A former Lismore Southern Cross University music student will have one of her songs played nationally on the ABC’s Rage program.
Anastasia Scales, who goes by the stage name Nastaji, was one of six winners of the Triple J Unearthed NIDA music video competition.
As a result, students at the National Institute for Dramatic Art (NIDA) will direct, design and produce a music video to be screened in September.
Her track ‘Grow Up’, a conscious and positive hip hop over a synth pop beat, is from her second EP, In Transit.
‘The lyrical content is about not wanting to grow up and not wanting to get too serious about things,’ she said.
‘It’s saying ‘I’m ready to commit and be successful but I’m still going to have a childish side to my life’.
‘Hopefully that gets translated into a great music video. I’ve no idea what the NIDA students will come up with but I’m sure it will be fun.’
Anastasia has been singing and playing instruments since she was a child. “I started guitar at 11 and playing drums in bands at the age of 17.
‘I was singing and doing solo gigs prior to studying at SCU but the degree gave me confidence and taught me mic skills.
‘I studied drumming in my first year then moved to singing. Drums remain my passion and I would never give it up.
‘But I thought it would be good to embark on something different and challenge myself and singing really put me out of my comfort zone.”
Since the release of her debut EP ‘The Warehouse Sessions’ in 2013, she has gained international recognition after taking out categories in the 2013 and 2014 Right Out TV Awards, and won RAW Artists Byron Bay 2013 musician of the year.
Her contemporary music major was industry and audio production (she finished the degree 18 months ago), which she said was great preparation for working in the music industry
‘I’m where I want to be, thanks to the degree. I can record at home. I’ve done youth work with Youth Connections in 2014. I’ve also done stage management working at festivals, which was an awesome opportunity in terms of exposure to industry experience and contacts.
‘At Bluesfest, I was a stage hand for the APRA stage and managed a team of students at the Lotus Palace, which opened up a whole other world for me.’
After finishing her studies Anastasia relocated to Melbourne to get her music career off the ground, and hasn’t looked back.