Nasti wrote the summer-themed song "Couchsurfing" as a lead-in to his next EP, "Crowd Pleaser." His goal was to demonstrate his variety between this song and Nasti's earlier two tracks. He is now concentrating on developing "his sound," which he believes is clear in this song. He hopes you have the same reaction.
By Kamil Bobin
Discovered via Musosoup
What strengths do you have that you believe make you a great musician?
I am a firm believer in my lyricism. I grew up always being the best in my class at English, and I carried that through University, eventually pursuing a career in Journalism. I think my writing ability is unrivaled among my peers and it's definitely my favourite aspect of the song production process. I'm glad though because it can be the hardest part for many artists.
Where did the idea for the title of the track come from?
You'll notice towards the end of the song I say "Staying two nights like I'm into couchsurfing". I would say this is one of my favourite similes throughout the song, so I felt it was fitting to use it as the title.
Your latest track is 'Couchsurfing'. Can you share with us the background of its creation and did any unusual things happen during its creation?
I went to a completely new studio to record this song. Approaching the summer, I wanted to make a song relating to that kind of theme, a whole EP, in fact. That's something I'm still working on, but I thought this track was a good start. The beat is so clean and I found it so easy to flow on.
What does your daily life look like? What takes up the largest part of your time?
I work a full time job, I am also a full time university student. In addition to that I delve in and out of freelance journalism so I really don't have a great deal of spare time. I don't like to waste time though, I feel I'm aways on edge due to my inability to relax at times. I'm my harshest critic and don't feel satisfied if I'm not actively doing something. So I plan it all out.
I make regular vlogs on my tiktok, so accomodating that with music, and also working out takes up the bulk of my weekends, that's what I consider my 'down-time'.
What is the most surprising fact you’ve learnt about yourself?
I feel like when I started out making music, I compared myself and my work to some established household names in how I critiqued my own work without taking into account the significant difference in investment, production and experience between us. Instead, now I don't compare myself to anyone, even those you could say are in and around 'my level'. I trust my own work but take it at a more controlled and realistic pace. So ultimately, I'd say I've learnt to become much more realistic throughout all this.
Do you think that education is important?
To a certain extent. I don't believe in pressuring yourself to study at third level if there's nothing specific you have in mind to accomplish there, contrary to what many teachers or professors might coax you into. There are thousands of ways to make a living without college, or school in fact, so in my opinion you should spend your time immersing yourself in your deepest and most worthwhile interest, whatever that may be.
What are your dreams? Have any already come true?
I have dreams both within and outside of music. Of course, I'd love to make a comfortable career off music, something I'm always working hard to do and believe I will achieve someday. Aside from that, I am currently studying my masters in Digital Marketing at university and plan to make massive strides in the digital content industry. A dream you could say I've reached already is fulfilling the goal of getting into my masters course. My university (UCD) is in the top 50 recognised business schools worldwide so I'm thankful to have got that far. So yeah, I'm proud of the success I've made to date, I just intend on putting that success on a much grander scale. I will be satisfied when I buy my Mam her dream house in Spain, that's what my motivation is.
How do you feel the Internet has impacted the music business?
I think it's had huge effects both for better and for worse. As I mentioned earlier, I used to put huge pressure on myself to have to match the standards of well-established celebrities in terms of my work, and that's something I still see people do. I think without social media, people but have much more realistic aims and see themselves through a clearer lens; then on the other hand it's such a great tool in terms of marketing your music through posts, sharing and algorithms. It really comes down to how you look at it.
Do you think it's hard to break out in the music industry?
It's not easy, nobody has made it out who doesn't deserve it, in my opinion. It's not going to happen overnight, even when it does on rare instances, you can go back and see how hard that person has worked to get to that moment. I think there are so many things you need to wrap your head around, but if you nail them down and constantly correct your own errors, you'll be headed down a good path.
Do you have any more releases planned for this year?
My summer EP 'Crowd Pleaser' is well and truly in the works, I'm just finishing off the last track then we're ready to go with that. I'll drop a single from it just before that though, I hate large gaps in between my releases so I want to keep my audience on their toes.