On The Radar
By: Ewan Wilkie
Based in both South East London and Luton respectively, the Nova Twins are Amy Love and Georgia South and they kick up an eclectic, pedal-heavy storm with their unique blend of frenzied, riff-based urban rock.
Think Skepta meets Royal Blood, the MC5 or The White Stripes. Having played The Great Escape, Standon Calling and Boomtown, the Nova Twins haven’t stopped and are winding up for more after a full summer of festival touring.
“We love festivals!” the pair exclaim in giggling unison, a frequent occurrence. The last one they played was Afro Punk Fest at Ally Pally, in September.
“They really support us, it’s a great movement and we’re proud to have been a part of the festival,” says Georgia, whose heavy basslines are integral to the bands dense sound.
The band have been making waves on the live circuit for a while now, previously using beat tracks programmed by a DJ friend whilst they searched for the right live drummer.
“The dynamic of the music comes from a shift in our personalities and also the way we work together,” says Amy, trash-talking vocalist and guitar player. “We gravitate towards sounds we like.
People say, Oh you sound a bit grimey or You sound a bit punky. I guess there are things we do like about [those genres] but I won’t say it was specific like, We want to sound like this rock band or, We want to be a grime band.
“If we stumble on a sound or a vocal quirk, we’ll be like, Oh yeah, this will be great,” she adds. “Through our programmer’s set up we’ll look at our guitars and boards and vocals and view everything as an instrument.”
It’s not just rock and grime they listen to: “We can sit there listening to James Blake or someone really chill,” she insists.
The duo met their management via their DIY video to single Bassline Bitch, made in “five or 10 minutes in between studio sessions” by Georgia’s mum, Marie. “I think it was Marie…,” Amy laughs.
“She mentors us as all parents do to keep their children alive! She was basically like, Oh this guy looks cool, let me just send him the girls’ video. We had a chat, he liked it and that was that.”
Amy’s vocals split through the weighty bass, dropping gritty observations about “everyday life”.
“It varies, but if you were to ask us about the concepts behind the songs, it’s all about little personal situations that have happened. We write about what we know.
“I’m not a politician,” she adds. “Things we’ve experienced, whether it be to do with our race, or the kind of music we play, or us being women, they’re all situations we face everyday.
They’re true stories and I guess there’s a hint of that.”
Nova Twins are not signed - Robomagic, their management, put out the EP - and neither are they recording an album yet, but they aren’t particularly bothered. Instead, they want to build the right team, keeping it “close and personal”, something that is very much part of their ethos.
“I mean, if we meet the right people to work with and they get it then sure, but it’s not like, We must be signed,” says Amy.
“We’ve just released our EP so we’ll tour that for a while,” adds Georgia.
“There’s more of a singles market now,” ponders Amy. “Peoples’ attention spans are so short. We enjoy bringing out singles - it’s casual and it fits in with us.”
