Biography

Formed in 2002 by Northern Irish native Ben Kyle, Romantica has evolved over the years mixing together elements of folk, rock, and Americana. Born in Minneapolis in the early 2000s, the bands members and contributers have evolved over the years but Ben Kyle's vision has been coherently pursued. Romantica's debut, It's Your Weakness That I Want was released in 2004 bringing an Irish rock approach to the Americana genre of music. The album, produced by Alex Oana, won the band a Minnesota Music Academy award for Best Folk/Roots/Americana Recording in 2004. Romantica's second studio album America, was produced by Ben Kyle at Slow Studios and went on to be named #58 on Paste Magazine's "Top 100 Albums of 2007." While on tour in Austin, Texas at SXSW in 2009, the band wrote and recorded the album Control Alt Country Delete live, in the space of one day. In 2016, the band began to brainstorm their next project, the fruit of which would be the folk-rock soul filled Shadowlands. The album was recorded in the span of a few weeks in a barn in Southern Minnesota. In 2016, frontman Ben Kyle contracted lyme-disease. Leaving him debilitated, Kyle was forced take a break from both his solo work and Romantica for the next 4 years. Romantica's newest record Outlaws is a collection of songs gathered from recording sessions and live shows over the past 10 years compiled by Kyle during his recovery from lyme-disease.