Nova Twins at Reading Festival 2021: “Representation is everything”

Ah, to be back at Reading. After a year and a bit of being locked away, to be back partying with the unwashed masses is the perfect tonic. Nova Twins agree, but that’s not to say that the last 18 months have been a nightmare for the UK rock duo. The time indoors has allowed online word of mouth to spread of their 2020 album ‘Who Are The Girls’ to spread, and for fans to become a lot more invested in both the band and what was certainly one of the finest debuts of last year.

“To be honest, most people would be like ‘Oh, it’s been terrible’, but you know what, it’s been alright,” vocalist and guitarist Amy Love tells NME backstage at Reading. “The fact is that people discovered us online. It wasn’t the way that we’d hope it would be. The truth is that across the seas people were discovering it, and it just gave us a bit more time for people to digest it.”

Their pummelling and genre-smashing brand of vibrant punk aside, they’ve also become literal game-changers – pushing the MOBO Awards to consider adding a category for rock and alternative music, shining on a light on the POC artists making waves in a genre they helped shape.

“The whole trend is leading the way at the moment, especially in the pop-punk scene,” says Love. “It’s really great to see diversity in those genres. We’ve been a band for a little while now, so when we first came out it just wasn’t happening. It was really hard for us to navigate our way through the industry. People would compare us to Skunk Anansie and Rage Against The Machine because they were the only artists that people could pull out quickly.

“Now, there are so many great underground bands on the rise. That’s so good to see, and we’re just super excited to be here at Reading, representing and doing our thing.”

Asked about the biggest obstacles to overcoming in celebrating and improving diversity in rock, Love replied: “Representation is everything, whether it’s sport, music or medicine. You always find that people end up going towards their lane because they feel like they can do it when they see themselves there.”

You’re certainly about to see a lot more of Nova Twins at least. Having collaborated with Bring Me The Horizon on the epic ‘1×1′ from the Sheffield metal giants’ 2020 mini album ‘POST HUMAN: SURVIVAL HORROR‘ (“We love that tune – when we got that sent through, we were like, ‘What the fuck?’” laughs bassist Georgia South today), they’ll be heading out on the road with them for a UK arena tour next month before a long run of dates with glitch-rock pioneers Enter Shikari.

Not only that, but there’s also some new music on the horizon…

“We’ve actually been in the studio this week,” says South. “We literally just came from there. We’re very excited. We literally listen to it all the time. We’re really buzzed by it.”

Amy agrees: “You have to back yourself, or who will?”

Watch our full video interview with Nova Twins above

Check back at NME all weekend for more reviews, news, interviews, photos and more from Reading & Leeds 2021.