Nova Twins announce ICMP scholarship for budding musicians

Nova Twins have been named as ambassadors for London’s Institute of Contemporary
Music Performance brand-new Creative Musicianship Scholarship.

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

The initiative was created to provide an opportunity to anyone passionate about creative musicianship who may not be able to seek Higher Education as part of their career.

The duo – consisting of Amy Love and Georgia South – announced their scholarship with the IMCP on Twitter, sharing: “Being given an opportunity can make all the difference and certainly if it wasn’t for the opportunities we’ve had, then Nova Twins wouldn’t exist as we do today.”

The scholarship is open for applications and will cover the cost of undergraduate tuition fees of one UK-based home fee status student or one international student for the entire three years of the BA (Hons) Creative Musicianship degree beginning September 2023.

So excited to announce our brand new scholarship for @ICMPLondon’s BA Creative Musicianship degree, offering one lucky student full funding for the entire three years of their course! Can’t wait to see all of your audition tapes pic.twitter.com/tdMcJwNx0a

— NOVA TWINS (@NovaTwinsMusic) April 27, 2023

Skunk Anansie‘s guitarist Ace is Head of Industry Partnerships and Business Development at ICMP, and said that the school were “made up that Nova Twins are now Ambassadors for BA Creative Musicianship Scholarship”.

“The band have earned plaudits from fans and critics with their amazing, genre-blending music as well as using their voices to push genuine change within the music industry around diversity, inclusion and the narrative around Black music,” he said in a statement.

“They are an inspirational tour de force and we’re delighted that they are taking the time to head up this initiative.”

This comes after Skunk Anansie icon Skin last year spoke out in praise of Nova Twins after having them as support act at Meltdown.

“I feel like we’re passing on the baton in some ways,” Skin told NME. “When I interviewed them for my radio show, one of my first questions was: ‘How annoying is it to be compared to Skunk Anansie?’ Because every interview I’ve ever read with them name-checks us and they’re nothing like us. They’re doing their own unique thing.”

She added: “If you look at TikTok, it’s black and brown people that are driving rock forward and Nova Twins fit into that genre. We’re no longer fitting into the boxes of what black women should be doing. In many ways, I feel Nova Twins would be more successful in America, because in England they still get compared to Skunk Anansie, and black women in rock are still being told by labels they should sing R&B.”

Nova Twins are currently touring in support of their Mercury-nominated 2022 album ‘Super Nova‘. In a five-star review, NME wrote: “Rightly championed as a vital new voice in the world of rock, Nova Twins haven’t let any of that pressure get in the way of creating a flamboyant, fantastic second album that’s as playful as it is powerful. Last year, Rage’s Tom Morello told NME that Nova Twins were an “incredible band who deserve to be huge”. Six months later and the duo sound ‘Supernova’. The world is theirs for the taking.”

In other news, Nova Twins have partnered up with The Love Music Hate Racism campaign to help spread their message against racial discrimination.

The duo are also set to play this year’s Boardmasters festival in Cornwall. Over 120 acts have been added to the bill including Ben Howard, Cypress Hill, RAYE, Dermot Kennedy, SG Lewis, Yard Act, Confidence Man, Everything Everything, The Reytons, Bear’s Den, Dylan, Joesef, DJ Jazzy Jeff and Cian Ducrot.

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