Romes

Emerging from Toronto, ROMES crafts indie electronic music that weaves in elements of soul alongside synth pop and ethereal bedroom pop textures. At the heart of the project stand siblings Jacob and Nick Bitove. Their initial national recognition came via the 2017 debut album crafted under the guidance of producer Tony Hoffer.

The roots trace back to an Irish schoolyard. While enrolled at St. Gerard's School in Bray, the Bitove brothers, who hail from Canada with Jacob handling vocals and Nick on drums, connected with Andrew Keyes on bass and James Tebbitt handling guitar duties. Together the quartet launched a musical endeavor, eventually relocating to Canada. Following the 2015 dissolution of that earlier group, ROMES took shape. Their luminous, keyboard-driven pop aesthetic drew parallels to the 1975 and Years & Years. Securing a recording contract through Eleven Seven Music, an imprint tied to Universal, they enlisted Tony Hoffer—known for his work with Beck, M83, and Phoenix—to helm the Believe EP, released during spring 2016. This led to a U.S. trek opening for Mutemath, plus performances alongside the Strokes and Silversun Pickups to promote their self-titled long-player from 2017, again produced by Hoffer. That record spawned the modest Canadian success "Tryna Be."

Reconvening in 2020 as just the Bitove duo, the pair unleashed numerous singles across that year and beyond. Tracks such as "Look What You've Done" and "Count Me Out" emphasized their polished, sunlit pop sensibilities, a direction continued on the infectious 2021 release "Drinking on My Own."