Words: Miljan Milekić
Nova Twins are not your regular band. Carving their own path in the music scene, combining punk, hardcore, hip hop, electronic music, and everything in between, they created a unique style that no one can recreate. And not only that. In addition to eclectic sound and politically and socially aware lyrics, they are as loud off stage as they are on it, advocating for People of Color, especially Women of Color in the rock music community. After years of hard work, their meteoric rise started in 2020 after releasing their debut full-length ‘Who Are The Girls?’ and only continued with this year’s ‘Supernova.’ I was happy enough to catch up with Georgia Love and Amy South on the last day of their European tour in Zürich, where they were scrapping for WiFi in the basement of Dynamo Werk only to be able to bring this interview to life. Make sure to check it below.
Hey hey! Thanks for finding the time to do this! How is the tour going so far?
Amy: It’s really good. It’s the last day of our European tour and we’re currently in Switzerland. We’re sad that it’s over ’cause, you know, you leave your touring party and everything, but then we’re going back to the UK to continue with a few more shows there, so it’s not quite over yet.
It’s been a couple of months since ‘Supernova’ has been out. Are you happy with the reaction to the new songs far, especially at the shows?
Georgia: Yeah. It’s an amazing reaction, and we’re always so grateful that we get to tour from America to Europe, to the UK, and, as you said, that people are actually singing back all the words. Everything we imagine while writing in lockdown is actually happening, so it’s been an amazing year for that.
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‘Supernova’ came a little over two years after ‘Who Are the Girls?’ How challenging was it to come up with a brand new record so shortly after the debut, without compromising anything on the way?
Amy: I think, because, the first record – we released it at the beginning of the lockdown, when did we release it? (laughs)
Georgia: In 2020, we had just released it, and a week later, we went into the pandemic and the lockdown. (laughs)
Amy: Yeah, and then we had all this time and nothing else to do but to focus and write. So, during the pandemic, people were getting to know the album – I guess it got, kind of, cut short, but at the same time a lot of people had the chance to discover the album online. And we just focused on writing the material for a new album, with no pressure. It was just really fun and enjoyable for us to have something to look forward to. Something to really sink our teeth in.
The music you play is a melting pot of many different influences, with an insane amount of energy. How does it feel to tour, work, and be recognized and supported by artists who share the same ideas, and push boundaries such as Bring Me The Horizon, Enter Shikari, Fever 333, or Yungblud?
Georgia: Yeah, we’ve had the most amazing tours with those artists. They are also so energetic, so it’s always great to experience that lineup with another band that aligns that way live. We’ve always had so much fun with them, and they’ve been super lovely to us.
A couple of weeks ago, you played at the Mercury Prize ceremony, where you were shortlisted for the best British album. How was it? How did it feel to perform at an event like that, in an environment that’s quite different from the shows you normally play?
Amy: We played at The Apollo, which is such an amazing venue, beautiful as well. We enjoy taking our music to different spaces and the Mercury was definitely a place where the atmosphere was just supportive and everyone wanted a good time. It was different from our usual mosh rock crowds, but everybody there was a music fan, so they were interested to listen to different music. And it was really nice just to be a part of the twelve artists that were also so supportive. We all had a really great time.
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Apart from getting your music out there, you also chose to be the advocate of People of Color, especially Women of Color in rock music. So what did it mean to you to be on such an event, as probably one the heaviest and most aggressive bands to ever get on that stage, and to even be nominated for it?
Georgia: I think we just felt really proud to be waving the torch for our community and opening more doors for other artists to come through, hopefully, in years to follow. So, we felt really proud and wanted to do well and to show the world that we do exist and that we should be there as much as the other people are there.
On a similar note, I think we still remember your open letter to MOBO Awards, which is yet to do its part in representing rock and alternative music. Do you ever feel the additional pressure because of your work off-stage, and do you ever feel like everything you do might be under the microscope because of it?
Amy: As any brand grows, obviously, whether they love you or dislike you, you’re on people’s radars. And we’ve definitely noticed that we have a responsibility, and we have a platform that people are taking notice of. So, anything that we’ve put out there we’ll always mean, and we’ll have the best intentions. So, the MOBO Awards is something that we would love to join benches with, and hopefully – you never know, watch this space. (laughs) We might eventually get a category in the MOBO Awards, which would be game-changing.
It seems like you put so much effort and attention to detail in everything you do, from your music to the visual representation of it, from artworks and videos to your outfits. How important is it to you to tie all of it together, and how hard is it to keep that consistency, keeping in mind how productive you have been in recent years?
Georgia: I think that artwork, music, and visuals always come hand in hand for us. We always see songs in colors, we always just see them that way, and we almost always agree on the same color, which is strange. So, when we were thinking of ‘Supernova,’ we saw purple. So, that’s why the album cover was that color. And we want it to be, kind of, superhero-esque, to show that you can be powerful and strong and have all these different elements. So, yeah, visuals are always a really fun part of it. Also, with the music videos – we love creating videos, acting in them, and collaborating with people.
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And how does that process work? Do you work at all these things at the same time, or you just completed all the music, and then get onto the visual aspect? How are they interconnected with one another?
Amy: I think we generally write all the music first, and then, once the album’s done, we start working on music videos for each single. Yeah, I think in that order.
You will end the year playing in Europe and Australia and then hit the road once again in 2023. What can we expect from it, and is there anything else coming up from Nova Twins we should be on the lookout for?
Georgia: Definitely, our next UK shows are gonna be, um, different for us, but we don’t wanna give anything away. (laughs). But it’s gonna be fun!
Follow Nova Twins:
Website: novatwins.co.uk
Instagram: instagram.com/novatwinsmusic
Facebook: facebook.com/NovaTwinsMusic
Twitter: twitter.com/NovaTwinsMusic