en}}</ref> short for Ulzzang Pistol.<ref name=":1" /> He grew up listening to [[My Bloody Valentine (band)|My Bloody Valentine]] and [[Slowdive]], and later electronic artists such as [[Björk]] and [[Aphex Twin]].<ref name=":9">{{Cite web |last=Dork |date=6 August 2018 |title=No Rome: "The album has always been on the way, it keeps changing" |url=https://readdork.com/features/no-rome-interview-aug18/ |access-date=25 January 2024 |website=Dork |language=en-US}}</ref> Growing up, he became interested in visual art after taking pictures with his father's camera, and spent extended periods on [[Flickr]] and later [[Tumblr]], on the grounds that its contents were annotated with information for further research;<ref name=":10">{{Cite web |title=No Rome is unrestrained by the shackles of genre |url=https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/features/interviews/no-rome-is-unrestrained-by-the-shackles-of-genre |access-date=27 January 2024 |website=The Line of Best Fit |language=en-US}}</ref> he was later inspired to start writing after reading books of poems by artists such as [[Frank O'Hara]] and [[Robert Frost]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Filipino Artist No Rome Headlines a Show in New York City |url=https://www.papermag.com/no-rome-rome-gomez-interview#rebelltitem23 |access-date=27 January 2024 |website=[[Paper (magazine)|Paper]]}}</ref>{{quote box|"When I was just starting, many people discouraged me, saying, ‘No, Rome, not in music; try something else.’ That stuck in my mind."
| source = Gomez in October 2019<ref name=:0/>
| width = 300px
}}
Gomez's first performances were as part of the band Rome and the Cats alongside his brother, who acted as his manager.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=6 August 2020 |title=On Ways of Remembering: Reacquainting with No Rome on "1:45 AM" |url=https://therestisnoiseph.com/no-rome-nostalgia/ |access-date=24 November 2023 |website=The Rest Is Noise PH |language=en}}</ref> He then adopted the stage name "No Rome", based on a common response to him stating that he was starting in the music industry,<ref name=":0" /> and with Zeon and Ethan Namoch founded Young Liquid Gang (YLG) in 2012, a collective of musicians, visual artists, photographers, managers, and graphic designers which ran until 2015.<ref name=":5" /> One of YLG's members, Leon Ordinario, met Gomez by chance at a [[McDonald's]] outside their college, and would later become the programmer and drummer for Gomez's live shows; another bandmate, Chris, would flash moving images on Gomez using a projector.<ref name=":5" />
Gomez moved to London at the age of 18, after he was signed to [[Dirty Hit|Dirty Hit.]]<ref name=":0" />
=== Early releases, ''RIP Indo Hisashi'', and ''Crying in the Prettiest Places'' ===
In 2013, he released the double A-side single "Dance With Me" / "United We Are"",<ref name=":13">{{Cite web |last=Finlayson |first=Ray |date=2013-02-22 |title=Listen/Download: No Rome – "Dance With Me" / "United We Are" |url=https://beatsperminute.com/listendownload-no-rome-dance-with-me-united-we-are/ |access-date=2023-11-25 |website=Beats Per Minute |language=en-US}}</ref> followed by the EP ''Fantasy'', both on Number Line Records.<ref name=":1" /> In 2014, he released "Heaven", a song inspired by recent bereavements,<ref name=":14">{{Cite web |title=Listen: No Rome - "Heaven" |url=https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/new-music/song-of-the-day/no-rome-heaven |access-date=2023-11-25 |website=The Line of Best Fit |language=en-US}}</ref> and in 2015, he released "Know U" on Mermaid Avenue, about being [[Ghosting (behavior)|ghosted]] by inopportune partners,<ref name=":15">{{Cite web |title=Watch: No Rome – "Know U" [Premiere] |url=https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/new-music/discovery/no-rome-know-u |access-date=2023-11-25 |website=The Line of Best Fit |language=en-US}}</ref> and the EP ''Hurry Home & Rest'' on Number Line Records.<ref name=":1" /> The following year, fed up of carting his [[MIDI controller|MIDI controllers]] around on buses, he took a job at a [[Call center industry in the Philippines|call center]], staying in post for seven months, and used the proceeds to purchase a [[digital audio workstation]], gear, and private transportation.<ref name=":5" /> In January 2017, he released "Blue Jeans", a song about misinterpretation of his lyrics,<ref name=":16">{{Cite web |date=2017-01-24 |title=We Teamed Up With No Rome and Made a Music Video for "Blue Jeans" |url=https://www.scoutmag.ph/12598/teamed-no-rome-made-music-video-blue-jeans/ |access-date=2023-11-25 |website=Scout Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref> and the following month he released "Seventeen" on [[Ryan Hemsworth]]'s Secret Songs label, a song about a friend's failed romance;<ref name=":17">{{Cite web |title=No Rome's "Seventeen" Will Make You Remember Your First Love |url=https://www.thefader.com/2017/02/14/no-rome-seventeen-secret-songs |access-date=24 November 2023 |website=The FADER |language=en}}</ref> [[Wave Racer]] would cover the song in June 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gallagher |first=Alex |date=29 June 2021 |title=Listen to Wave Racer cover No Rome's 'Seventeen' |url=https://www.nme.com/en_au/news/music/listen-wave-racer-cover-no-rome-seventeen-2980547 |access-date=25 November 2023 |website=NME |language=en-AU}}</ref>
