every week, we’re here to remind you of the local artists we love and think you oughta know.

from the opening lines of lovable by NOVA ONE…

 “wake up in the morning for someone / but you want somebody else / sing a soft song in the mirror / maybe what you wanted was yourself”

…to their simple last lines in “how it ends”

“and I want to know how it ends.”

NOVA ONE leaves us in our own uncertainty and self-reflection after divulging their own. 

in roz raskin’s repertoire, words are always in lower case, reserving the capitals for “NOVA ONE” only. it’s fitting this piece follows suit.

NOVA ONE’s lovable came out in april of this year as a story of personal experience and emotional resonance, with a lingering visual presence. the album weaves together themes of healing, self-image, and identity. and the pithy titles stand alone in telling us what lies underneath. “feeling ugly” coyly warns us of that universal feeling. “violet dreams” paints a visceral picture. “light years” has us floating in space.

after seeing roz perform at the good will engine company’s “gang de filles” event in providence, which celebrated talents of the local womxn and nonbinary community, their aura and sound lingered in memory. this lasting impression glows through roz’s evocative and personal album. although as listeners, we can’t hear lovable live [yet], the album and videos for “violet dreams” and “close encounter” abate our longing for the visual component of music in person with bright pops and metaphorical physicality taking place in a form of alternate reality. 

we get the human element that our times have taken away with this introspective, lucid dream- like compilation. roz allows us to reconcile and face feelings with degrees of escapism in their curated alien world of semi-distorted reality. much like synesthesia, our senses are awakened and mingle when we enter roz’s lovable trance. 

allston pudding: firstly, what was it like to release music in april this year? How long was this in the works. why then? what has been the experience like post-release during the pandemic?

roz raskin: releasing music in april during the pandemic was definitely wild, challenging, and also a good experience. i finished recording the songs for the record in the summer of 2019 at big nice studio and april 2020 felt like a good time release it. it would give me enough time to work on visuals which have become a big part of this project. in some ways, putting out the record in april during the pandemic allowed for perhaps more people to hear it since so many folks, including myself, were isolating. 

ap: it’s clear that visual representation is a part of your music and performance. what’s the visual narrative of this album? 

rr: the visual narrative of the record is multifaceted. fashion-wise, i was inspired by 1960’s hair, makeup. costume wise, i was inspired by looks from mars attacks, brigitte bardot, girl groups (primarily lead by black women) of the 50’s and 60’s, futuristic garb, ufo chic. after some space from the record, i can see more clearly that a theme running through the record is the importance of acknowledging that healing isn’t linear.

ap: as a listener, the songs weave together so well—the tracking is powerful. was this order hard to create when tracking? 

rr: the order on this record was remarkably pretty easy to sort out. myself and the other producers, bradford krieger and chaimes parker, all wrote down lists separately that we thought would work when we read them outloud. they were all pretty similar.

ap: tell me about shooting the music videos for violet dreams + close encounter

rr: violet dreams: i worked with two incredible filmmakers on this; rich ferri and jarret blinkhorn. i have worked with them both over the years. it’s just such a wonderful team. we shot it all at my home, dressed each room. i wanted to take the opportunity to feature some of my newer wigs, costumes. i’m so proud of how rich and jarret handled light in this piece, they have such a beautiful vision. this piece was super collaborative and special. the concept surrounds an alien, NOVA ONE, who has landed on planet earth, who is struggling to acclimate to the new planet, who is having visions of the way their life used to be. they begin sculpting images of their home space ship out of materials found in their home; newspaper, mashed potatoes, dirt. 

close encounter: yet again on this video, i worked with two wonderful filmmakers; sierra sanchez and gabriel nelson. the origins of the idea came from sierra and gabe and we flushed out the narrative and details together in a super collaborative way. this one was also shot at my house. sierra and gabe turned my dining room into the cockpit of a UFO and they are also responsible for the beautiful fabricated props; the tv’s, the electronic elements were all built by hand from scratch from cardboard and other materials. watching them put it all together was truly amazing to witness. sierra and i co-directed and gabe filmed and edited the piece. i think we worked as a great team. the woman on the tv is dolly parton! i wore the classic NOVA ONE outfit; big black t, tights, wig, heals.

ap: how does lovable depart from what you’ve done before?

rr: these songs were all written within a 6 month period, so in many ways this record feels like it captures a moment of time.

ap: where do you want to go next? 

rr: i’m not quite sure yet. i have lots of dreams brewing.