INTERVIEW

DEATHBYROMY IS GETTING SOFT WITHOUT LOSING HER EDGE — Alt-pop provocateur DeathbyRomy is entering a new chapter defined by vulnerability. On the heels of a landmark summer and ahead of the release of her fifth studio album, Teenage Fever Dream, out October 30, the LA artist is opening the door to a softer side of herself without sacrificing the darkness, intensity and theatricality that have become her signature.

That evolution arrived onstage at Riot Fest on Friday, September 18, where DeathbyRomy made her festival debut and brought an early taste of Teenage Fever Dream to the Chicago crowd. Her performance came at the end of a career-defining run that has seen Romy take her explosive live show from European arenas to intimate headline stages and major U.S. festivals. Over the summer, DeathbyRomy joined Limp Bizkit for a run of European arena dates before embarking on her own UK headline run. She then returned stateside for multiple Vans Warped Tour appearances, including stops in Washington, DC and Long Beach.

True to the haunting beauty that runs through her music, Teenage Fever Dream takes a softer and more delicate approach to the industrial metal soundscapes that have helped define DeathbyRomy. Rather than abandoning the darkness, Romy is exploring what exists underneath it, turning inward and reconnecting with the person she was before she became the artist standing onstage today.

“This project feels like the most vulnerable thing I've done in a long time,” DeathbyRomy tells Luna. “Honestly, it feels like a conversation with my teenage self and the woman I've grown into now… I'm a very soft, very delicate human being, and I felt like I'm doing myself a disservice and my fans a disservice by not also touching on those more vulnerable topics and making some more vulnerable and gentle solos.”

The forthcoming record isn't about moving away from the heavier elements of DeathbyRomy’s identity; instead, it allows those elements to exist alongside tenderness, creating space for a more intimate conversation between Romy’s past and present selves. It’s an evolution that feels especially fitting after a summer spent performing on some of the biggest stages of her career. The scale of those shows has only amplified the contrast at the heart of her new material.

Now, with Teenage Fever Dream on the horizon, DeathbyRomy is carrying that momentum into the rest of the fall. Following her Riot Fest debut, she is set to head overseas once again for a run of headline dates in Japan, continuing a year that has seen her expand both her audience and the world surrounding her music.

For DeathbyRomy, however, bigger isn't necessarily the destination. The next evolution is about going deeper.

“I'm hungrier than I've ever been for this fucking project to pop off,” DeathbyRomy declares. “I've got a fire under my ass that I have had the whole time I've been doing this, but it feels more ignited than ever.”

With Teenage Fever Dream, that fire is burning differently. It is louder, more vulnerable, and perhaps most importantly, more personal.

LUNA: Welcome back and thank you for talking to Luna again. It's super exciting to have you back since the last time we talked before HOLLYWOOD FOREVER was released and you played your last Chicago show. This has been one of the biggest summers of your career, playing arena dates across Europe supporting Limp Bizkit before heading into your own UK headline shows. What was it like seeing the DeathbyRomy project translated onto such big stages?

DEATHYBYROMY: It feels so right. It feels so good. It felt so earned after 10 years of hard work. I've really worked so fucking hard with all of me for 10 years now, and it feels so good to finally see the project starting to click in the way that I always wanted it to.

LUNA: You just announced your fifth studio album Teenage Fever Dream and a huge congratulations is in order! What does this project represent to you at this point in your life, and what drew you to explore its more darker sides?

DEATHYBYROMY: This album feels like the most vulnerable thing I've done in a long time. Honestly, it feels like a conversation with my teenage self and the woman I've grown into now. In the last 10 years of doing this project, honestly, I've literally grown up in front of the world's eyes and my fans' eyes, and it just felt really vulnerable to go back to some of the more traumatic things that I experienced as a teenager and that shaped me and the person I am today and the artist I insist on being. All the things I insist on standing up for. It felt cathartic and felt good. I hope that for listeners it's both cathartic and euphoric.

LUNA: Was there anything you did during the making of Teenage Fever Dream that surprised you or challenged your expectations of what your music could be?

DEATHYBYROMY: Honestly, I definitely broke some boundaries that I feel like I had only put on myself recently. I started making heavier music a few years ago, and I've really been embraced for doing that, and I've really been championed for doing that. But for a moment, I think I started feeling like this is not all I want to do. I'm a very soft, very delicate human being, and I felt like I'm doing myself a disservice and my fans a disservice by not also touching on those more vulnerable topics and making some more vulnerable and gentle solos. It felt honest. It felt scary to be honest. I think it can be scary, just like anything in life, but it felt great.

LUNA: What are you most excited for your listeners to experience in this new era of music from you?

DEATHYBYROMY: I'm excited to see how these songs make people feel. I'm excited to see how people resonate with them. I'm excited to see what my fans think of me playing with some of these new sounds that I am on this project. I’m excited to perform them live. My favorite thing is the culmination of all the hard work is getting to see them on the stage and see how people react to them in the moment.

LUNA: Riot Fest has such a unique energy — both on stage and throughout the grounds. What’s the atmosphere like for you, and how does it compare to other shows and festivals you’ve played?

DEATHBYROMY: This is the chillest festival I’ve ever been at. The whole staff is so fucking sweet. Everyone has been so kind to us today. I feel like I'm just having a breeze. I'm really excited to play. I feel very relaxed.

LUNA: What’s one festival survival essential that you need?

DEATHBYROMY: Water. Drink water. Stay hydrated. And then my sunscreen.

LUNA: What is fueling your fire right now, both creatively and personally, as you step into this new chapter of shows and music?

DEATHBYROMY: I'm hungrier than I've ever been for this fucking project to pop off. I've got a fire under my ass that I have had the whole time I've been doing this, but it feels more ignited than ever. What's inspiring me and keeping me going are my female friendships. I have the greatest group of women around my life, and literally more involved in my project than I ever have in my life. I'm so lucky. I'm so fulfilled and so full of love from those friendships alone that I feel like the luckiest girl on the planet.

LUNA: How do you hope listeners — especially your femme audience — can connect with or find power in this new era of music from you? What emotions or messages do you want to leave with them?

DEATHBYROMY: I want them to feel heard. I want them to feel held, and I want them to feel empowered.

LUNA: How are you feeling in this current era of your career and what does the rest of the year look like that you would like to share with Luna?

DEATHBYROMY: I'm feeling happy. I'm feeling anxious, but in a good way. I’m so excited to put this album out. I’m so excited to go do my first shows in Japan at the end of October as well. I will be performing on the day the album drops in Japan, one of my favorite cities, one of my dream cities since I was a little girl, and I'm excited to go on vacation shortly. I just did a mini vacation to Mexico with my band and love y'all to death, but girl, I want to go be alone. I will be doing that with my partner in Florida shortly. I can't wait.