Billy Nomates

Born in Leicester and based for a time in Bournemouth, Billy Nomates is the solo project of English musician Tor Maries, which emerged around the turn of the 2020s after several band experiences. Her writing sits between post-punk, indie rock and no wave, with tense, stripped-down tracks, often carried by a spoken-sung vocal, dry rhythmic lines and direct social observation. Billy Nomates records her first album, Billy Nomates, with Geoff Barrow and releases it in 2020 on Invada; the record immediately establishes a minimal and nervy aesthetic, halfway between angular rock and abrasive pop. In 2021, Billy Nomates appears on Sleaford Mods’ ‘Mork n Mindy’ and releases the EP Emergency Telephone. Her second album, Cacti, appears in 2023 and slightly broadens the project's palette without leaving that frontal tension or taste for concise formats. Long thought of as a very solitary formula, on record as on stage, Billy Nomates has also performed her songs in reduced live configurations, sometimes with a soundtrack, on British indie circuits and festivals. In 2025, Metalhorse marks a new step with the contribution of other musicians, notably Mandy Clarke on bass and Liam Chapman on drums, while preserving the dry phrasing and economy of means that shape Billy Nomates’ identity.