Super Nova

Question: What do Bryan Adams, Bernard Butler, The Afro-Celt Sound System and Danny from Supergrass have in common? Very little, would probably be an entirely appropriate answer! But the fact is, they’ve all recently collaborated in some way or another with Bermuda-born singer-songwriter Heather Nova who is due to make her debut Irish appearance this month.

Incongruous though it may seem, her just-released fourth album, South features a guitar/vocal contribution from the check-shirted Canuck rocker and a co-songwriting credit from the former Suede guitarist. As for Supergrass’s Danny Goffey, she has recently added some backing vocals to his upcoming solo album, and she written a song for the Afro-Celts.

“I didn’t plan any of those collaborations, they just kinda happened along the way,” says the London based Nova as she prepares to head out on a lengthy tour. “I’ve always been a fan of Bernard’s guitar playing and my producer Felix Tod who was working with him suggested we get together. I went over to his house and we finished the song [‘I’m No Angel’] in a few hours. Bryan Adams has been a friend for a long time and he helped me finish a song ‘Like Lovers Do’ which I’d already recorded in New York with Eve Nelson.”

Born in the Caribbean island of Bermuda, Nova spent her childhood sailing nomadically about the West Indies in her parents’ 40-foot yacht before relocating to Providence, Rhode Island in 1987 to study film.

“I suppose you could say it was an idyllic way to live,” she says. “I grew up listening to my parents record collection, which was stuff like Dylan, Neil Young, The Beatles and Simon & Garfunkel. Bermuda is a funny place. It’s a British colony with a lot of British laws but we get American TV. There isn’t much of a music scene there, apart from a few bands doing reggae in hotel lounges so I knew I had to get out if I wanted to make something of myself artistically.”

After first composing a number of instrumental pieces for use in her student films, she soon turned to songwriting, drawing inspiration from Patti Smith and Lou Reed. A move to New York followed and after travelling to London in search of a record deal she issued her debut Glowstars, essentially a collection of demos. A follow up live album, Blow sold 40,000 copies within a few months of release on the back of rave live reviews. Her last two studio albums Oyster and Siren broke her into a wider audience with sales of 500,000 worldwide

Often bracketed in with women singer songwriters like Tori Amos, Alanis Morrissete and Sarah McLachlan, Nova has managed to remain apart due mainly to her songwriting style which avoids the usual feminist confessional approach.

“I suppose I became part of that whole scene and I even did Lilith Fair once though it wasn’t something I set out to do”, she says. “It became a genre in the press and it became a bit nauseating after a while. But it’s always been there and now there are guys doing the same thing and getting lumped together.”

But it’s as a live performer that Nova has gained her reputation and this aspect of her career continues to be the most important to her, as she explains:

“I do a lot of touring mainly because I really like to make a connection with an audience I always feel like the studio album is just the staring point and the songs tend to grow before an audience. Strangely enough Germany is my biggest market, I’m much more famous over there than I am in England. They seem to listen and really appreciate music even though I’m not singing in their language which is strange.”

Her recent date at Whelan’s was her Irish live debut, though as she relates she has been to Dublin before. “I came over a few years ago when my manager got married. I had such a good time and I’d planned to do some sightseeing the next day. But I was dying of a hangover, but this time I got to see a little of your beautiful city. I’ll certainly be back.”

South is out now on V2