Nova Twins tune into their London

Nova Twins are contemporary cultural vanguards. Garnering more than one million listeners monthly on Spotify, the on-stage duo (Amy Love and Georgia South) are known for their fizzing alt-rock sound: a distorted, full-throttle fusion of thrashing guitars, heavy bass and sharp lyricism. From local watering holes to the 02 Arena, they’ve made the big smoke their very own stomping ground, crushing stages while finding creative inspo in every nook and cranny of the city. Still, when they’re travelling around, the artists like to trade in noisy guitar riffs for the quiet, tempering the rush of rattling tube trains and tuning into the sounds that keep them centred with a set of Marshall’s Monitor III ANC headphones.

Indeed, if anyone knows about a busy schedule, the Nova Twins do. With their roots set in South London and Essex, the alternative stage slayers are prolific music writers, always keen to play with new sounds. So, where does the UK’s coolest new rock export find their explosive musical USP? Community and creativity.

The artists discovered their style early on across Lewisham and New Cross. “[They’re] really close to our hearts,” Georgia says. ​“It’s where venues took us in when we were first starting out, writing our name down at open mic nights. If we didn’t have those venues, we would never have earned our stripes and built our way up through the industry,” she adds, citing legendary south-of-the-river haunts including the Amersham Arms, Fox & Firkin and New Cross Inn.

“The Ravensbourne Arms was the first time we wrote our names down. We weren’t quite a band yet, but we had songs, and it was amazing for us to be a part of it all,” says Amy. ​“It gives a sense of community [to] the area. Your Bring Me the Horizons, Foo Fighters and Nirvanas all started off in a small venue somewhere. You’re potentially going to see your lifetime favourite band in one of these venues – it’s so important to the culture.”

In the early days, the musicians also spent time kicking around small spots in Camden Town fighting to make their name. ​“Its venues, particularly grassroots venues, gave us a home – like The Monarch. We had a residency there,” says Amy.

Naturally, live music in London has been instrumental to Nova Twins’ discovery of new music. But when they’re looking to clock out and focus, their go-to is the closed comfort of headphones. ​“It’s definitely when you want to zone out. We’re often listening to chilled tunes. We’re intense as a band, but when we come off that stage, we need to unwind and decompress, so we listen to a lot of chilled music,” Amy says. ​“There’s also a lot of times when someone’s telling us to check out bands, or we need to listen back to our mixes. When we’re on tour, we’d rather listen to [our music] through headphones. We’ve made lots of music with Marshall headphones. We’d be mixing on Zoom and Audiomovers, and we’d be on the headphones doing it like that because you feel like you’re in the music as opposed to listening to it like a viewer.”

Making the most of the Marshall Monitor III ANC design, the musicians tap into its easy-to-use features, letting the music flow with little interruption thanks to active noise cancellation, a nifty transparency mode (for when you need some ambience) and of course the wireless set-up. Drowning out or softening the hustle and bustle of London, the girls seamlessly tune into the tracks that get their creativity flowing. This ability to dial into their surroundings or shut things off has been a godsend on tour. ​“It’s good to feel all the senses in your ears and block everything out,” Georgia says.

Who’s an artist we need to have blaring through our headphones, we ask the riot-making pair? ​“Kid Bookie is a good one,” they enthuse, giving their label-mate a shoutout. ​“Flowerovlove, HotWax and Cassyette, too.”

As the interview draws to a close, one thing becomes clear: Whether they’re on the frontier hunting for new acts or hopping into the studio – Marshalls on – to record a killer hit, the Nova Twins are taking over London on their terms.