Nova Twins on their Mercury Prize nod: “This is great for the scene”

Nova Twins have spoken to NME about representing rock on this year’s Mercury Prize shortlist – as well as their recent praise from Elton John and what the future might hold. Watch our interview with the band above

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The rock duo were speaking to NME from the London launch event for the prize yesterday (Wednesday July 27), where their acclaimed second album ‘Supernova’ was named as one of the Albums Of The Year alongside records by the likes of Sam Fender, Yard Act, Harry Styles, Little Simz, Self Esteem and more – an honour they described as “crazy!”

“We are so happy,” said singer and guitarist Amy Love. “It’s a bucket list moment, for us. You know when you’re younger, you manifest and you think of things. Getting a Mercury was high up on the list. For us to now be here is a little bit insane.”

Asked about what the shortlist said overall about music in 2022, bassist Georgia South replied: “It’s such a prestigious award, and every year we always run to look at the shortlist because it always sums up what’s happening in the UK. It’s amazing that it always spans loads of genres. It’s great to see.”

Noting that they might be one of the heaviest acts that the prize has ever seen (“We’ll take that for sure!” laughed Love), the duo said that it was important for them to be flying the flag for their genre.

“Especially for a rock and alt band to be here amongst all of these amazing artists,” Love continued. “This is great for the scene. The genre is on the radio and coming through, and live music has been a lot of people’s saving grace. After lockdown, festivals are popping off. People want to see live music, people want to see live bands doing it for real.”

Meanwhile, the duo were among the acts listed by Sir Elton John when he recently stated that women are making the “best music”. Returning the compliment, South described the icon as “incredible”.

“We had an interview with him on his podcast, and that was a bit surreal,” said Love. “He was just there on Zoom. We’d love to collab. Keys meets metal. It would be great!”

South added: “We were just there waiting for Elton John to FaceTime us, and then it starts to ring, like ‘Oh shit!’”

• READ MORE: Nova Twins: “The massive surge of POC pop-punk and rock is an act of rebellion”

Nova Twins also told us that they were already “in the process” of penning their third studio album.

“It’s so crazy,” said Love. “You build up to this one moment and then you’re already onto the next.”

For now, though, the duo are very much in the mode of “celebrating” their current record, with a long stretch of tour dates ahead of them.

“We love ‘Supernova’ with all of our hearts, but we’re so excited about the next record as well,” said Love. “You’ve gotta keep some surprises.”

South added: “If I’m honest, I think the first album was more of where we were – a live band on our journey, just doing what we were doing. When the lockdown happened, so much more happened in our personal lives that we got time to sit back and allow ourselves to be a bit more vulnerable, to experiment and to relax.

“It’s a natural way to progress as an artist – you keep evolving, you keep growing, and hopefully album number three keeps growing in the right direction too.”

Watch our full video interview above, where the band also tell us who they’re tipping to win the prize, their upcoming shows with Rage Against The Machine and more.

The Mercury Prize will reveal the winner at a ceremony on September 8 at London’s Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith.