July Feature: Rome In Silver

For Vinny Pisciotta, also known as Rome in Silver, expressing himself creatively means exploring the unfamiliar. What that translates to in the studio is a lengthy songwriting process that involves keeping a close eye on whatever inspired the piece in the first place. The resulting styles never fail to fascinate and, as you’ll hear in “Friends (ft. Chae)”, can be incredibly unique and fun to listen to.

This month, we’re introducing all of you to Rome in Silver. Let’s get to know him!

 

Where did you grow up, and what got you into music?

I grew up in a small town called Murrieta. If you look on a map, there’s L.A. and then San Diego, right? It’s pretty much an hour from each, but it’s inland so I’m smack dab in the middle there. It’s like a desert town, like the high desert, so there’s not much out there, really. I think that’s kind of why I pursued music, because I didn’t have much to do. I would skateboard as a kid, get into some trouble, but I ultimately turned to music and that’s that!

Do you feel like the artistic life can get lonely? If so, what do you do to counteract that?

Yeah, it definitely can get lonely. I think I speak for a lot of artists when I say that there’s a big portion of us that are pretty introverted. Especially reading a lot of peoples’ tweets and whatnot, it seems like everybody’s kind of introverted. So if we stay inside a lot and we’re just working on music by ourselves, it definitely can get lonely and, as much as we enjoy being by ourselves, I think we kind of crave engaging with people. 

But to counteract that, I think I’m in a very lucky position to have other roommates that are all producers. I can’t really speak for other people, because I’m sure there’s a lot of people that are alone or maybe still with their parents or whatever and that’s perfectly fine, but I definitely am lucky to live with other producers, so we bounce ideas back and forth and just hang out. [We] talk about music all the time.

If you weren’t pursuing a music-making career, what path do you think you would’ve gone down?

I would probably be a chef or something. I’ve worked in a lot of restaurants and I think that’s something I always wanted to do. Also, if things go well with the music, I still kind of want to do that. I want to, who knows, open up a restaurant or something down the line. That’d be kind of cool!

You’ve been doing some cooking in quarantine! What have you been cooking?

Yeah, lately I’ve been making a lot of fish. I think because it’s summer now, I’ve just been eating a lot of fish and that’s kind of my go-to. I was a pescetarian for a little bit, which is pretty fun. I think that’s my favourite diet, honestly. I eat a lot of fish so I’ve been baking fish, doing blackened fish, getting halibut and salmon—those are some of my favourites.

What gives you the most joy when it comes to your project overall?

Probably just seeing the variety in my fanbase. I think seeing how open they are to me trying different things. I know some artists, it can be a little hard for them to branch out. So I think just seeing that and people enjoying what I’m doing, that gives me joy in general! 

Talk a bit about your songwriting process. Where do you start with a song and how long will it usually take you to see a song through from start to finish?

I work pretty linearly. I work from beginning to end. I know some people like to write a drop or something, and that’s cool, but I think I like to focus on one simple idea from the beginning of the song, like an intro. I think working linearly has always worked for me. Not saying I haven’t branched out and tried other ways, especially with a collab or something [where] you have to cater to other people, but if I’m working on a song that’s 100% mine, I’m probably going to work from left to right.

Who are three of the most influential artists in your career?

Medasin is probably one of them. I’m a huge fan of the Gorillaz. Even though they’re a slightly different lane than me, I would say the Gorillaz are probably up there because I’ve always been a huge fan. They kind of shaped my childhood and I’ve got some Gorillaz tattoos and whatnot. And then, for third… I would say maybe TroyBoi. I still make a lot of trap stuff, so I’ve always been a huge fan of him and he’s had a huge influence on me.

Talk about the role of artists in society. Where do you see that?

I think they’re crucial. Art just kind of dictates everything, really. I mean there’s art everywhere. We hear music everywhere we go. Visually, we see things everywhere. People are creating constantly. I think it’s just integral to our current day, especially now. There’s a lot of people doing really good things with their art and, if they weren’t around, I think the world would be a much different place!

How do you want to differentiate yourself from other artists?

I definitely try to make something that people have never heard. I think that [in] a lot of my music, you can hear elements of all these different styles and you definitely can say ‘oh, he was influenced here’, but I still think that, when I’m creating something and if I see it kind of similar to something else, I will try to change it up completely. Although it makes the writing process much longer, I think, in the end, it benefits me more because, in the long run, you’ll just stand out!

Your first Monstercat single “Friends (ft. Chae)” is now out!

“Friends (ft. Chae)” paints a raw picture of someone in a friendship wanting to take the relationship further. Where did you get the initial vision for this song?

I don’t think there’s a lot of people taking things slowly and figuring out people before they jump into something. Even I’m guilty of meeting someone and starting a relationship right off the bat before getting to know them. I think this song plays at the fact that you should be getting to know someone before jumping the gun—and it makes it that much more rewarding! Being friends with someone for a long time and turning that into something could be super valuable.

Your music has a very unique style and no two songs sound quite alike. You’ve said in the past that you don’t like making tracks that sound similar to music already in existence. Can you explain your style a bit, as well as what you did differently for this track?

I tend to take elements of all that I’ve been doing, like all my previous songs, and kind of work them in. Whether that be drastically or kind of subtly. This song definitely is reminiscent of my song called “Fool”, which has got that bass pluck sound. I knew I wanted to make another song like it, so I initially started a VIP of that song, and then it just kind of turned into this KOAN Sound weird neuro bass style. I think, in general, I just try to never keep something the same, even if it does have elements of your previous stuff.

You’ve worked with quite a few artists and now you’re working with Chae in “Friends”! How was it working with Chae on this track?

It was great! She’s amazing. Luckily she lives not too far, about 45 minutes from me, so we were able to get a session in. A few sessions, actually! She’s amazing.

Did Chae participate in writing any of the lyrics, or did you write them yourself?

So a little backstory is that she actually had just sent me an acapella, and it was similar. All the lyrics were pretty much the same, and I think just a few different things here and there. I had originally put the acapella over the instrumental, and then I had pitched it down quite a bit. It had a way different vibe first, and then I sent it back to her and then she said, “Hey, this is really good. Why don’t we re-record it and I’ll sing it in the same key?” And I really was attached to that version, originally. I was super attached to it—even with the pitched down vocal. But she insisted and I kind of gave in, and then we had the session, and then she sang it, and then I did all the processing and whatnot and it just turned out really great.

If there’s one thing you want listeners to take away from “Friends (ft. Chae)”, what would that be?

I think that, in terms of the lyrics, back to what I said. Don’t jump the gun, ever. If you’re getting into something with someone, make sure you know them first and then see where things go. For the instrumental and my part, the production, to other producers, try experimenting. I’m really into that style, that funky four on the floor stuff. So, hopefully, we can see some other producers trying that as well!

What does the rest of 2020 look like for Rome in Silver?

So we have this song, then we’ve got some remixes coming as well this year, and I do have another project. I released an EP earlier this year, but we’re going to be probably doing another one. Hopefully next year, if everything goes according to plan, I’ll get back on the road!

Welcome to the Monstercat family, Rome in Silver!

We’d like to give a huge shout-out to Rome in Silver and his team for making today’s chat possible. If you haven’t already, make sure to follow him on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Spotify and the rest of his socials for more updates on all of his divergent sounds!