Stolen Nova: the skateboarder turned glam rock musician
Josh Landau grew up skating and making music, and simply never stopped. Now known as Stolen Nova, we caught him for a chinwag in cult East London venue Moth Club.
Music
Words: Tiffany Lai
Moustachioed, wild-haired and ruffled of collar, musician Josh Landau is sitting on a high stool in the lino-floored kitchen of Hackney’s Moth Club. There’s a few hours to go until his live show there, and he’s feeling a little disoriented, having just returned from spending less than 24-hours in Los Angeles.
Growing up in Venice Beach, Josh spent most of his life skateboarding. At the tender age of 10, he attended a skate shop party where a punk band happened to be playing. “The singer in the band told everybody in the audience that I was his little brother”, he says. “I remember this moment of loving the mixed energy and feeling a kinship between [skating and music]”.
Josh’s love for both activities, then, developed into a fully-fledged hobby. Soon, he levelled up from skating ramps to empty swimming pools (“a Dogtown tradition”, as lovers of the 2005 film Lords of Dogtown will recall), and became increasingly influenced by the punk music that soundtracked skate video games and ramp jams. You can certainly hear their imprint in his music now.
Though broadly filed under the category “synth‑y new wave”, Josh is partial to a slamming guitar solo or two, and tends to go heavy on the drums. His latest EP, Stolen Nova, blends synth-pop and rock across six tracks that meander through themes of heartbreak, and all-consuming crushes.
Then, there’s Josh’s vibe: he’s a flamboyant, lipsticked rocker who draws on Dadaism and Monty Python in equal measure. Eclectic.
These days, Josh spends most of his time in London – the city is his latest obsession. “Its charm still hasn’t worn off!”, he says. “I don’t even have a ticket home. [I like that] people are a little more honest and crude here. No one’s trying to pretend that they’re a saint or a cult leader”. None of that LA nonsense, eh?
10%
What’s your favourite item of clothing?
A T‑shirt that I wear religiously. It was given to me by [legendary skater and surfer] Jeff Ho, the Dogtown and Z‑boys guy.
20%
What’s a bad habit you wish you could kick?
Indecision.
30%
What would you tell your 12-year-old self?
I’m kind of doing the same exact thing I was doing at 12, so I would tell him it just keeps getting better.
40%
What do you listen to when you’re driving?
It used to be Hendrix, but now more Prince as I’ve veered into making more pop-oriented music.
50%
What’s your dream concert venue?
It would be cool to play a retirement home or something. Back in the day, The Cramps played at a psychiatric ward. The weirdest place to play would be the ideal place.
60%
Who would you love to get a singing, skating and guitar lesson from?
Frank Ocean, Steve Olson and I actually would love some piano lessons from somebody… Anybody!
70%
What’s an ideal first date?
Going to see Oasis.
80%
Any interesting scars?
I had a surf board hit me in the head when I was 13, and I had to get 25 stitches in my head. I got really lucky. My head is kind of flat in a certain spot [as a result]. My brothers and I spent a lot of time in the emergency room growing up between surfing and skating – people in the lobby knew us well.
90%
Favourite post-gig ritual?
An early 2000s, R&B‑themed dance party.
100%
What’s one thing that unites all artists?
Every artist has the same cycle of creative explosion, and then insecurity and doubt.
