Romanie is establishing herself as a compelling new voice in the alt/indie space.
Moving to Australia from Belgium in 2019, she has gained prominence as a powerhouse live musician nationally and across the globe, both solo as well as with her band. And her solo project just keeps getting bigger and better – now with a second album, It’s Not That Funny.
Released on Friday, It’s Not That Funny is about finding yourself in the aftermath of difficult experiences. A body of work she jokes could be shared with your therapist, the record sees Romanie leaning further into personal storytelling, exploring themes of trauma, healing and growth, while moving between two contrasting sonic worlds: chaos verses calm, anguish verses optimism.
Romanie released her debut EP Little Big Steps in 2021, and her debut album Are We There Yet? in 2023. At the core of her material is a captivating sense of songwriting nuance and strength that is unafraid to delve deeper in its exploration of personal themes.
She has since garnered critical acclaim, having won triple j Unearthed x NIDA’s music video competition in 2023, as well as the 2023 Upstart Award, and having been a semi-finalist in the International Songwriting Competition and finalist in St Kilda Festival’s New Music Competition.
She’s supported Telenova, 10cc, grentperez, Mia Wray, Yoke Lore, and more on tour, and has, more recently, co-written for the likes of Keli Holiday. She’s soon set to play some local shows, performing as part of Brunswick Music Festival in March, before an album launch event in May.
Love Music?
Get your daily dose of everything happening in Australian/New Zealand music and globally.
As part of our Up-And-Coming Australian Artists series, we chatted to the rising star to find out more about her new album.
Romanie’s It’s Not That Funny is out now.
Rolling Stone AU/NZ: How did music influence you in your early life?
Romanie: I didn’t really grow up in a music scene, but was always drawn to music and sound tracking my life carrying around a little discman or mp3 player ever since I was little. I grew up in a more rural area in Belgium during the deep trenches of the Limewire era and was always on the hunt for new music. Playing covers around the campfire in the Belgian scouts, learning the saxophone in our local music school but never going beyond that.
Becoming a musician who wrote their own songs always seemed like a faraway dream that was cut out for only a fair few people back home, so it was only really since moving to the other side of the world that I built up the confidence to actually start writing music. I haven’t stopped since that moment, I think I may actually be fully addicted to writing songs now.
What artists influenced you growing up?
It’s funny because until recently I would have always said that it was Lucy Rose, or Angus and Julia Stone; but I was transferring old footage from one hard drive to another a few weeks ago and kept finding videos of me trying to play “One Last Time” by The Kooks. I even sang it in the European Youth Parliament when I was about 16 or 17 so I have been lying to myself this whole time: The Kooks were my exclusive musical influence whilst growing into the person that I am now.
View this post on Instagram
When did you discover your passion for creating music?
I moved to Australia for the first time when I was 18, after I got rejected in music/theatre school back home – out of spite I wanted to move to the other side of the world and never try to create music ever again (classic teenager behaviour). I discovered bands like Ball Park Music while living in Brisbane and I slowly got drawn back into picking up the guitar – and from then I started writing more and more of my own songs.
I would very much like to never listen again to those very first songs as my English was still quite limited back then, but I think it’s very endearing to see the growth I have made as a songwriter and a person since then.
What are some career highlights so far?
I actually have a list of highlights that I keep by my writing desk as a reminder how far I’ve come. As an independent musician it’s sometimes a little bit of a spiral to always want to look towards your next goals, or compare yourself and beat yourself up about the things you didn’t get (because you literally see every email that comes through). Each time I’m feeling myself get into that mind set I look at what I’ve achieved so far and the community I’ve built.
Some of my favourite highlights include playing the Palais Theatre opening for 10cc, opening for grentperez at Botanique in Belgium – a venue that I frequently saw gigs at growing up. But mostly it’s the genuine connections and friendships that I have built throughout the short career I’ve had so far. Music has gotten me to places in the world that I never thought I would visit.
View this post on Instagram
Tell us about your new album It’s Not That Funny. What’s the album about?
It’s Not That Funny is an album about trauma, healing and finding yourself amongst it all. The title came from a moment of realisation in a therapy office when you keep joking about everything bad that’s ever happened to you as a coping mechanism. I wanted to dive deeper than the jokes and get to the real feelings and truth behind them. Drifting between two sonic worlds of calm sadness and energetic feelings, I think it’s a real description of what’s going on in my brain most of the time: being a dual citizen, navigating the loss and love of two homes.
It’s an album where I’m learning to speak up for myself and voicing the need for women to be heard in the industry and the world. It’s also about community and a love letter to all my friends, who consistently show up and mean the whole world to me.
What kind of personality traits and values do you believe it takes to succeed in the music industry?
A thick skin, a bit of delirium, and lots of time for dreaming and persistence. All the people I know who are musicians also have multiple jobs, work 24/7 on their dreams and are tough as hell. I am still growing my thick skin, but definitely would like to think of myself as someone who is a big dreamer and is like a cockroach – I won’t go away, I’m in it for the long run.
How would you describe your music to a potential fan?
I am more so a shy musician than a sales person so I’d like to copy and paste my publicist and album bio writer’s words here: “Romanie’s musical output recalls the wry humour of Wet Leg, the narrative prowess of Big Thief, and the defiance of The Cranberries. With her music, Romanie merges the personal and the political. Her rigorous dedication to artistic honesty and to social justice define her output. A grass-roots oriented artist and a chronic high-achiever, Romanie refuses to shy away from having complex, meaningful conversations, and from writing songs with impact.”
What are your goals for 2026 and beyond? What can fans expect from you this year?
Having just released an album about mental health felt very big and ever-consuming for my own mental health so I’m treating myself to the first holiday I’ve had in a few years. I’d feel like a bit of a hypocrite if I wouldn’t take care of my own mental wellbeing now and I hope that this album can spark more openness and conversation around emotional wellbeing. I’m learning that we can’t do it all at once (sadly).
I think this year I really want to be intentional with the shows that I play, and feel present with my audience and grow from here. I’m kickstarting this new way of touring where I write a song with the support act which we share on stage the day after and I’m super excited to see where the album will take me next. Maybe for the first time in my life, I’m happy to see where time will take me rather than feeling like I’m needing to rush to get to the next stop. Bring it on.
