Rising pop songwriter Nastiya Kai unveiled her dark, hypnotic single ‘Bury Me’ on October 27th, 2023, offering a glimpse into her forthcoming debut album set to release in early 2024. With over 141,500 streams and counting, Nastiya Kai is making a significant impact in the industry.
Originally hailing from Moscow and currently based between Moscow, Paris, LA, and New York, Nastiya Kai is a self-taught musician who began playing piano at a young age and started writing songs at ten. Finding solace in music during challenging times, she quietly played guitar in her boarding school dormitory, using music as a constant throughout her journey of shifting careers, universities, and countries. She officially started releasing singles in 2023.
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Nastiya Kai draws inspiration from a diverse range of genres and artists, including David Bowie, Daughter, The Naked and Famous, Crystal Castles, The Prodigy, and Bob Dylan. Her sound has been compared to Caroline Polachek and Sub Urban, and she is carving a place for herself in the pop world, catering to fans of avant-pop luminaries such as Billie Eilish, Grimes, and VÉRITÉ.
‘Bury Me’ is a dark and minimalistic track with ambient instrumentation, occasionally punctuated by tender, folky acoustic guitar. The song takes listeners on a genre-bending journey, shifting from a ballad to a country-inspired chorus, and culminating in a major electronic drop at the end. Nastiya Kai’s haunting vocals, combined with poignant lyrics exploring themes of misplaced guilt, inner turmoil, and blame, make ‘Bury Me’ a captivating and emotionally charged experience.
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Nastiya Kai shared her perspective on the song, stating: “‘Bury Me’ is about blaming yourself for all the horrible things someone else is responsible for. When someone is clearly out there to hurt you but you keep asking yourself if there’s anything you did wrong and what can you do to fix it even when you’re already underground as it is. I built it in a way where it takes you through this emotional rollercoaster. It starts off as a ballad, then evolves into a country-inspired chorus only to build up into a major electronic drop by the end.”
Adreena is a writer from Nagano, Japan, but is now residing in Singapore. She mostly writes music news and reviews, but in her spare time, she likes writing fiction and poems.