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Interview with
TOBY ROMEO

(7th August, 2021)

Interviewer – Dave Bruce

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Have you always wanted to be a musician? When did you start pursuing a career in music?
Yes – I mean, at least I always knew that I had a love for music. My dad, and also my grandfather, was a singer and guitarist in an Austrian folk band and he always took the whole family with him to concerts here in Austria. So, basically, ever since I was a kid I was always surrounded by music. I started playing the guitar myself when I was 6, and later on took piano lessons as well. Eventually, playing other people’s songs wasn’t enough for me anymore and I switched to producing music myself. I was 12 years old back then starting out producing music with a software called FL Studio. I’m still using it to produce my tracks haha.

 How would you describe your sound? Why do you think people resonate with your Music?
 I don’t think that I can actually describe my sound. I’m basically just doing whatever feels right. I also try not to stick to one genre only but just having fun when producing music. Right now I’m doing a lot of housy 4 on the floor kick stuff with a lot of pop influences. Let’s see what the future brings.

Which artist’s music and/or performance, past or present, inspires you today?
There are two artists I am totally looking up to. Avicii was more or less the reason why I’m doing electronic dance music nowadays. He was the one who brought me into this. When I heard “Levels” for the first time, I was in love. I felt something I’ve never felt before. That just inspired me. It has always been a big dream for me working with him some day. Also Martin Garrix had a huge role in my journey as a DJ and Producer. After his song “Animals” was released, watching him grow as an artist made me happy. He was the one who made clear that it is possible to become a DJ and Producer despite your age.

Your new single ‘Oh Lord’ ft. Deve has just been released! Describe its origin and evolution.
“Oh Lord” is a really special one to me. A friend of mine told me that there’s this Austrian dude who’s an absolutely sick singer so I started texting him and asked if he had some ideas laying around. I guess the demo of “Oh Lord” was the second or third idea he sent and I was immediately hooked by it. Back then there weren’t any lyrics at all, just a piano and this “Oh Lord” theme. I knew I had to work on this so I gave it a shot. I did the production for it and later on finished the lyrics for it together with my Berlin based friend, Clide, who’s also an amazing singer and songwriter. Lyrics-wise we wanted to match the overall vibe of that 80’s / 90’s sounding jazz/soul vocal, that’s why we came up with the story about a boy who’s totally lost in the moment, reaching out to god for help. I am more than happy with the results.

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Is there an EP or Album on the drawing board?
Well, never say never. But for now I’m focusing on releasing more singles. Albums usually take a lot of time and as I want to feed my fans with new music regularly, I prefer it that way. (At least for now :P) But as I said, never say never.

Any tours or events coming up soon? What are you looking forward to, and what can the fans expect?
Yeah, I’m planning to tour a lot again soon! We confirmed a lot of shows here in Europe for the coming season already. Electric Love Festival here in Austria, for example, is one I’m really looking forward to! Gonna play this year’s MainStage again this summer and I’m just super hyped for that one.

If you could perform with any music artist, Alive or Dead, who would you choose? And why?
I’d love to share a studio with Avicii. Unfortunately that won’t be possible anymore. I also would have loved to get to know Falco who is an Austrian legend who was known worldwide for his US #1 hit “Rock Me Amadeus”. Such a legend. Now coming to the living ones, there are a lot of artists/writers/producers I’m really looking up to! I would love to work with The Chainsmokers one day, I just love the way they write & produce and of course perform their songs. I’m having a huge bucket list on my phone with singers I wanna work with some day as well haha. Names like Zara Larsson, Halsey, Benny Blanco, Rita Ora, Bebe Rexha, Ava Max, Becky Hill, Post Malone, Jon Bellion just to name a few :)

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What is the best thing about performing to a live audience? What’s been the career highlight so far?
The energy you get back from all the people in the crowd. Hearing a crowd singing a song you wrote and produced some months earlier is just an incredible feeling. Making people happy, making people dance, making people sing, that’s simply just what I live for. Career highlight was definitely sharing the stage with my good friend Felix Jaehn who brought me with him to the Donauinselfest, which is probably one of the biggest open air events in Central Europe. Having 80.000 people in front of you screaming is unbelievable.

