Just over a decade ago, Amy Love and Georgia South found themselves in field in the middle of Wales, playing to a flock of sheep. The two friends had formed Nova Twins a year or so before, and had decided to take an impromptu songwriting getaway.
Armed with nothing but a battery-powered practice amp and a truckload of dreams, they’d already come up with the beginnings of the song that would become their first single and early musical manifesto, the brash punk anthem Bad Bitches. Even at that early stage, it ignited a fire in them, so the two of them decided to perform it to the only available audience… which happened to consist of some slightly baffled sheep.
“Playing to these sheep, we were like, ‘Hello, Glastonbury!’” Georgia recalls, shouting into an imaginary mic. “‘Fuck, yeah! You like that one?!’”
Bassist Georgia and guitarist/ vocalist Amy roar with laughter at the memory, almost collapsing onto one another on the twin beds they’ve pushed together in their Norwegian hotel room. More than 10 years on, the pair have performed for a real-life Glastonbury crowd three times, as well as dominating main stages at Download, Hellfest and several other festivals.
Later today they’ll win over another crowd, this time at Norway’s Malakoff festival, where they’ll be unveiling a slew of new tracks from their upcoming third album, Parasites & Butterflies.
Today, their reminiscences of that ‘gig’ in Wales are tinged with tenderness amid the laughs. They might have been called “the best band you’ve never heard of” by Tom Morello just three years after getting Nova Twins off the ground, but the pair know that without their naive, brazen optimism, their dream might have ended in that field.
“When we first started, we thought everything was going to happen today. Yesterday, even,” says Amy. “We thought, ‘OK, we’ll get a record deal, we’ll do this, we’ll get this…’ But that wasn’t our journey. It’s been brick by brick, stitch by stitch.”
Nova Twins have always been DIY to the core. Even today, Georgia is wearing a handmade ‘Protect The Dolls’ vest, the slogan one of solidarity in support of transgender women.
“Doing everything ourselves has always been second nature to us,” she says. “Even when we were younger, we would customise our clothes, shoot our own music videos. My mum used to get her iPhone out and film everything…”
The two of them first crossed paths in southeast London, when Amy met Georgia via the latter’s older brother and quickly became a permanent fixture in the South household. Bonding over a shared thirst for art and music, Amy and the younger Georgia forged a sister-like relationship.
“We were just inseparable,” says Georgia. “We were so simpatico.”
The Twins may not be biologically related, but it’s clear that they have some kind of psychic connection, constantly exchanging looks and understanding exactly what the other is thinking. Even now, the pair continue to be inseparable; they live a stone’s throw away from each other, with Georgia noting that she can see Amy’s house from her kitchen.
“We’ve lived together a lot in the past,” Amy says. “We’ve shared a room, we’ve shared a bed.”
“We didn’t really think anything of it,” Georgia chimes in, before Amy agrees, claiming, “It was actually quite cosy!”
This mutual support has been a blessing in an otherwise unforgiving industry.
“We always say that we’re grateful that we get to do this together,” Amy reflects.
In the early days, the girls cut their teeth on the punk circuit. Their melding of braggadocious rap rock and swaggering, grimey breakdowns would come into focus in the chaotic underbelly of sweaty grassroots venues. Each show they played taught them how to win over a crowd.
“Coming up through smaller venues, it’s where you’re the most intimate with your crowd,” says Amy.
It’s a love that runs deep, even leading the Twins to become patrons of the UK’s Music Venue Trust in 2021 to help keep those types of venues alive.
“You’re close – in their face – and you can feel the heat coming off of them. Those environments are always our most favourite shows.”
Still, those early shows weren’t always easy. The scene back then wasn’t always as open-minded when it came to female bands with members with Nigerian and Iranian (Amy) and Jamaican (Georgia) heritages, especially when they would wipe the floor with many of their male counterparts when it came to musical ability. Two boisterous Black girls? Playing guitars? Oh, the horror!
“As a woman, you’re constantly having to prove yourself,” Amy sighs.
Georgia echoes her bandmate’s sentiments: “You literally have to be exceptional to meet a man’s average. It’s crazy!”
Nova Twins certainly are exceptional. One look at the pair’s pedal boards illustrates how far they’ll go to whip up a noise onstage. Most other musicians would probably be intimidated – they’re packed with stomp boxes and distortion gadgets, even if they never reveal the full details of their tech, unwilling to give away the secret to their exhilarating sound.
“We love the challenge of playing everything live off pedals,” Amy says. “There’s no synths on track or guitars on track. Men love to come along to our shows and say, ‘They’re miming! They’re not playing live!’, but the sounds we make are all live.”
They admit there’s a certain buzz that comes with being constantly underestimated. It’s left the pair with a true underdog mentality.
“Sometimes we turn up and you can feel the crowd don’t know what to expect – and we’re thinking, ‘You just wait!’” Georgia says, a playful edge to her voice.
One such case happened in Vienna a few years ago.
“We were setting up our gear, and someone asked our guitar tech, ‘What guitars do you have?’” Georgia recalls. “Our tech said, ‘Oh, no, those are the girls’ guitars…’ And the guy just ignored it. It was like he thought our tech was joking – the idea that the guitars genuinely belonged to us completely went over his head.”
