Providence-based dream pop band Nova One visited Ocean State Media last week for our inaugural Biggest Little Desk concert. The band just put out their fourth album, “How to Kiss,” which they’ve described as a collection of songs “about love during the apocalypse.” They have a release show Friday at 7 p.m. at AS220 in Providence. Afternoon host Mareva Lindo spoke off-camera with lead singer and songwriter Roz Raskin after their set.
Interview highlights
On the new album, ‘How to Kiss’
Roz Raskin: This definitely feels like a more current version of myself, very much in the present, and … from a place of, I think, even more love than I’ve come at things from the past. I think that it’s a very romantic new record we’ve put out into the world, which I feel really psyched about.
On the real-life inspiration behind ‘Risky’
Raskin: It is true to life, that song. It is about falling in love unexpectedly with someone who is in your world. And it was very fun for me to write from that loving place on this whole record. And that song in particular, I think really does capture the excitement of those first feelings of feeling really psyched about a new person in your life. And yeah, a lot of my older music, and you know, still, some of it now, is definitely from that yearning place and from love lost and broken heart. And I think that there’s a romance to that in itself that has been really lovely to write from, but “Risky” I think is a really great example of the newer place of writing for me.
On their songwriting process
Raskin: For me, a lot of it comes down to melody, and frequently when I’m driving or in the shower – I feel like this is sort of cliche songwriter stuff, but it really does happen in those moments, maybe when my mind is feeling pretty clear. And for me, melody hits like a bolt of lightning. It really does feel like that. And sometimes it’s actually a little inconvenient, because I might be hanging out with a buddy or something, and then I’m like, “hang on a second. I really got to just get this little melody down that just came to my head.”
On the origins of Nova One’s signature look
Raskin: We wear these peach wigs with tights and usually a heel of some kind. It’s this kind of high femme presentation. And it started with a music video I made for a song called your girl that was on my first EP, called “Secret Princess” in 2018 and we were working on the music video for that. And the idea was that I was going to be dancing with two backup dancers that looked exactly like me. And so I thought it would be fun to kind of channel older girl groups in that kind of retro vibe, but then have everybody in the pink hair.
And actually, I think the funniest part of the story is that … my day-to-day hair is really, really bright pink. And so I tried to order these bright pink wigs to match me. And then the wig company emailed me and said, “We don’t have the bright pink wigs. We do have these peach colored wigs. Can we send you these instead?” And the music video was days away. So I said, “Screw it. Send me the wigs, baby. Let’s do it.” And then they arrived, and I thought to myself, this is it. This is the look we’re all going to wear. This makes sense, because it’s sort of like this avatar or something of myself, which has always been a fun thing for me to play with, in general. And I love wigs, and I love costuming. And then it was fun to be able to develop the character of Nova One on that costume and on the subject matter that I was writing about. So it all really developed, actually, aesthetically, from that music video.
On the character of Nova One: ‘a nonbinary space traveler landing on Earth’
Roz Raskin: I ended up developing this idea that Nova One is a character, is an entity, if you will, that is like a nonbinary space traveler landing on Earth and sort of dealing with the day-to-day of what it is to be a human and live in the social constructs that we live in, and processing that information. And so it sort of feels like we’re all part of this – this group of Novies, as we refer to ourselves – you know, traveling together. And when we get dressed together for the shows, it is such a wonderful feeling to share that kind of intimate space with people. And we’re combing each other’s hair and doing each other’s makeup, and yeah, it’s really so special. And I’ve never been in a project or a band quite like it before. It’s such a warmth. And everyone loves to get dressed up in the costume, which is also really fun. Like, of all, you know, gender, sexualities, people find it, I think, just exciting to get to be someone else for the night.
Nova One’s album release show for “How to Kiss” is Friday, April 10 at 7 p.m. at AS220 in Providence. More information: as220.org/calendar/nova-one-album-release-with-edt-and-dogs-on-shady-lane
