Spanish artist Robin and The Goblins – aka Robin Romo – has released their atmospheric new single Future Angel.
Combining baroque-pop and synth-infused sensibilities, Future Angel is oozing with ambience from the offset, sounding akin to the likes of Cat Power and Patrick Wolf as a result. Tragic and playful, Romo blends medieval imagery with lush floral strings and eighties fantasy movie influences in order to explore themes of queer shame, anxiety and alienation.
In this interview spotlight, I chat with Robin about the new music, challenges, technology and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Let’s dive a little deeper into You, the artist and your music. What attracted you to this genre(s) or style(s)?
I’m figuring out the kind of music I want to make with each new song. I call it Baroque Pop because it’s got pop sensibilities and structure but also orchestral arrangements and a big does of drama. But I only use that term because people are intrigued. Deep down I feel a song is a song and has its own will, so as new songs come I’ll have to let them choose what they want to be. What I am always drawn is the combination of extremes: mystical and commonplace, male and female, electronic and acoustic, past and future, and most of all innocence and terror.
What led you into this journey with music? And further, what drives you to push it out to the public?
I’ve always made melodies in my head and had journals full of ideas, both stolen and imagined, but in my early 20s I moved to West Virginia and stopped writing songs for two years. I became unhappier and more disconnected from myself. I was drinking too much and one winter’s night I felt down the stairs and lost 1.5 teeth. I realised I had lost all purpose and slowly music emerged as the thing I’d been missing. I moved to Berlin, started demoing my own songs and told myself I’d never underestimate how much I need it.
I wanted to push it to the public probably because of self-esteem issues that make me crave universal love (hehe). But I’m glad to say that such motivation is not as maddening as it used to be…I make music for myself so I had a bit of a crisis when my motivations changed. But I try and remind myself that music can open windows in other people’s lives like other people’s music did for me.
Who or what influences your creativity? Have your tastes in music changed over time?
I’m most at peace when daydreaming and taking in all kinds of stories, whether through music, movies or books. If I can’t access my creativity it’s usually because I’m socially drained or too much technology makes me feel like a country under siege. Nonsense books like Alice in Wonderland or the limericks of Edward Lear and Edward Corey are a big influences because they ignite that sense of wonder in me, but also they’re quite dark, which makes me strangely calm.
My music tastes have not changed in the slightest since I was 3 years old.
Were you trying to accomplish anything specific on this new project? Creatively or otherwise?
I try not to try too much and at the time I had trouble finishing – and I did finish it this one, so that’s good. I now see ‘Future Angel’ as a kind of Victorian synthpop ballad, and though it’s not what I had in mind I’m glad it turned out that way.
What was the last song you listened to?
It’s called “The Simple Joys of Maidenhood”, by a German artist/genderless spirit called Sopor Aeternus & the Ensemble of Shadows. It’s about hemorrhoids and it’s beautiful.
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
As much as I love the 1890s I was born in the 90s so CDs are closest to my heart. I don’t own any in Berlin but when I go to my parents home I close down the blinds and listen to my teenage goth favourites. Contrary to popular belief, it’s hard to be a goth in Germany because houses don’t have blinds so you have to put up many pieces of furniture against the walls to be in total darkness.
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
I have recently fallen in love with Bandcamp again, and my music isn’t even there yet (but it will be from October the 18th). As a new artist you’re told that focusing on Spotify is the way to success and exposure, but I feel like on Bandcamp people are actually hungry for new music and I’ve discovered beautiful underground genres like Dungeon Synth and Comfy Synth in there. Its conditions are better for artists, includes lyrics and it’s much, MUCH prettier to look at.
Other than the digital era overwhelming us with access to an abundance of music, what is the biggest challenge you face when trying to connect with or find new fans?
I love the written word and sharing finished projects, so the fact that video is king and that people are interested in the process behind how things are made is deeply disturbing. I am in a constant existential dilemma about this.
I also find it excruciatingly hard to be “available” and I sometimes scream when I get any kind of message online. Writing emails makes me feel like I’m having a heart attack, and I am deeply sensitive to other’s opinions so social media can kill my creativity. Nowadays a socially accepted sign of a successful artist is high engagement online. I am artist because of my need to retreat from the world, so that is weird. I am in a constant dilemma about this.
Where is the best place to connect with you online? Discover more music?
I share my music and videos on Instagram, Youtube, Spotify and Bandcamp (most exciting of all).
Anything else you’d like to add before signing off?
To anyone reading this, I’d give the 2 pieces of advice I’d give my 22 year old self: 1. You don’t need to play an instrument to make music and 2. Go to therapy and THEN start a cult, not the other way around!
