Constant Elevation
Stolen Nova Builds a Future-Pop Universe Fueled by Sharp Hooks and Glam
Stolen Nova marks the latest evolution in the restless career of Josh Landau — a Venice-raised guitarist, songwriter, and visual provocateur whose creative identity was forged in the skate and surf world, thrift-store amps, and a record collection that we can only assume ricochets between UK glam, LA punk, and psychedelic groove. Before he ever stepped into a studio, Landau was a fixture of the Westside skate scene, carrying that grit and swagger straight into his first major chapter as the frontman of the cult-beloved stoner-punk band The Shrine, a project that put him on the map for its raw power, skate-rock energy, and maybe the only modern music video to feature a Rip Magazine T-shirt.
Stolen Nova emerged a few years ago in the strange, suspended quiet of the pandemic — a period where Landau found himself experimenting alone, writing in bedrooms instead of rehearsal spaces, chasing new textures, and letting instinct guide him someplace brighter, stranger, and more cinematic. What began as a side experiment quickly morphed into a new creative identity, one that allowed him to reframe everything he’d learned with The Shrine and channel it into a pop-driven world built on sheen, color, and emotional surrealism.
As Stolen Nova, Landau pivots sharply into a universe of chrome-bright hooks, pop sparkle, and a cinematic scope that feels retro-dreamy but unmistakably now. The riffs are still sharp, the attitude still intact — but the palette is wider and more lustrous, pulling from ’70s glam theatrics, psych-pop haze, and the sleek futurism of contemporary pop production. It’s a sound built not just on genre but on culture: skate magazines, glam reissues, midnight movies, and the sunburnt chaos of growing up in Venice, CA.
His latest single, “Dancing With a Ghost,” pushes that evolution into sharp relief. It’s a glossy, tightly constructed pop track with a narrative that slides between love and delirium — the clearest distillation yet of Stolen Nova’s aesthetic. Bold, stylish, a little unhinged, and anchored by Landau’s instinctive sense of pop craft, the song adds another layer to an artist who thrives on reinvention, bending his influences into shapes that feel both familiar and entirely his own.
Ultimately, Stolen Nova is Landau in full bloom — a project where fashion, film, skateboarding, glam-pop, and ghosted California nostalgia fuse into one shimmering pulse. It’s a universe built from movement and myth-making, echoing out from the abandoned Venice pools that raised him and into a new, dazzling era. We’re happy he spoke with us for NICE TO MEET YOU, offering a glimpse into how this world continues to expand.
Hello! Thanks for doing this. To start, we’d love to go back to the beginning: what was the process that led you to writing your first song?
For Stolen Nova, it was making "Vortex" in my friend Owen’s bedroom with my guitar and this crazy octave-fuzz pedal from Copenhagen.
Do you remember the first time you shared your music online — and what that moment meant to you?
It was just after COVID. I put out my first song, "Vortex," along with a stop-motion animation I made, and all my friends had never heard me do anything in this style. It was really scary and exciting.
Was there a specific artist or moment that made you realize you wanted to make music?
Seeing a punk band play at a skate shop in Venice Beach when I was a kid… and then Hendrix, Prince, Black Sabbath.
What’s an album or song that still reminds you why you do this?
Axis: Bold as Love by Hendrix.
What’s a sound, sample, or texture you’re currently obsessed with?
Octave guitar fuzz.
What inspires your approach to writing lyrics?
I never sit down and try to write lyrics. I just say, hear, or read something that triggers an idea, and then realize it’s something I should capture. Sometimes misinterpretations or bad translations make for new phrases that stand out.
What is something you're proud of?
My new single, "Dancing With A Ghost."
What’s a recent performance, film, or book that left a mark on you?
Burning, this amazing Korean film. It lingered in my mind for months.
What’s your greatest challenge right now — and how are you working through it?
Being in more than one place at a time is a challenge I wish I could conquer—though I’m getting close. In the last three weeks I’ve been in LA, London, Paris, and Australia. I want to be with all my friends all over the world, playing music and living to the fullest all the time.
What's one piece of advice you’d give to artists just starting out?
Move fast and keep going. If it’s what you love, you’ll just refuse to give up.
What’s the biggest goal you have for your music at this moment?
Play guitar on top of the Empire State Building. Release a lot more of the songs I’ve written over the last five years.
Not for nothing, but we produced a Yeah Yeah Yeahs video on top of the Empire State Building, so we may actually be able to help. We were told it would never happen, but we literally Googled the number for the Empire State Building, called them, and asked if we could shoot a video at the top — and they said, “Sure, we love the YYYs.”
Follow Stolen Nova on Instagram at @stolen__nova
Photo by the amazing @philinevandenhul
