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Amy Love and South Georgia—aka the Nova Twins—crouch over a laptop to talk to me between tour stops. The Nova Twins are currently wrapping up their North American tour, which they say has been amazing all the way. The London-based pair incorporate nu-metal, R’n’B, punk and more into their music, and the crowds at their concerts reflect that. The pair emphasize that their music offers something beyond the usual punk-rock music.
This month, Love and South embark on their own headlining European tour, which will see the Nova Twins play St Luke’s in Glasgow on November 10 before moving on to Manchester and London in what Love says will be their biggest headlining gig to date . “It’s nice to see the project continue to grow and our audience become more diverse, more beautiful in that regard,” says South. “We have mosh- and twerk-offs happening in our pits, and that’s what we want. It’s not just for one type of person. Music is for anyone who wants to listen to it.”
From the beginning, the Nova Twins have been determined to do things their way. They call themselves DIY. There are usually just three instruments – guitar (Love), bass (South) and drums – accompanying their vocals. Love says they enjoy keeping up with their fans on Discord. They even make their own clothes. Their work looks back at trends in black music and culture, but also anticipates a more equal space. More than anything, Nova Twins offer a space to be many things at once; they create an environment where joy can simply exist.
Nova twins. Photo: Federica Burelli
There is something about Nova Twins, especially live, that is uniquely electric. Their latest album, Supernova, is ecstatically high-energy. The subject matter ranges from radical self-love to murdering (ex)boyfriends – it’s the perfect stomping soundtrack to work through the rain. The album foregrounds Nova Twins’ signature blend of rap, metal and punk. Combined with light instrumentals, the pair have a clear, powerful and instantly recognizable sound. Love and South, who have been playing together as a band since 2014, are great musicians. Footage from their North American tour looks euphoric. They are captivating as they weave in and out of the audience, commanding huge, exciting crowds. Even through headphones, Supernova unlocks something deeply powerful. It feels like a primal scream in leather pants and a chrome corset.
South says he wants fans to leave their shows feeling “like they gave it their all and felt like they were in the room.” The cathartic nature of Nova Twins’ music may be partly behind the pair’s meteoric rise over the past year. We are in a stressful time to say the least. The rise of punk and heavy rock movements is a logical extension of the screwed-up feeling we all feel these days. Before the rise of the Nova Twins and a handful of other bands, it was difficult for many people to feel welcome in the punk scene.
“Women were known not to enter a mosh pita,” says Love. “We’d be in the back of a rock show because [otherwise] not that women can’t write—sometimes you just want to feel something—but, especially for anyone in a marginalized body, the pit can be extremely risky. Love ensures that this is not the case at their concerts. She says: “We also have women with big afros in the mosh pita who take the same place and feel safe in it… It’s a safe place for everyone and everyone will be respectful in it and everyone should have a good time. You shouldn’t feel like you can walk out of there with a bruised eye.”
Love and South are serious about representing their communities in the punk scene. For them, visibility is a key part of opening the door for other black punk acts. Supernova was shortlisted for the 2022 Mercury Prize this year. Says South: “It was such a big thing for us because people say we’re the first black, female, heavy rock band to do it. So it just feels nice. It’s like a victory for a wider space.”
Love and South say they felt alienated from the scene when they were starting out. The punk aesthetic is both unconventional and startlingly austere. Although the movement is often associated with anti-racism and left-wing political dissent, the widespread image of the “rocker” is quite specific (and quite white, cis, and male). “People didn’t know where to put you on the playlist,” says Love, “or people wouldn’t have you play here because you don’t look rock.” It’s an experience Love and South found they shared with other non-white rock musicians.
It was this deficit, along with the BLM movement, that led the Nova Twins to start their voices for the Unheard Instagram series and Spotify playlist. The series of live videos features Connie Constance, Sophie K, Shingai, Loathe, Death Tour and many more. In it, the band interviews other artists about liberation, anti-racism, personal style and DIY punk – the list goes on. There is an undercurrent of mutual respect in every interview. The group maintains a community for its own sake. The series unapologetically rejects the gaze of the white, male-dominated industry.
In Episode 2, South points out that the scarcity of black voices in contemporary punk breeds originality. The Nova Twins weave influences into their sound seamlessly – but, as South says, there wasn’t always much black punk to draw upon. The result is a creative, one-of-a-kind sound. It goes beyond innovation and speaks directly to survival, especially on the edge of normativity.
The project culminated in a vinyl compilation and a live show on Dr. Martens’ Instagram. The show cover has the motto: “When they don’t give us a stage, we build our own!” Love and South bring that quintessential punk spirit to everything they do. Voices for the Unheard acts as a living manifesto highlighting the incredible range of talent among black and POC rockers.
There seems to be no end to the creativity of the Nova Twins. They do everything they bring from a music video to a festival stage. Their clothing line, Bad Stitches, is not available for purchase (yet). South says the name was fitting when they started, but now they’ve gotten pretty good. “We’ve always been so interested in fashion,” says South. “We used to talk about clothes when we were younger. We put safety pins on our clothes or a little patch here and there. When the band started, we just thought we wanted to wear [clothes that look] how we feel when we write music and perform on stage. So we did a super DIY with it.”
The Nova Twins truly encapsulate DIY punk – born partly out of necessity, partly out of unbridled artistry. They have a hand – often the only hands – in creating every detail of their work. Nova Twins seems to be at the epicenter of a rising aesthetic movement. Love says punk is “having its heyday again”. Nova Twins remind us that punk is all-encompassing – it’s the way they dress, the way they interact with their fans and the way they let themselves go through the music, which I think will define them as one of the most influential bands ever of this particular era.
Love and South have a touching dose of love and respect for their fans. For them, playing live is a joint experience with the audience. As Love says, “It’s just a really good vibe.” Talking to — and with — each other, the Nova Twins interweave a few words about how they want their viewers to feel when they leave the show: “Empowered,” they say. “Like a boss bitch.”
Nova Twins play St Luke’s, Glasgow, November 10
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