‘I’m a hit DJ but anxiety made me hide – until fans forced me to unmask’ | UK | News
The anxious DJ asked to remain anonymous but claimed fans loved his music so much they FORCED him to reveal himself.
Kartik Desai, better known as DSAI, burst onto the scene earlier this year when his debut single BLOODRUSH reached six million streams on YouTube and was played across Europe.
The 23-year-old man released this song under the name DSAI, without any images attached, in order to keep his real identity secret.
But as the catchy EDM hit was released multiple times this summer and played at festivals and clubs, Kartik said fans were clamoring to recognize the man behind the moniker.
After repeated requests to put his face on his social media pages, Kartik initially reluctantly did so and hasn’t looked back.
Kartik from Las Vegas, Nevada, USA said: “I started as a visual artist on Instagram, where I was anonymous.
“I used royalty-free music and at the beginning of this year I started adding my own music to it, and that’s when people started asking where the music came from.
“The biggest problem was that I was too scared. I had built a huge following on Instagram and I was scared to release my own music.
“The first big hit was called BLOODRUSH, that was huge. I had terrible social anxiety, I was too afraid to reveal who I was.
“People were playing BLOODRUSH in Europe and people wanted to know who I was and that’s how I was forced to do it, it got so big I had to do it.
“In the illustrated video of the original upload, people were asking who I was, do I have any other music?
“I was afraid people wouldn’t like the music, so I kept my name secret.
“When I found out people were going to continue listening to my music, it made me say ‘fuck it, I’m going to put my face out there.’
“Even though I knew people loved my music, it was a little frustrating.
“It felt weird to put my face and name out there because I knew I wasn’t hiding anymore. But I was mostly lucky because there was positive feedback.”
The success of the ‘cinematic’ BLOODRUSH inspired Kartik to create more music, including those reminiscent of ‘nostalgic’ childhood memories.
Kartik said: “My interest in making music started when I was 18 in high school.
“Martin Garrix inspired me, I fell in love with Animals, it made me want to understand how he did it, there are so many different elements in it.
“The sounds I use now evoke a lot of memories and miss a time you can’t get back.
“Fans get a sense of nostalgia that connects the music to a specific time in their lives.
“You hear the song and think about all the good or bad moments you’ve had in your life. I describe my music as sad dance music, very nostalgic and quite emotional.”
