Rome is a Luxembourgish

neofolk Neofolk, also known as apocalyptic folk, is a form of experimental music blending elements of folk and industrial music, which emerged in punk rock circles in the 1980s. Neofolk may either be solely acoustic or combine acoustic folk instrume ...

band founded in November 2005 as a main output for the songs of Jérôme Reuter (born August 2nd, 1981) of

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

. Though Reuter is the main creative force in the band, he performs live with a range of musicians who also contribute performances on various studio recordings. In early 2006 Rome was signed to the Swedish record label Cold Meat Industry. Rome has since signed with the Trisol Music Group record label as of 2009. Rome is considered one of the most important acts within the neofolk genre.

Background

Reuter previously recorded music under the name Reggie Fain, which was influenced by

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on society's underworld and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He began in the American folk music, fo ...

. He was also a member of an Oi! band called the Skinflicks, and a

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

band called Mack Murphy and the Inmates, where he performed under the name Mack Murphy. Reuter's first recording as Rome was the EP ''Berlin'', which was recorded in Patrick Damiani's studio in Germany in December 2005. Damiani, a

sound engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a sound recording, recording or a Concert, live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization (audio), equalization, Dynamic range ...

, has been considered a full-time member of Rome since 2008. In 2009, violinist Nikos Mavridis joined the group, although he left after being conscripted into the Greek military. Rome has had live performances featuring Die Weisse Rose on drums.

Musical style

According to Paul Simpson, the band's sound combines "military drumming and horns with atmospheric electronic textures and ethereal acoustic guitars, as well as samples and poetic lyrics often relating to war-related themes, as well as more universal topics such as love, pain, and death." Many of his albums have historical themes, such as ''Flowers From Exile'' and ''A Passage to Rhodesia'', which focus on the Spanish and Rhodesian Civil Wars, respectively. Reuter has cited

Jacques Brel Jacques Romain Georges Brel (; 8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978) was a Belgian singer and actor who composed and performed theatrical songs. He generated a large, devoted following—initially in Belgium and France, but later throughout the world ...

Léo Ferré Léo Ferré (; 24 August 1916 – 14 July 1993) was a Monégasque poet and composer, and a dynamic and controversial live performer. He released some forty albums over this period, composing the music and the majority of the lyrics. He released ...

Albert Camus Albert Camus ( ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, journalist, world federalist, and political activist. He was the recipient of the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the s ...

Ernst Jünger Ernst Jünger (; 29 March 1895 – 17 February 1998) was a German author, highly decorated soldier, philosopher, and entomology, entomologist who became publicly known for his World War I memoir ''Storm of Steel''. The son of a successful busin ...

, and

Jean Genet Jean Genet (; ; – ) was a French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. In his early life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but he later became a writer and playwright. His major works include the novels '' The Th ...

as influences on his music and lyrics.

Discography

Albums

* '' Berlin'' (2005) * ''Nera'' (2006) * ''Confessions D'Un Voleur D'Ames'' (2007) * ''Masse Mensch Material'' (2008) * ''Flowers From Exile'' (2009) * ''Nos Chants Perdus'' (2010) * ''Die Æsthetik der Herrschaftsfreiheit'' (2011) * ''Hell Money'' (2012) * ''A Passage To Rhodesia'' (2014) * ''Coriolan'' (2016) * '' The Hyperion Machine'' (2016) * ''Hall of Thatch'' (2018) * '' Le Ceneri Di Heliodoro'' (2019) * ''The Dublin Session'' (2019) * '' The Lone Furrow'' (2020) * '' Parlez-Vous Hate?'' (2021) * ''Hegemonikon'' (2022) * ''Gates of Europe'' (2023) * ''The Dublin Session II'' (2025) * ''Civitas Solis'' (2025)

Extended plays

* ''Defiance'' (2022) * ''World in Flames'' (2024)

Live albums

* ''Hansa Studios Session'' (2017) * ''Hansa Studios Session II'' (2021) * ''Live In Kyiv'' (2023)

References

External links

Official web site

Cold Meat Industry official web site

Trisol official web site

Rome Facebook
{{Authority control Neofolk music groups Apocalyptic folk musicians Luxembourgian musical groups English-language musical groups from Luxembourg