The crowd were no less misogynistic that evening.
“When we were setting up, we had our cute stage outfits on, and the male-heavy crowd were beckoning us over,” Georgia explains. “They were even wolf-whistling at us. At one point we thought, ‘Do we just do this gig with our hoodies on?’”
Rather than backing down and covering up their flamboyant outfits, Amy and Georgia stuck to their guns.
“We were like, ‘Fuck it!’” Georgia says. At the end of their set, the entire room was thoroughly won over.
“The guy who had asked about our guitars was so embarrassed,” Amy triumphantly exclaims. “The rest of his band were telling us how much they loved the set, but he stood quietly in the corner.”
It’s the kind of interaction that inspired the title of their 2020 debut, Who Are The Girls?, a tongue-in-cheek nod to the question constantly asked within the Twins’ earshot.
“I couldn’t even tell you how many times we’ve walked into a venue with our gear on our back, and people have asked, ‘Oh, you’re going to be dancing tonight, girls, yeah?’” Georgia scoffs, shaking her head.
Five years on from that debut, however, the meaning of Who Are The Girls? has shifted.
“In the past, we’ve walked into a room, and people have stared at us like, ‘Well, what are you going to do?’” Amy explains. “But we don’t care about gaining approval anymore. We’ve put in the work. At some point, you have to stop seeking approval and just go do your thing.”
To further cement this change in perspective, Nova Twins’ new record, Parasites & Butterflies, offers up an attitude-drenched alternative to the question that marked the pair’s arrival. Soprano, with its mix of intimidatingly low, gravelly tones and sky-high warbling, features the bark: ‘Who are those girls? Bitch, you won’t forget it!’
While their debut presented Nova Twins as bold, brash and oozing bravado, 2022’s Supernova only amplified their power. Written in the thick of lockdown, Amy notes that the record was the pair’s way of supporting the BLM movement: “We genuinely felt like we had a fighting spirit – we needed to charge forward, demand justice.”
By contrast, Parasites & Butterflies offers a softer burst of sharp-tongued empowerment. As the title suggests, the new record embraces both the light and darker sides of the Nova Twins. It’s an exploration of strength and weakness, an attempt to unmask and find power in vulnerability. Tracks such as Monsters reflect on the trials and tribulations of mental health.
“It’s a revelation,” Amy explains. “As you get older, you can reflect and understand your traumas, understand why you’re the way you are, and that song was basically coming to terms with those feelings.”
Rather than shying away from traumas, Parasites & Butterflies confronts them head on.
“I feel like everyone has demons, and it’s important to face them when you’re confronted with them,” Amy continues. “Y’know, stare them in the eye and acknowledge that they’re a part of you. We flip the fear on its head.”
Elsewhere, Parallel Universe is an exploration of how technology has become a parasitic element of day-to-day existence. While the track has a devilishly cool groove and heavy serving of sass, Amy explains that it’s an examination of mass desensitisation in the modern age.
“People have become so numb, just saying anything because they’re behind a screen,” she says. “That wouldn’t come out of your mouth, y’know?”
“It’s definitely one of the darker headspaces on the album,” Georgia adds, twiddling with her red hair. “Musically, that track feels like you’re in the eye of the hurricane. All the chaos is swarming around you, and you’re almost numb and overwhelmed in the middle. It’s like an out-of-body experience.”
While Parasites & Butterflies serves up the Twins in their most vulnerable form, they say they’re feeling stronger than ever as people. As the album’s rousing mission statement N.O.V.A. asserts, the pair feel like a musical “muse”, their “boss bitch attitude” magnetically luring in the masses.
Even the video oozes empowerment, younger versions of Amy and Georgia mesmerised by the outright confidence on display.
“We want to inspire the next generation,” Georgia boldly announces. “There’s not enough women in music, and especially Black women in music! When we first started coming up on the scene, we’d sometimes be the only women in the backstage area – definitely the only People Of Colour there as well. We hope that continues to balance out, and hopefully we can platform more artists to help do so.”
What with the Twins’ Voices For The Unheard playlists, shining a spotlight on newer POC acts, and vigorous campaigning for the MOBOs to add an Alternative category, the pair have already done their fair share of platforming under-represented voices. But that’s just the beginning.
“It sometimes feels like the industry is keen on gatekeeping people’s voices,” Amy notes with a frown.
Hopefully, the duo’s new record will help further their mission, opening up space for women and POC artists to bypass gatekeepers and feel free to be vulnerable and open. Before we part ways, Nova Twins take a second to praise their upcoming tour support acts, alt rock trio Hot Wax and grunge-soul singer Ashaine White.
“Sometimes it feels like bigger acts don’t bring smaller supports anymore,” Amy muses. “Some artists just forget where they came from. But we’ll always platform new artists, no matter how fucking big we get.”
In terms of themselves, Nova Twins are still shooting for the stars.
“We always thought, ‘We can do anything, we can take on anyone!’” Georgia bashfully jokes.
“It’s sometimes difficult when there’s only two of you, but we’re going to change this industry,” Amy says with a grin, and a mischievous glint in her eye. And we believe her.
Parasites & Butterflies is out now via Marshall Records. Nova Twins tour the UK from October 11, for the full list of dates, visit their official website.
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