Flashback 追忆: Nova Heart

Flashback 追忆

2011-2014 Beijing

Nova Heart

I’ve told the story a million times already but Helen Feng was my first music crush in Beijing. Was completely blind-sided as I attempted to impress a date by bringing her to LAN Club to see Holy Ghost in early 2010. Little did I know electro-pop group Pet Conspiracy was the opening act. I was dumbfounded - like I had struck oil accidentally while searching for gold. 

And from there it was off to the races - digging into whatever else the Beijing music scene had to offer - constantly on the hunt. The highlight of that Pet Conspiracy performance was by far singer Helen Feng - electrifying to say the very least. The North America-raised Beijing-residing singer-songwriter had been making a name for herself already in the capital with her first band Ziyo - later renamed Free the Birds. I remember fondly their single ‘All Stars Go Down’ - a showstopper of a track. 

But it was Nova Heart that solidified and made Helen an icon for a new generation of rockers during my early years in Beijing and watching them evolve and find their voice - from the derelict settings of Dos Kolegas to the big stage at Yugong Yishan (where I likely caught them the most) - was pure ecstasy.

Slick subterranean neo-noir disco rock that was hypnotically sensual, vivid, and ‘big’ in every aspect, it was kind of music that demanded your attention. 

In many ways, Nova Heart seemed like Helen’s attempt to bridge her indie sensibilities with pop aspirations, allowing the songs to swell with a playful malevolence that was both alluring and looming - vulnerable and on the prowl all at once. 

They were never afraid to drag a song out into hardcore dance territory or let loose as most evident on their track ‘Evil’ which was elevated even further when Atom of Hedgehog fame joined the band as drummer (I’ve never wanted so badly to hit a drum cymbal).

While the band went through many lineups - including bass courtesy of Bo Xuan and Wang Hui on guitar - it was Helen’s show through and through, commanding the stage with steely conviction and rip-roaring charisma. 

And while the band gained some prominence abroad - touring Europe and even playing at both Hong Kong’s Clockenflap Festival and Iceland Airwaves - during the years 2011-2014 they reigned supreme (Helen Feng even began her own record company FakeMusic Media during this time) with their self-titled debut dropping at the end of 2014. 

While the band would return to the stage every so often since then - I most recently caught them at the end of 2019 - they’ve been for the most part quiet with Helen Feng moving to Berlin right as the pandemic got underway. 

Yet, as 2021 came to a close, a new single emerged from the Nova Heart team. A reminder that Nova Heart is far from dead and ready to kick ass and chew bubblegum once again.

Photo credit: Fang Zhou/Live Music Night)