The inspirational nexus of Nova One
Nova One’s Roz Raskin; photographed by Brittanny Taylor.
During a recent broadcast of Beg, Borrow & Steal on WDVR hosted by Kerrianne — there was conjecture about Nova One's album lovable being in contention for one of the year's best releases. Lead by Rhode Island pop visionary Roz Raskin, the album followed up the NO debut release secret princess and brought a razor sharp ray of light this past April to a then recently shutdown world. Lovable is the album for star crossed/lovesick sweethearts, existing beyond the binary constraints that revels in a heightened all-inclusive glamorous state of queerness. The generous open-heartedness of "to be kind", the serene sashays of "violet dreams", the self-image imaginings / reimagining of “feeling ugly”, the intimate entanglements of “somebody”, to the outer expanses and lengths of distance on the lavish lullaby “light years”. Saccharine sweet and acerbic slow jams abound like the approximations of expressive interludes on “close encounters”, the lowing laying sentiments of “down”, to the ineffable embraces of amour on the title track; wrapping it up with the penultimate soirée siren song “let’s party”, concluding with the brief curtain closer “how it ends”. Celebrating one of the year’s best releases — Roz presents the following Week in Pop curation of inspirations during the lockdown era:
Top 5 things that have inspired Nova One’s Roz Raskin through the pandemic
At home with Roz Raskin of Nova One; photographed by Brittanny Taylor.
The Twilight Zone
In my opinion, this show is one of the best. Rod Serling was such a brilliant story teller and he used this show as a vessel to talk about controversial topics during a very conservative time. The dark themes, the cinematography, the acting, Rod’s rad intros. It’s just an incredible body of work.
Se prélasser dans la chambre rouge avec Roz Raskin;
The Wicker Man (1973 film)
In October, I watched a halloweenie themed film each night, genres ranging from horror, to sci-fi, cult classics, thrillers. A few people recommended this film and I think it might be my favorite film I’ve seen since the pandemic started. For folks who haven't seen it, it's often referred to as a folk horror film but I would almost say it's more of a who-done-it piece that is also almost a musical mixed with pagan rituals and incredible 70s fashion. It is a must see.
The expansive pop art universe of Nova One; photographed by Brittanny Taylor.
Lox sandwich
I come from a Jewish background and during this time where I’ve been cooking at home a bunch, I have revisited some of my favorite sandwiches and dishes. My version of this sandwich is next level delish; a good bagel, toasted, with plain cream cheese, capers, avocado (optional), lox and a little bit of spinach (optional). I have this sandwich at least a few times a week these days.
L'emblématique — Nova One’s Roz Rasnick; photographed by Rich Ferri.
RIOT RI
When I’m not touring with my music or teaching piano and songwriting lessons, I spend a lot of my time volunteering with an organization near and dear to my heart, RIOT RI (formerly Girls Rock! RI). RIOT RI is a volunteer-based non-profit that uses music creation + collaboration to foster collective empowerment + development of healthy identities in girls, women, trans and gender-expansive youth and adults. I'm currently the co-chair of the board and have been teaching keyboard and organizing at RIOT for over 10 years. We’ve been offering a ton of virtual programming since the start of the pandemic.
Roz at Rhode Island’s Big Nice Studio; photographed by Bradford Krieger.
Being in nature
A dear friend of mine, Katie K, has been an avid bird watcher the past couple of years and she has kindly let me tag along with her on several nature trails this year. Getting out in the wilderness is a great way to take in the many wonders this beautiful world has and it's also a great way to get in a socially distanced hang.
Nova One’s lovable is available now via Community Records.
Cover art for lovable; courtesy of Brittanny Taylor.