Gomez then entered into correspondence with [[Samuel Burgess-Johnson]] and sent him his demos, who proceeded to share them with his flatmate [[Matty Healy]], who invited him to [[London]] and signed him to his label [[Dirty Hit]].<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |date=29 May 2020 |title=No Rome: thriller from Manila |url=https://theface.com/music/no-rome-interview-manila-dirty-hit-the-1975 |access-date=24 November 2023 |website=The Face |language=en-gb}}</ref> In 2018, Healy and [[George Daniel]] produced Rome's third EP, ''RIP Indo Hisashi'',<ref name=":11" /> which took its name from the Japanese painter Hisashi Indo,<ref name=":10" /> and featured "Narcissist", a collaboration with the 1975,<ref name=":11">{{Cite web |last=Daly |first=Rhian |date=24 May 2018 |title=Listen to new song from Matty Healy's 'muse' No Rome, co-produced by two of The 1975 |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/listen-new-song-matty-healys-muse-no-rome-2324318 |access-date=17 November 2023 |website=NME |language=en-GB}}</ref> who later adapted it for their own "[[TooTimeTooTimeTooTime]]",<ref name="Mac">{{cite web |date=15 August 2018 |title=The 1975 – TooTimeTooTimeTooTime Hottest Record |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00005w2 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180815155911/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00005w2 |archive-date=15 August 2018 |access-date=16 February 2021 |publisher=[[BBC Radio 1]]}}</ref> which charted at No. 26 on the UK Singles Chart.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=The 1975 |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/27401/1975/ |access-date=17 November 2023 |website=[[The Official Charts Company]]}}</ref> Healy and Daniel also produced Gomez's fourth EP, ''Crying in the Prettiest Places'', the following year,<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=No Rome: It's All Smiles |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/no-rome-its-all-smiles/ |access-date=17 November 2023 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}}</ref> which charted at No. 14 on the [[UK R&B Albums Chart]].<ref name=":12">{{Cite web |date=18 March 2021 |title=NO ROME |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/54212/no-rome/ |access-date=27 January 2024 |website=Official Charts |language=en}}</ref>
=== "Spinning", ''It's All Smiles'', and ''Blueboy Must Die'' ===
In January 2020, Gomez announced that he was working on ''Samantha's TV'',<ref>{{Cite web |date=13 January 2020 |title=No Rome is 'working' on his first album, 'FYI' |url=https://readdork.com/news/no-rome-is-working-on-his-first-album-fyi/ |access-date=25 November 2023 |website=Dork |language=en-US}}</ref> a mixtape, which took its name from the character played by [[Scarlett Johansson]] in [[Her (film)|''Her'']];<ref name=":4" /> following the [[COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines]], he was trapped in the country, having visited with the intention of performing at that year's [[Wanderland Music and Arts Festival]].<ref name=":4" /> After spending time at his parents' house, he moved to an apartment in [[Subic, Zambales|Subic]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Daly |first=Rhian |date=29 November 2021 |title=No Rome: "Shoegaze R&B" master designing a new world of invention and unity |url=https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-radar/no-rome-interview-its-all-smiles-dirty-hit-3104119 |access-date=27 January 2024 |website=NME |language=en-GB}}</ref> While there, he aborted the mixtape, and started afresh;<ref name=":4" /> he told ''[[the Line of Best Fit]]'' in December 2021 that he found the lockdown conducive, as previously he had been "[[ADD]]-ing all over the place" and unable to focus.<ref name=":10" />
