ROMÆO Sucks: “What Is It To Fail When Trying In The First Place Is So Hard?” 

Naarm art-pop artist ROMÆO’s music bubbles and pops in your eardrums, like you’re overhearing an alchemist creating unearthly delights using their favourite cauldron. She’s just released her new EP, SONGS ABOUT ME, and her sincerity across the five tracks is compelling. On the EP’s opening track ‘How To Be Honest’, ROMÆO laments, “I don’t know how to be honest with anyone else/Cos I can’t be honest with myself/I don’t know how to be honest without crying” — a lucid and self-aware admission that may hit a little bit too close to home for some. 

SONGS ABOUT ME’s soundscapes are varied, from the metallic ‘Infinitely’ to the jittery ‘Solo’. As soon as you think you’ve pinned down ROMÆO’s sound, she flips things on their head — always drawing your ear to a new concept. To mark the release of SONGS ABOUT ME, Junkee caught up with ROMÆO to talk about her changing views on man/womanhood, vloggers, and Drake. I’d love to know what Drake would make of SONGS ABOUT ME. If you’re out there, Drake, give this a spin and get back to us. 

Junkee: A mistake that turned into an opportunity?

I think it’s hard to look at anything retrospectively and recognise it as a mistake, because you see where it has led to and it seems there was no other way to get you where you are. It’s corny but I think any ‘failed’ friendships or relationships are generally ‘mistakes’ turned opportunities.

A classic mistake is seeing the potential in someone/thinking they are going to change. The opportunity has been to learn to love people for all they are, as they are, and recognise how much they can give. I’ve learnt to operate from a place of compassion. See each person as a scared child that just wants to be loved. 

Cringe quote you used to live by?

I went through a real phase (usual teenage behaviour) where I didn’t think I was an extravert — where I didn’t really enjoy performing. “Fake it till you make it” was essentially my motto, especially in regards to confidence. Somehow I think it worked?

Worst advice you got and blindly followed?

I’ve really been dwelling on this question and can’t think of anything. I’m not really one to blindly follow, I’m too stubborn.

The worst failure you’re up for sharing, and what you learned from it?

Ooft ok this is a hard one. I know it’s lame, but I don’t really think anything I’ve done has been a failure. What is it to fail when trying in the first place is so hard? At the same time, my attempts to become a rich and famous world-dominating art-pop star have thus far been a failure. TBC.

Anything you used to be wrong about?

I know this isn’t funny or witty or whatever, but I used to harbour a lot of resentment towards men for how easy and unaffected I thought their lives were. I envied them. Now that I’ve matured and recognised how men are socialised in ways that negatively affect them… Well, I’m no longer jealous.

By the same token, I really reckoned with the word woman and the weight of it. I feared what it meant to be A Woman, what it represented. But these days I am able to deeply enjoy my femininity and womanhood. I feel grateful for the way I’ve been socialised — my emotional intelligence, my female friendships, my disposition and the way it helps me see the world. I don’t think my concerns were wrong per se but misguided, one-dimensional.

Embarrassing internet habit?

I don’t think it is inherently embarrassing, but for some reason I am ashamed of how much I love vloggers. PLEASE let me sit in your car with you while you do errands and drink Starbucks.

Ideal morning routine versus actual morning routine? 

Waking up and immediately having to take out (and wash) my mouth guard because of my severe night time teeth grinding is NOT ideal. I like to imagine a world where I am a totally chill, peaceful sleeper and wake up with a relaxed jaw and no bodily tension.

Something very off-brand for you?

I do live by the policy that there is no such thing as a guilty pleasure. I enjoy what I enjoy and I’m not embarrassed. But I do try to keep it quiet that I sometimes listen to Drake (in particular his record Views). I just can’t deny the hits, sue me.

Bad health decision?

Burning the candle at both ends. I am a classic for waking up one day, deciding I’m not ‘doing enough’, and then going into overdrive to make something happen. This usually means a highly regimented schedule, long days, and leads to burn out. But hey, at least I’ve made and released an EP in a matter of months, right?

What do you waste money on?

My loyal Instagram followers bear witness to my desperate attempts to become a food critic. While I climb that steep and delicious ladder, I spend (not ‘waste’) a lot of money on eating out.

Worst procrastination habit?

My window looks onto a big gum tree. I’ve spent hours lying in bed just staring at her leaves. (code: scrolling the internet, same as everyone else, I’m not special). 

ROMÆO’s new EP SONGS ABOUT ME is out now.

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Illustration credit: Matt Lauricella, @pigeonboyart