What are your names?
Our names are Connor Hill (Vocalist), Tyla Challenger (Bassist), Euan Woodman (Drummer) and Tom Rhodes (Guitarist)
What is your genre of music?
We’ve always called it post-punk but recently got called art-punk and that’s got a nice little ring to it. We tend to just make the music & leave the labelling to everyone else – but put punk after anything & we can probably squeeze ourselves in there.
How did you come up with bands name?
Tom, Tyla and Connor were in a metal band when they were 15 that they got kicked out of, so eventually they wanted to start a new complete fresh idea. Novus translates in Latin as ‘new’ & that’s exactly what we wanted to be & do. A new chapter, new ideas, new band, new experiences for everyone involved & we try to carry that through to now with our entirely DIY shows, secret locations & more
What made you go into music?
We all have music imbedded in our childhoods. Connor’s mom was a successful singer who to this day you will never not hear her blasting out a tune. Euan’s grandad was an amazing drummer and his mom and dad have been taking him to festivals since a baby. Tom’s dad is a massive ska fan and grew up with music all around him & I, Tyla, grew up with both my parents being massive rock & metal fans that would tell me stories & show photos of Donnington back in the day. So, it was never really a choice for any of us, it is who we are, and we live and breathe what we do.
Are you a signed?
Not currently – we do everything under our very own ‘Join The Noise Records’ – DIY.
You released your new single ‘Frosty’, tell us more about the single.
Frosty was actually the track we wrote together at 16/17 years old, Tom had the riff & Tyla came with the lyrics – we took it to the other 2 boys & with a couple of developments there it was – our first track. It’s amazing that it’s been this long for us to release it, but with bringing in Euan and significant changes of mindset and maturity from us all, now just felt like the right time to release the song & fits with our current sound.
What is the meaning behind ‘Frosty’.
We often stay away from certain topics such as love and girls etc, but this for us was a twisted love tale. We have all had situations with people that have turned sour over time and this was just a product for an upside-down love tale that we really hope gives people a kick on their daily lives.
Describe the track in two words. Anti-love noise. Does that count? Who did you work with on the Single?
We worked with Gavin Monaghan at magic garden studios, alongside Joe Murray and Liam Radburn. We owe a lot to these people, we’ve developed musically and spiritually because of them and the environment they create at magic garden where some of our all-time favourite artists have also recorded, real life wizards.
Will we see an EP or Album this year?
We have ideas in the works. We’re really concentrating this year on securing a body of work that people can listen to and start to understand what we’re about now and what we believe. It’s looking like an EP initially, but you never know how these things will pan out.
Do you have any shows coming up?
I think we’re averaging about 2-3 shows a week so far up and down the country – one of them in Paris in January – we don’t stop!
If so where will you be heading?
In the close future, we have a first-time acoustic show at the good mixer in Camden town on Feb 28. We are also really excited to support The Jacques at The Night and Day Café on March 01 with Mint, a nice little tour soon & then hopefully be keeping ourselves busy this festival season.
What else can we expect in Early 2020?
We’ve got a few festivals lined up and popping up all the time, so we’re looking to announce a few of them. But we’re also looking to put on some more shows in our hometown Birmingham to keep pushing the boundaries of what is considered normal for an artist like us to be doing – straying from the norm where we can.
Do you have any collaborations coming up with any up-coming artists?
It’s something we’ve been really enthusiastic about for a little while, but with how busy we have been with shows it’s not something that has materialised quite yet.
Would you be up for collaborations if other musicians wanted one with you? and who would they have to contact?
We would be more than willing to work with anyone within the arts, not even necessarily just music artists, just anyone who is in the field of creativity. We have lots of social media and monitor it all, so if anyone wants to, we’re always open to new ideas.
Do you play any instruments?
Naturally we are a guitar band, so we play what is seen on stage, but Euan also plays the piano rather well, which is a skill that exceeds the guitar bashing that Tyla and Tom do.
Who are your influences?