Finally, a few questions for some quick answers –
FAVOURITE:
Album – Hollywoods’s Bleeding by Post Malone
Artist – Jon Bellion
Movie – August Rush
Place to visit – Salzburg, Austria!!!
Venue to play – Tomorrowland & Ultra!
Food –  not gonna lie: tomato mozzarella
Drink – Water (sometimes Gin Tonic)
Person in History –  Mozart
Tattoo – (If you don’t have one, what would you get?) Way too scared that I would regret that someday haha!

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Follow TOBY ROMEO
Facebook – Instagram – Spotify – Twitter

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Press Release 7th Feb 2021 below

TOBY ROMEO
presents irresistibly catchy anthem
‘OH LORD’
with DEVE

OUT NOW

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Prodigious talent Toby Romeo is back with his newest anthem, ‘Oh Lord.’ Following Romeo’s last original single, mega-hit ‘Where The Lights Are Low’ with Felix Jaehn, and his remix of David Guetta and Joel Corry charting single ‘BED,’ ‘Oh Lord’ is another must-hear track further announcing Romeo’s arrival as a worldwide talent. ‘Oh Lord’ is available now on all streaming platforms via Universal Music. 

STREAM/DOWNLOAD HERE 

The EP release sees the release of two new tracks, including new focus single ‘Dramamine,’ as well as closing track ‘Headache’.

‘Oh Lord’ sees Toby Romeo at his best; writing a fiery future house instrumental underneath an irresistibly catchy top vocal melody from Deve, a young producer, musician, and vocalist based in Vienna, Austria. The single opens immediately with a piercing snippet of the vocal sample, announcing Romeo’s return right from the get-go. After an abridged buildup, ‘Oh Lord’ breaks out into an ultra-bouncy deep house frenzy, blending an evocative chord progression with Romeo’s sharp ear for clever rhythm. As the track progresses, the energy stays at a fever pitch throughout the breakdown before building to new heights at the second drop. Finally, ‘Oh Lord’ eases on the gas and comes to a sharp close just as it began. By the time it’s through, it’s glaringly obvious that Toby Romeo has another hit on his hands, definitively positioning himself as one of the most promising young producers in the scene.

“Oh Lord is a really special tune for me! When Deve sent me the topline idea I immediately knew that this was the tune! Me and Claudio Maselli, a good friend of mine, wanted to have really strong lyrics on top of the crazy melody. And then we came up with the story about a boy who is totally desperate. He doesn’t feel heard and cries out to God ‘Oh Lord’.  We also really wanted this cool, vibey, jazzy 80s vibe that deliberately seems a bit older, because that fits the lyrics incredibly well. It‘s been more than a year now working on this tune and I’m super happy that it‘s finally coming out!” – Toby Romeo

Only in his early twenties, Toby Romeo kickstarted his DJ career at just 13 years old, quickly gaining traction across Europe with release-after-release. Thanks in part to his friend, Felix Jaehn, Romeo has made massive strides in a very short period of time within the music industry, even co-producing Jaehn’s massive international hit, ‘Nea – Some Say (Felix Jaehn Remix)’ which has accrued well over 260,000,000 streams. Romeo opened his 2021 with another collaboration with Jaehn, ‘Where The Lights Are Low’ alongside FAULHABER, a smash hit that’s already racked up over 60,000,000 streams already and garnered stellar remixes from Mike Williams and TCTS. 

The recent success builds on the precious talent’s foundational 2020, which saw seven exhilarating remixes from Romeo, including reworks of Jaehn’s hit singles, ‘No Therapy’ and ‘SICKO’. Recently, Romeo performed a stunning mountain-top DJ set at Hauser Kaibling mountain in Austria, garnering support from We Rave You for the mix’s staggering views and expert artistry. Merging dance music with otherworldly sights, the event showcased both the gorgeous scenery of Austria and Romeo’s commanding arsenal of hits. With all the momentum in the world, Toby Romeo is a unique, burgeoning musician to look out for throughout 2021. 

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AMNPLIFY – DB