dj nevykele – about the new stage, disappointments and muses: “I’m mad about the Aerobika hit” | Names

Your concert recently broke through and soon you will meet your fans again in Kaunas, at the “VibeLift” festival. What inspires you to create and perform?

I am often inspired by other people who may interest me, as well as books, modern poetry. It’s true, I think modern poetry is for people who don’t like poetry (smiles). It can be a sentence – for some it can be about nothing, and for me it often inspires lyrics. Theater is also inspiring. I want to do more theater-related concerts, I myself prepared a script for my last concert, I did a kind of performance. Strangely enough, people my age don’t like theatre. It’s actually disappointing. I have not been to a single performance that did not inspire me. I go at least several times a month, the last performances that left the biggest impression were Jakūb Brazi’s “Caligula” and Oliver Frljic’s “Metamorphosis”.

Apparently, you are an artistic soul. And when did music appear in your life?

In fact, I loved to draw from a young age. When I was eight years old, the dream was born that I would ride a motorcycle and take my paintings away. I thought that somehow people should want to buy them (smiles). I remember once I had to draw a portrait of a woman, and I liked to draw in cartoon style. Then the teacher came to me and, seeing my style, drew the lines – showed me “how it should be”. Then I retreated from art. And I got fascinated by music while watching girls’ music performances, I thought it would be fun to play the guitar and sing. I started taking guitar lessons, learned to play chords. Then I played Avril Lavigne, Ed Sheeran, Adele. Even though I didn’t like the guitar, something was driving me forward.

And when did songwriting come along with all of that?

I remember if I liked a chord progression, I would write the words next to it. When I mastered it, I was freestyling about his day hiding in his brother’s room at the age of eleven. I got acquainted with music production programs during the quarantine, I started creating beat and write text next to it. Then at the age of 14, I was in a stage mastery camp and I composed a song on the guitar. It was called “Theatre” and the words were: “I don’t care about any Peter, I only care about the theater.” I remember playing it around the campfire and people really liked it, but I never released this song. Finally, I started creating fragile, although I was initially unsuccessful in processing the guitar sound technically. I even put the guitar aside for a while because I thought I was doing it all wrong. And then it started to become popular hyper pop. I was amazed that people put it on autotune and it “rides”. I put so much sweat into the guitar, I put so much effort into recording it, and here people are making money for nothing. Although I really understood a different kind of music, I also attended a jazz school for four years, I decided to do the same.

That’s when dj nevykele was born?

Without expecting anything, I composed an English song. I sent it to a friend, then I moved into soundcloud and somehow an audience gathered. Then I realized how to cut the frequencies, how to compress the sound, it took effort. dj nevykele appeared in early 2022, I started playing songs. I don’t know how, but people found me before Aerobics. I didn’t make an effort to be known, I don’t even know if I wanted to. I don’t know if it’s a good or bad quality, but I like to work for something. If I get it fast, I’m not interested. Of course, I even got angry at the moment and was upset that “Aerobika” suddenly became a hit. I looked dismissively at the fans for pretending to listen to easy-to-make music. There was always a feeling of wanting to prove something.

Then you didn’t go into even deeper searches, are you still there?

Something was missing, so I started creating my own beat, then the album “Diary of a Loser” came out. I began to doubt myself that this was not good again, I realized that I was doing it for others. Internal conflicts began, then the “Goat” album was born, on which I worked with the team. Then I tried to teach something, but I was not satisfied. I seemed to have lost my sense of niche. I tried to be someone I wasn’t, then I tried to be myself. Maybe it was even too sincere.

And now I started listening to people who do it all themselves. For example, Billie Eilish with her brother. Their homework is very impressive, they do everything in their house, there are no producers. I want to show the music through my perspective, so now I don’t let anyone put my finger on it. I will not try to put a label on myself – I will be ironic, or maybe serious, instructive, poetic or whatever. So now I’ve started doing more with my brother, who’s in the music industry. And my room looks like before – guitar and speakers… Maybe with experiments my music will fall, but at least I will feel inner peace that I am doing it for myself and not for people who like one stage thatand the other he

I believe that the sudden popularity after “Aerobics” was unexpected both for you and for those around you. How did the parents react?

To be honest, when I got the MAMA statue, I didn’t take it seriously, I kept calm. I didn’t even tell my parents when Aerobika came out. They found out from those around them when they started playing the song on the radio. When they found out about it, they asked me why I didn’t say anything. And I replied that I forgot (smiles). I really didn’t take it seriously… Anyway, I’m glad that my parents don’t interfere in my life. Only once did my mother repeat, when I was in the “self-important” phase, that honesty always wins.

And how did the teachers react to it?

I have never abandoned my studies, I have always been and will be interested in what I like. And if you don’t like it, I’ll try to get interested. My school has always supported me for what I do. Of course, there was everything from my classmates, but I react calmly to it. In general, I am a very calm person. Sometimes people say that I’m so calm that I don’t even feel comfortable (smiles).

Face to face with you, the image of a rebellious dj loser really disappears. What are you really like?

I know myself well, but maybe those around me should answer this question. However, I can assure you that I am calm. I react very calmly to various situations, and if I feel excitement before a concert, it is more from a sense of responsibility. I’m also empathetic, people say I know how to dig deep and listen. I’m not interested in talking about myself anymore, I’m more interested in hearing about others.

At the VibeLift festival, you will hold your own concert, which will crown the entire program. What important message would you like to convey to the thousands of young people gathered there?

Read books. I was the kind of person who wouldn’t touch a book until I felt sympathy for an intelligent person. The film is put on a plate, and the book leaves room for the imagination. The big problem is that people don’t stay focused. I notice this both during my concerts and in personal conversations. In order for humanity not to degrade, we need to be able to keep our attention, and books help with that. I also dream of TikTok disappearing. Even though I’m there myself, I’m doing it for marketing purposes, but if he disappeared, I’d be happy. I would like social networks to be more useful. Instead, I go to the library for pleasure and it gives me a lot as a creator and as a person. I would like everyone to visit there.