(March 3, 2024) Growing up in Mumbai in a family deeply rooted in the arts, musician Ambika Nayak aka Kayan, frequented theaters for plays and concerts, immersing herself in the world of creativity. Her mother, a Hindustani classical vocalist, her grandmother, a classical dancer, and her aunt, a writer, all contributed to the artistic milieu. Trained in Carnatic music, kathak dance, and piano, she often accompanied her mother to concerts and art shows. It seemed almost fated that she would eventually embrace one of these art forms as her professional calling.
The Mumbai-based 25-year-old musician is a multi-talented singer, producer-DJ, model, actor, and voiceover artist. From making YouTube covers in her bedroom to collaborating with producers around the world, Kayan has come a long way, commanding over 70,000 listeners on Spotify monthly. In fact, Kayan was one of two Indian artists among the 30 picked from various genres across the world in 2022. “It was a great feeling, because so many artists that I listen to, like Dua Lipa, have been a part of this programme,” shared the musician in an interview.
A musical prodigy
Influenced by her mother and grandmother, Kayan started training in classical dance and Carnatic music quite early. So intense were these training, that Kayan still remembers each day of her classes. “First, I started learning Bharatanatyam, and my mom suggested I take up Carnatic classical music as well. Initially, I didn’t like my singing classes, but in retrospect, I’m glad that kind of classical training happened. It has left an impact on all the other forms of music I’ve learnt,” recalled the musician, adding, “My classical training really helps with my voice. I will never forget what my teachers taught me when I was learning classical. The training is super rigorous. I wouldn’t say there is a direct influence in terms of sound, but in the sense of discipline, it has had a big impact.”
While she loved classical music, it wasn’t the only type of music Kayan was interested in. The musician grew up listening to a lot of punk and pop music. “As I grew up, I got introduced to a lot, a whole new world of electronic music,” she shared, adding, “Now, I listen to ranges from like really wild electronic music, like a lot of hard-based music, electro ghetto tech, house music too. All of these somehow have had their own impact on the way I write my music,” she adds.
However, it wasn’t until 2016 that she decided to step into the professional music scene. Her foray began with a performance at a party in Mumbai in 2017, which proved to be a turning point for her. And it was around this time that the musician chose to pick a stage name for her. Sharing how she chose the name ‘Kayan’, she said, “When I joined Instagram, which is now a really long time ago, my name Ambika Nayak was taken on the platform. So, I created an account with my last name backward. Eventually, I cut it to kayan.a And then I released my first song as kayan.a, and then we dropped the ‘.a’ and now it’s Kayan, which makes a lot of sense.”
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Climbing the ladder
A big moment in Kayan’s career was when she played at the famous Nariyal Paani festival in Alibaug. With her band, she showcased her musical skills and really impressed the audience. This performance not only made her well-known in India but also helped her become known worldwide – motivating the youngster to join the True School of Music. “I ended up meeting like-minded people there,” shared the musician, adding, “For the first time, I was in a space where I enjoyed studying and learning, was introduced to new music, and was going out for shows and meeting new people.” Eventually, the Global Indian was deejaying and playing live in a band called Kimochi Youkai, with five other band members. By the end of 2021, the musician had gained recognition as one of the top-streamed independent female artists on Spotify.
Kayan with singer-songwriter Jay Sean
Kayan has released five singles as yet – Cool Kids, Please, Be Alright, DFWM, and the singer recently collaborated with Singapore-based rapper Yung Raja for another single No Shade. She is working on more international collaborations. “Yung Raja is a gem of a person, and No Shade was the perfect song to have him on,” shared the musician, while talking about their collab, adding, “It was so much fun working with him; I’m proud of what we made together.”
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The musician creates catchy performances and brings a stylish and attractive look to her work as a model and visual artist. She has collaborated with some of India’s top talents, like the former Elle superstylist Divya Gursahani, who designed one of the most unique looks for Kayan’s live set at the Weekender. “I do love fashion a lot, it’s ultimately a way in which I express myself, and it makes me feel really good,” Kayan expressed, adding, “Divya came along, and she has absolutely been a gem. We worked so much together — one cool thing about working in music is being able to do music videos and photoshoots, which allowed me to experiment so much with fashion, it’s such a big part of it. Divya has really helped me understand, see, and experience that. Even for my live performances, at the NH7 Weekender, for example, there was a lot of thought and effort that went into the outfit. There was a whole narrative there, it was custom-made for me. Even now, for the upcoming live tour, we’re looking at custom outfits and designs. To me, all of this helps tell a story.”
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Talking about her future projects, the musician shared, “I have a couple of unreleased songs, collaborations with some of my favourite artists, and another one with my friend OAFF. Right now, I enjoy being independent, it’s far easier to release music; I have a solid team with great marketing resources, and in the future, I am open to working with a label I can align myself with.”
