Let's Talk: Nastia

Nastia’s NECHTO imprint has previously seen club-focused productions come from big names like Stef Mendesidis, R.M.K, and INSOLATE.

Though the Ukrainian artist announced earlier in 2024 that she would be launching a new concept, NBE, which aims to shine the spotlight on more new or emerging producers in the techno scene.

The first various artists album under NBE came out in March, and featured fifteen exclusive tracks from the likes of ANNĒ, Raho, Truant, and Yotam Avni.

We spoke to the NECHTO label boss to talk about the label in general, how NBE came to fruition, and more. Read the full interview with Nastia below.

Hi Nastia, how are things for you right now?

The perfectionist inside of me says it could always be better, but I don’t complain and accept things the way they are. So I am fine, thanks!

This year your NECHTO imprint announced that you’re putting a larger focus on new and emerging artists going forward, what brought that decision?

Well, first of all I don’t enjoy doing things only for myself. I find it a blessing and a problem at the same time. But it’s easy to understand as a fact because I’m not making music and obviously I run the label for others – sharing is the key of my entire career.

Secondly, I already done a similar project – Scary Beautiful, but NBE is a little different because it’s exclusive and it’s all about sharing the full revenue. This new format of support came to mind because I’m a big fan of Bandcamp exclusive releases, and I was contributing on Aslice and I thought it’s a great idea, so I wanted to do something like that with NECHTO.

And who are some artists you’ve discovered through the project so far?

If we speak about the artists I didn’t know before it’s AUDIOTONICS, Resonance IT, Oruam Zior, Hurtado, Luc, Truant. All of them were discovered through demos.

What kind of support are you offering to anyone that gets their music signed?

Well, the deal for this project is: we release only one track exclusively on NECHTO’s Bandcamp, premiering the track on different platforms for more exposure. 100% of the revenue, plus a fee from the label. We release music on Bandcamp every two weeks, as well as on streaming platforms and then a big digital album on Beatport at the end of the year.

And will NECHTO still be releasing music from established artists such as INSOLATE and Stef Mendesidis?

Separately from the NBE, I run the main line of the label which are vinyl and digital releases.

Is there anything else you want to say before we finish?

Since Aslice is closed now (which was very sad for me) I deeply think of contribution in our industry in general. I wish our scene was more sustainable, less consuming, and had a better quality community. It’s hard to run projects such as Aslice & NBE, sometimes it’s even depressing. I hope one day this will change and the dance electronic music audience will be more conscious about how to be a part of something bigger and monumental than just going out for fun. Because it’s obvious that these kind of projects are not made for business, but for making our scene a better place.

Recently I’ve discovered the psychology of Alfred Adler and it resonates with me and my values a lot. The concept of it is about “community feeling”. It’s not about “What this person can do for me?”, but “What I can do for this person?”. Community is a safe space, a shelter, and if we care, if we want to build and live in something real and true, we must learn to contribute.

NBE 2024 is out now on NECHTO.