Don’t mess with me like I mess with you/ You think I’m foolish but I know this game better than you goes Kayan’s latest release DFWM (produced by Oceantied). The 24-year-old has had a dizzy rise during the pandemic, easily shifting gears from Cool Kid to On My Own to DFWM. When you think of country music, you think of musicians taking aim and kicking the no-good dude with potent lyrics. Kayan is not country; she likes to be caught in a space where electronic, pop and R&B jostle. Ultimately she lets her deft songwriting do all the hard work. Whatever she sings, it has the don’t-fiddle-with-me vibe. Here’s what Mumbai-born Ambika Nayak, who goes by the stage name Kayan, has to say about the song and her style of working.

It’s been a few weeks since DFWM released. Any incident that made you write it?

It is just an experience of a toxic relationship that made me think of writing DFWM, that space where you are constantly playing a game with a person that you are in a relationship with but you always want to be on top but it is just unhealthy.

There’s always the pressure to match and surpass the views/streams of a previous song. Do you ever feel the pressure of On My Own and Cool Kid while making music?

I want every song to do really well but I also know that every song is going to be very different and I am not stuck to a particular kind of song I would want to write. Every song is going to live its own life and create its own impact on people and I am absolutely okay with that.

Toxic relationship, relationship gone wrong… why do you like to explore that space and do you ever feel vulnerable putting yourself in the public space?

This is one of the many spaces of life that I have explored and I write about. My song Be Alright is just about feeling good it’s like a ray of sunshine. On My Own is about being by yourself and owning it. The same way this was another thing I experienced in life which is why I wrote about it and yes there is a lot of vulnerability that goes into talking about your life even if it is through music.

The pandemic was the time when your music came to the fore. How did the two years shaped you as a musician?

The pandemic is when I released my first song as Kayan because I finally had time to do my own thing which I am really grateful about. I just kept at it and everything grew organically and it has just been beautiful.

What are you working on at the moment and when can we expect an album?

We are working on finishing the next single that will be released soon. I am also working on a live tour, plus I have a few upcoming DJ gigs coming up. The album’s going to take time; I have to sit and work on it but it will happen for sure.

How is Ambika Nayak different from the personality and vibe Kayan presents through music and on the stage?

Ambika Nayak and Kayan are the same. How I am on stage through my music and as a person, it is the same. On stage I am dancing around even when I am tired sometimes because that is what my performance is like. But everything is just honest. Nothing feels like something pretentious. I do feel low on energy sometimes but that is okay and that’s about it.

Quick Take

The first CD/vinyl you bought with your own money….

The first vinyl I bought was very recently, which is Billie Eilish’s EP that she put out — Don’t Smile At Me.

The one film you can watch umpteen times?

Get Him to the Greek. What a funny one. I love it.

The one go-to book/comic book whenever you have time?

I am trying to keep at this book I recently started reading — Psychology of Money. Pretty interesting one.

Your favourite concert venue in India?

The most fun concert I have attended was Neon East Fest two years ago at BKC Gardens. It is not a typical venue but I loved the festival and the whole vibe of it.