Bio
"I’ve always been a fan of songwriters who can take a step back from life, really look at it in detail, make sense of it, and then turn that perspective into something beautiful. A modern and feistily independent example of such is Romy Gensale"
Helen Robinson - Sounds Magazine
Romy was born in London in the early 1960's to migrant parents who came over for a holiday and stayed. They lived in the vibrant multi-cultural town of Lewisham in the S.E. and her first taste of heart-felt singing was at primary school with her Afro-Caribbean friends. Her parents embraced the fast developing liberated youth culture of the 60's and 70's and listened to a diverse mix of music from The Beatles and David Bowie to Santana, Johnny Nash and Jimmy Cliff, all played at their regular parties and London Capital radio was constantly on at home.
Romy fell in love with the acoustic guitar when she was about 5 years old when her Italian uncle from Bedford played 'Hey Jude' to her in a solitary moment in his front room. She was spell bound! After many years of persistent nagging, she received her first guitar at the age of 9 and had Spanish classical lessons for a couple of years giving her an excellent foundation.
Story writing and poetry had always been a cathartic pastime for Romy, and she first put words to music when she started meeting other musicians at around 19. She then wrote her first original songs: Dreaming of You - found on her first ever solo E.P Solid Ground 2013© and C'est L'amour - on her second E.P. Love and Hurt 2014© available to listen to on soundcloud.
Also around that time she found herself in an all female band called ‘Drunk on Cake’, playing bass guitar and found herself in bands and duos of various genres over the years, playing in smoky old London venues, in those days, from The Marquee and Borderline to the faithful and rocking old Greyhound pub on Fulham Palace Road - a magnet for ambitious musicians and A&R reps.
She became a professional musician in 2015 as a result of realising it was time to take her music to a new level.
Her first highly acclaimed solo album was completed at the end of April 2016; recorded and produced by the talented engineer/multi-instrumentalist Richard Young, who was also able to add classy guitar, bass, keyboard, piano, harmonica…you name it..with musical additions from Fabian Bonner on double bass, Myke Clifford on sax, Jo Ash on piano and Jay Greenfield on rock guitar.
It has received radio air play and great reviews from Cambridge and London to the United States via social media and local radio and her eclectic and meaningful songs and engaging stage presence have been particularly well received back in all four corners of her much loved hometown - London.
She is currently writing her new album ‘Love Enough To Go Round’
- the first six songs of which are ready to be streamed or downloaded as singles from Bandcamp. The complete album should be ready by the beginning of 2019.
All previous music available to stream from this website, buy on CD or download from Bandcamp.
Music
1. Little Bird
2. When We're Happy
3. Love Enough to Go Round