We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful NÆ. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with NÆ below.
NÆ, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
A quote by composer Laurie Spiegel that has resonated recently with me is “Technology is a tremendous liberator. It blows up power structures.” Looking back on recent projects with my collaborator, Blizz (Ryan Black), this is the thread that holds it all together: We have intentionally created art + music experiences that expand and respond to the power of technology in a way that both empowers us as artists and opens up meaningful conversation with our viewers, audiences, and fans.
An important decision we made in 2021 (when most folks were limited to at-home entertainment) was to craft a campy, live TV show on YouTube with original synth pop music, puppets, props, audience participation, and an intergalactic narrative. This project was called, “Saturnae: Orbital Ice Cream”, and a key part of the show was to conduct live interviews with various professors and professionals who could share their expertise in their fields – everything from biologists, to doctors, to space history, and philosophy. The interviewees had to help the main characters (Blizz and NÆ) solve problems on imagined planets. We wrote so many songs for the show, inspired by what we learned from our guests! (For example, we wrote a song about coniferous tree s*x. It’s honestly a fascinating – and s*xy – topic!)
To pull off the TV show, Blizz and I committed ourselves to effectively running a multi-camera, live-video switching, 16-input audio system with visual effects streamed live through OBS and other customized software. This was equipment we found and was given to us by family members, a computer we built ourselves, and fueled by a passion to create something that connected us with other people.
We learned to work together on creating synchronized live music looping, and we took a deep dive into script writing and sound effects recording to create the “cosmic universe” that was part-and-parcel of the show. Learning how to orchestrate the technology allowed us to connect with new fans across many different countries who watched the series. Additionally, we met incredible professionals who were generous enough to share their knowledge and research while being interviewed on “Saturnae: Orbital Ice Cream”.
Without giving the entire plot away, it turns out that the entity that hired NÆ and Blizz to be Ice Cream Ambassadors is a capitalistic corporation (of course) and the two protagonists must reckon with the fact that they, themselves, are caught up in the systems of power and corruption that have destroyed local economies on each planet that they visited. Ending the show with a massive cliff-hanger, we’ve continued to build our shows around this plot by performing live in Chicago and on national tours. Our incredible fanbase enjoys helping us power our spaceship and prepare to take down the IICC!
One of the most meaningful parts of our projects is the integration of technology that enables us to connect the music, the performance, the visual experience of our show, or the weird, campy, and sci-fi narrative that holds it all together. The content is powerful and we love connecting with fans who love following the storyline. A recent fan request was to create a FanWiki that goes deep into the backstory, planets, and narrative. I am all for it!
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
The idea for NÆ started out with my impulse to make pop music with a critique of cultural landscapes and my own experiences growing up in the suburbs. Specifically, I wanted to use the vehicle of pop music to satirize the absurdities of aspirational lifestyle culture. This includes over-the-top expensive unicorn-themed parties, sugary coffee drinks, trips to the mall, s*xting… the vices, addictions, and boredom upon which consumerism thrives in middle-class America.
NÆ is a Chicago-based musician blending synth and electronic pop, infused with cosmic effervescence & sugar pumps. The music and performances are the ongoing collaboration with multi-instrumentalist and producer, Ryan Black, AKA “NÆ’s Co-Pilot Blizz”.
When I started creating the NÆ persona in 2015, I’d spent time during and after my graduate studies (MFA) creating works of performance art, photographs, and videos documenting declining indoor shopping malls, megachurches, and strip malls. I wanted to put all that angst and weirdness into a character that was earnest and observant, but also naive to the realities of a capitalistic economy. In her universe, NÆ was selected by the International Ice Cream Consortium (IICC) and then witnessed, first-hand, that empire’s corruption and corporatization of imaginary planets.
She has a sort of “super-heroine” side, but has to reconcile that with her love of shopping and going to the mall, as well as juggling humility and the knowledge she gains in each episode, live performance, and interactive experience.
It’s interesting because all of this translates and parallels my own experience leaning into the character of NÆ and performing on stage. Ryan Black, “Blizz” and I have intentionally created a live show that incorporates this narrative, but also includes the audience as our “Ice Cream Advisors”. We bring in puppets, inflatables, and DIY props, so every show is a high-energy party and meaningful intergalactic mission, all at once! Our charismatic supercomputer “Kionius” is a key character at all of our shows.
Something I’m most proud of is my own growth as a musician and performer. This past year, I’ve been able to translate that to our pop show as well as recent experimental sound performance collaborations between Ryan and me. I’ve learned so much about musicianship and the conversation of music from working with him, and we both set out this year to take dance lessons and hone in on our choreography which has been a huge leap for both of us. We have (SUPER INCREDIBLE) fans that get dressed in sequins to see us, local organizers and curators in Chicago who believe in us, and we are performing our first big festival this summer! I’m really excited to see where this next year will take us.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the process of making something. The process of reading, researching, sketching, ideating, and then having conversations with Ryan, and ideating again. Often we workshop ideas with our inner circle of friends. I’m thinking about the visuals, the narrative, the props, the costume, and the characters. Ryan is thinking about the technological implementation, musical composition, sound effects, choreography, and structure. We come together in thinking about the problem of “How do we make this interactive? How do we get fans involved? How do we leave the whole audience thinking about what just happened?!”
Once the performance is over, we’re usually already thinking about the next new song, show, or experience we want to build – that’s the rewarding and exciting part!
Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?
Something I’ve learned in my journey as a creative is that there isn’t a set “path” to achieving recognition and “success” as an artist. It’s non-linear, and I’ve learned to be flexible about change, working multiple jobs (and careers) and being okay with the idea that I have to forge my path myself, without any prescription.
I’ve worked as a career-level fine dining server/bartender, a commercial photographer, an audio engineer, an instructor in higher-ed, in addition to my creative practice. This wide range of experiences has helped enrich my perspective and also helped lower my stress threshold. I feel privileged to create art and music, and see that as a continuing pursuit in my life.
As far as a “non-creative” person vs. a “creative person” – I’m not sure about the distinction. In any career path or pursuit, people have to solve problems, creatively navigate the challenges of their own industries, and deal with difficult problems. My take is that it’s okay to have multiple paths, or non-linear paths in that process! Find something you enjoy doing, and then actively schedule the time to do it. That’s the foundation of being creative – setting aside the time to create!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.naemusic.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/naesynthpop/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/naemusic/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janaecontag/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@NAESYNTHPOP
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/naesynthpop
- Other: Bandcamp: https://nae-music.bandcamp.com
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0ME7ws0SL0fOeWS9a2lxhh?si=5yBmso8MROG8FCLhBMyrqQ
Image Credits
JaNae Contag, Ryan Black, Michael Lim, Aidan Kranz, Jamison Donoho, Aria Walla, Clark Street Collective