In 2021, he, Charli XCX and the 1975 released "Spinning",<ref>{{Cite web |last=Graves |first=Shahlin |date=5 March 2021 |title=Must-listen: No Rome feat. Charli XCX & The 1975 - 'Spinning'. |url=https://www.coupdemainmagazine.com/no-rome/17410 |access-date=17 November 2023 |website=Coup De Main Magazine |language=en}}</ref> which charted at No. 94 on the UK Singles Chart in March 2021;<ref name=":12" /> the following month, ''[[Forbes]]'' listed him on their [[Forbes 30 Under 30|Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2021]] list,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Singh |first=Surej |date=20 April 2021 |title=BENEE, Jackson Wang, No Rome and more featured on Forbes' 30 Under 30 Asia list 2021 |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/benee-jackson-wang-no-rome-and-more-featured-on-forbes-30-under-30-asia-list-2924199 |access-date=25 January 2024 |website=NME |language=en-GB}}</ref> and the month after that, he and [[Chase Atlantic]] featured on Elio's "Hurts 2 Hate Somebody", which appeared on her remix album, "Elio and Friends: The Remixes".<ref>{{Cite web |date=10 May 2021 |title=ELIO links up with Chase Atlantic and No Rome for 'hurts 2 hate somebody' |url=https://diymag.com/news/elio-chase-atlantic-no-rome-for-hurts-2-hate-somebody |access-date=28 January 2024 |website=DIY |language=en}}</ref> Later that year, Daniel and [[BJ Burton]] coproduced Rome's album ''It's All Smiles,''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Daly |first=Rhian |date=3 December 2021 |title=No Rome – 'It's All Smiles' review: an immersive debut well worth the wait |url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/album/no-rome-its-all-smiles-review-radar-3110330 |access-date=18 November 2023 |website=NME |language=en-GB}}</ref> which he named ironically due to its sad lyrics,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Savillo |first=Lia |date=7 December 2021 |title=No Rome Just Wants You to Feel Like You Belong |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/wxddvb/filipino-music-no-rome-album-its-all-smiles |access-date=27 January 2024 |website=Vice |language=en}}</ref> and which he promoted with a [[zine]] comprising photographs taken by Gomez.<ref name=":10" />
In May 2023, Gomez featured on the [[Salute (musician)|Salute]] song "Run Away With You", which featured on their EP ''Shield''.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Rodriguez |first=Krystal |date=18 May 2023 |title=Ahead Of Their EDC Las Vegas Debut, Rising DJ/Producer Salute Talks New EP 'Shield' and Taking Their 'Fast, Soulful House Music' Worldwide |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/features/salute-house-music-producer-shield-ninja-tune-edc-las-vegas-interview-1235331338/ |access-date=13 December 2023 |magazine=Billboard |language=en-US}}</ref> Later that month, he released "Brother", which was inspired by "[[Mother Earth's Plantasia|Plantasia]]" by [[Mort Garson]] and [[Rachel McKibbens]]' "Letter From My Heart to My Brain",<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |date=26 May 2023 |title=No Rome announces mixtape 'Blueboy Must Die' |url=https://diymag.com/news/no-rome-blueboy-must-die |access-date=25 November 2023 |website=DIY |language=en}}</ref> and in August 2023, he released "Deep Diving", a [[UK garage]]-inspired song also inspired by "Plantasia".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Murray |first=Robin |date=9 August 2023 |title=No Rome's 'Deep Diving' Inhabits Its Own Realm {{!}} News |url=https://www.clashmusic.com/news/no-romes-deep-diving-inhabits-its-own-realm/ |access-date=25 November 2023 |website=Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews & Interviews |language=en-GB}}</ref> On 8 September, he released the Kurisu-produced mixtape ''Blueboy Must Die'',<ref>{{Cite web |title=No Rome: Blueboy Must Die review - returns with a sprawling selection of tracks |url=https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/albums/no-rome-blueboy-must-die-returns-with-the-sprawling-selection-of-tracks |access-date=25 November 2023 |website=The Line of Best Fit |language=en-US}}</ref> which had been delayed from 28 July 2023,<ref name=":6" /> and on 15 December 2023, he and Ocho the Bullet cowrote [[Josh Cullen (musician)|Josh Cullen]]'s "Get Right", which Gomez also coproduced.<ref>{{Cite web |date=15 December 2023 |title=Josh Cullen teams up with No Rome and Ocho the Bullet on new single 'GET RIGHT' – listen |url=https://www.bandwagon.asia/articles/josh-cullen-drops-new-single-get-right-listen |access-date=27 January 2024 |website=Josh Cullen teams up with No Rome and Ocho the Bullet on new single &#39;GET RIGHT&#39; – listen {{!}} Bandwagon {{!}} Music media championing and spotlighting music in Asia. |language=en}}</ref>
=== Critical reception ===