We have multiple influences, and generally speaking, the world around us is our influence, especially relevant contemporary issues and political issues. But musically, we love listening to elder bands such as Nick Cave, talking heads and hometown heroes Black Sabbath. But modern contemporaries / influences that we adore are the likes of Fontaines DC, The Murder Capital and Cage The Elephant just to name a few
How do you get inspiration to write songs? /
We are all thinkers, and we really react to what happens around us and affects us. So we talk about certain topics a lot such as the way mental health plagues our generation, and the way that politics will really affect the future that people seem to have limited vision with. We think it’s really important that as a society we start to change the way we perceive and out of this songs are born. It’s impossible to not write about what consumes you in everyday life, we’re either writing about it or writing to escape it.
Where do you see yourself now in 5 Years?
We don’t really like to think that far ahead, we’re very privileged to be able to play our songs to people, but if we had to say, we hope we can continue developing and showing the world what we believe and hope that resonates – keep growing our fanbase in ‘The Noise’ & just push our art into as many crevices of the world that we can. We have our specific goals like every band does – but we seem to be reaching our goals faster than we can realise them, so we hope that continues.
When you’re not doing music, what do you do?
We’re all quite family orientated, we have the best families and it’s become one massive community. So when we’re not on music we’re spending time together still, trying to do human things like play games, read, and we actually do all have degrees to do that we forget at times.
We’re mostly artists & creatives through and through – Tyla does all the graphic work for us & stuff away from us & is a producer. Connor studies Stage Management & has been in and out of theatre. Tom does Music Business at Uni & we’re all into reading, Euan really lives & breathes music but in short – we can’t get away from it & I don’t think we ever want to.
What was the song you listened to most that influenced you to go more into the music scene?
From the start of The Novus, Connor, Tyla and Tom were massive Cage The Elephant and Black Keys fans. So, songs like Cage The Elephants ‘In One Ear’ was a biggie, and The Black Keys ‘I Got Mine’ is a strong contender. But, as all of our parents bought us up listening to different stuff respectively I don’t think it’s ever been down to a single track or artist.
What’s the best advice you have ever been given?
We were told to just enjoy every moment. This seemed to transfer not only to our music careers, but to life as a whole, we value each other, the people that help us, and every single person that takes time to listen to our music, live or recorded. So, to us it’s just important to enjoy our lives and enjoy what we do.
What advice would you give to aspiring musicians not about the industry and just as an artist?
Just to write lots of songs, and not stress about style, and definitely don’t think you want to sound like someone else. Write what you like and write all the time & like we were told – just enjoy it.
What quote or saying do you always stick by?
There’s a couple I like to:
‘Do what you want, despite what anyone else thinks.’ Because it’s your happiness that’s most important. Truth is people are going to try to sh*t on you throughout life no matter what you’re doing so you may as well do exactly what you want.
And the other being ‘Find what you love & let it kill you’ for that same reason. I couldn’t think of anything worse than being stuck in a 9-5 that you hate & living for the weekends – it’s no life.
Where in your hometown is a must go to visit?
As three quarters of us are vegetarians, our diets are based on one particular Falafel shop in Birmingham called Falafel munch, it’s amazing. But also, the 02 institute is our favourite venue & a new small one called DeadWax in our favourite area of Birmingham – Digbeth. We try to do the majority of our shows in Digbeth when in Brum, championing it as the creative hub of the second city.
Your coming off tour;
1/ Where do you go first? Often straight to bed, as we usually drive ourselves about in a ford focus, we’re always very tired and grumpy, so sleep is important.
2/ Who do you see first? We always see our families, girlfriends, but more often than not – each other the very next day as there’s always more work to do.
3/What do you eat first? Something hearty and generally anything that isn’t from a motorway service station, as we spend a lot of time on the motorway, Greggs vegan sausage rolls have become our best friends.
When you are at a gig, what are 5 things you cannot forget?
-An aux chord for the car
-Guitar leads, we’re always short of guitar leads – Instruments in general are usually handy.
-Snacks, we all have snack addictions for long journeys.
-Buckfast, we discovered this from northern bands – I think Avalanche Party were the first to show us and it changed our lives – wreck the hooose juice.
– A bunch of hairspray, makeup & stage attire – god forbid we ever have to play a show in our travelling gear.
Do you have social media accounts so your fans can follow you?
You can find us on all your standards – FB, Instagram & Twitter @TheNovusBand for the lot. Youtube for videos of course & all your standard streaming sites.
