Photo Credit: Aidan Kranz
Who is NÆ ?
NÆ’s bubbly pop tingles the senses with bold synths and lyrical zingers. Her sonic palette is a lively infusion of electronic, dark house, k-pop, and 80’s synth-pop influences. Continuing the lineage of female artists who create art and music (St. Vincent's Annie Clark, Laurie Anderson, Björk, and Patti Smith) NÆ’s sound pushes the conventions of pop music.
With her punch-line deliveries and spoken reflections, NÆ comments on the absurdities of middle-class American aspirational lifestyles. Her much anticipated release, Push Button Future, encompasses a series of EP-length albums to debut later this year, in collaboration with Chicago-based record label, REB Records.
With the indie-electronic band Black's Backbone, she performs vocals, synths, and electric guitar. The group recently performed a series of shows with original music by Blizzle (Ryan Black), Harmonie Phoenix (Nia Adero), Patrick “Sully” Sullivan, and NÆ. Fans at the show participated by playing live, immersive video games developed by the collaboration Creative Programmer Nathan Glynn, Ryan Black, and NÆ.
NÆ is the persona of JaNae Contag, a Kansas City native now based in Chicago. She is a visual / installation artist, a Professor of Art at DePaul University, as well as a prolific commercial photographer.
PRESS
Dacron Duvet Album Cover, as featured in Esthetic Lens Magazine’s “Creative Quarantine” interview.
Esthetic Lens Magazine
“NAE’s humorous lyrics and quirky synth-driven songs comment on the absurdities of American consumer culture.”
Image Courtesy of Advance Your Art: From Artist to Creative Entrepreneur
Advance Your Art: From Artist to Creative Entrepreneur Podcast Interview
“NAE has spent her artistic career looking at the connections she finds in the world and making visual cultural critiques of the ideas she encounters in her life.”
Photo Credit: Chester Alamo-Costello, Founder of The COMP Art and Design Magazine
The COMP Art and Design Magazine
“Since releasing the EP Implied Elegance in 2015 and relocating to Chicago in 2016, NAE has kept a diligent stride in her ongoing aesthetic investigations. Her sonic and visual inquiry offers penetrating comment into the metamorphosis of middle America.”
All Editorial Features Listed Below
Implied Elegance EP
Preview clips from "Implied Elegance" EP:
NÆ also rocks a stack of synthesizers and sings with Chicago-based band, Black’s Backbone!
Black’s Backbone recently played a show series in Chicago, merging their original music (influenced by Chicago House Music, 80’s indie-electronica, hip hop, jazz, and pop) with original video games that audience members could play during their interactive performance! Check out Spiral World by Black’s Backbone, the debut release!