''It's All Smiles'' received mixed reviews, and varying genre classifications, earning one out of five stars from ''[[the Guardian]]<ref name=":8" />,'' four out of five stars from [[DIY (magazine)|DIY Mag]]<ref name=":18">{{Cite web |date=2021-12-03 |title=No Rome - It’s All Smiles |url=https://diymag.com/review/album/no-rome-its-all-smiles-album-review |access-date=2024-09-15 |website=DIY |language=en}}</ref> and a 7.1 from [[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]].<ref name=":19">{{Cite web |last=Gray |first=Julia |title=No Rome: It’s All Smiles |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/no-rome-its-all-smiles/ |access-date=2024-09-15 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}}</ref> ''[[The Guardian]]'' argued that Gomez's self-proclaimed genre, "shoegaze R&B," presented contradictory ideas about the role of vocals: [[Shoegaze]] is a genre in which "singers sink in quicksands of guitar", while [[R&B]] is a genre often dependent on the quality of the vocalist, and noted that his choice "to foreground his thin, trebly voice and treat it with endless effects [... owed] more to hyperpop than anything else." They also described the album's "A Place Where Nobody Knows" and "Everything" as [[chillwave]], and described the album as a "[[hyperpop]] headache".<ref name=":8" /> Pitchfork described the range of vocal styles presented in the record as "chameleonic," and called ''It's All Smiles'', "solid pop with an experimental slant" that was "gratifying" and "ambitious" when cast against its pop counterparts, but ultimately "too safe."<ref name=":19" /> DIY Mag cited a "clear desire to mess with pop convention."<ref name=":18" />
== Personal life and influences ==
Gomez spent a period misdiagnosed with [[schizophrenia]], for which he took [[antipsychotic]] medication; he later wrote the ''It's All Smiles'' album track "Secret Beach" about his experiences.<ref name=":10" />
In a December 2021 interview with [[Vice (magazine)|''Vice'']], he stated that ''It's All Smiles'' had been influenced by My Bloody Valentine, [[Nujabes]], and [[the Avalanches]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Savillo |first=Lia |date=7 December 2021 |title=No Rome Just Wants You to Feel Like You Belong |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/wxddvb/filipino-music-no-rome-album-its-all-smiles |access-date=27 January 2024 |website=Vice |language=en}}</ref> and a March 2022 edition of ''Out of Print'' noted that his influences spanned the [[Deftones]], jungle producer [[Goldie]], and the light art pioneers [[Jenny Holzer]] and [[Nam June Paik]], and that his "ultimate musical hero" was [[Kim Gordon]].<ref name=":5" />
== Discography ==
=== Studio albums ===
* ''It's All Smiles'' (2021)<ref name=":7" />
=== Mixtapes ===
* ''Blueboy Must Die'' (2023)<ref name=":7" />
=== Extended plays ===
* ''Fantasy'' (2013)<ref name=":1" />
* ''Hurry Home & Rest'' (2015)<ref name=":7" />
* ''RIP Indo Hisashi'' (2018)<ref name=":7" />
* ''Crying in the Prettiest Places'' (2019)<ref name=":7" />
* ''Some More Smiles'' (2022)<ref name=":7">{{Cite web |title=Spotify – Web Player |url=https://open.spotify.com/artist/6auWB5YAlcKaHyrbTH66nd/discography/all |access-date=25 November 2023 |website=Spotify |language=en}}</ref>
=== Singles ===
* "Dance with Me" / "United We Are" (2013)<ref name=":13" />
* "Heaven" (2014)<ref name=":14" />
* "Know U" (2015)<ref name=":15" />
* "Seventeen" (2017)<ref name=":17" />
* "Blue Jeans" (2017)<ref name=":16" />
* "Do It Again" (2018)<ref name=":7" />
* "Seventeen" (re-release, 2018)<ref name=":7" />
* "Saint Laurent" (2018)<ref name=":7" />
* "Cashmoney" (2019)<ref name=":7" />
* "Pink" (2019)<ref name=":7" />
* "Talk Nice" (2019)<ref name=":7" />
* "Trust3000" {{small|(featuring [[Dijon Duenas|Dijon]])}} (2019)<ref name=":7" />
* "Hurry Home" {{small|(featuring [[Beabadoobee]] and [[Jay Som]])}} (2020)<ref name=":7" />
* "1:45AM" {{small|(featuring [[Bearface]])}} (2020)<ref name=":7" />
* "[[Spinning (song)|Spinning]]" {{small|(with [[The 1975]] and [[Charli XCX]])}} (2021)
* "When She Comes Around" (2021)<ref name=":7" />
* "I Want U" (2021)<ref name=":7" />
* "Brother" (2023)<ref name=":7" />
* "Deep Diving" (2023)<ref name=":7" />
==== Featured singles ====
* "Hurts 2 Hate Somebody" {{small|([[Elio (Welsh-Canadian singer)|Elio]] featuring [[Chase Atlantic]] and No Rome)}} (2021)
* "Shoegazing" {{small|(Misogi featuring No Rome)}} (2023)
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:1997 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Musicians from Metro Manila]]
[[Category:Filipino expatriates in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Synth-pop musicians]]
[[Category:Chillwave musicians]]
[[Category:Chill-out musicians]]
[[Category:Dirty Hit artists]]
[[Category:Musicians from London]]