Press Kit

“NÆ’s new album, Push Button Future is a dance-pop confection with a biting edge, commenting on modern-day issues of consumerism, commercialism, influencer culture. It’s bold, flashy, with elements of rap and EDM splashed throughout, skewering white privilege in a catchy way.”

— Scapi Magazine

NAE Chicago Musician Sugar Pumps Press Image

Bio

NÆ is a Chicago-based synth pop and electronic artist. Her music satirizes the absurdities of American aspirational lifestyles – think unicorn parties, sugary coffee drinks, and sexting. NÆ’s debut album, Push Button Future, has over 25,000 streams and has been applauded as “a dance-pop confection with a biting edge, commenting on modern-day issues of consumerism, commercialism, influencer culture,” by Scapi Magazine.

Producer, mixing engineer, and multi-instrumentalist Ryan Black performs on stage with NÆ as Blizzle, and is her core collaborator in the writing and recording process. Black is also the founder of the Chicago record label, REB Records.

Coming off their 2022 Orbital Ice Cream Tour, NÆ and Blizz are working on the release of forthcoming LP, Isolazen.

NÆ’s music has been featured in blogs, podcasts, and publications internationally, including Esthetic Lens Magazine, Fierce Fabulous Revolution, Gen X Voice, The What the Punk?! Podcast, Advance Your Art Podcast, The Artists of the Industry Podcast, and The COMP Art & Design Magazine. Continuing the lineage of her influences, womxn artists who create both art and music (St. Vincent's Annie Clark, Laurie Anderson, Björk, and Patti Smith) NÆ’s sound pushes the conventions of pop music.

During the global pandemic, NÆ and Blizzle hosted a live TV show on YouTube called Saturnae: Orbital Ice Cream. In their most recent season, the duo performed with original music, improvisation, and a delightfully campy narrative about collecting ice cream recipes from other planets in the Universe.

NÆ is the persona of Chicago artist, JaNae Contag. She is a visual artist and a Professor of Art at DePaul University in Chicago.

Music Videos

Music Video: Sugar Pumps

Music Video: Dacron Duvet

Lyric Video: Sugar Pumps feat. Blizzle

Music Video: Memento Mori

Live Performance

Live at The Golden Dagger, 2022 (The Orbital Ice Cream Tour)

Live on Saturnae: Orbital Ice Cream: “Anti-Gravity” (livestream concert 3.27.21)

Live at House of Vans Chicago, 2023

Live on Saturnae: Orbital Ice Cream: “Orbital Ice Cream Theme Song” (livestream concert 10.30.2021)

Live on Saturnae: Orbital Ice Cream - Full show performance (livestream concert 10.30.2021)

Selected Press & Quotes

See Press Page for more Articles and Media

NÆ’s Push Button Future Tackles Consumerism with Dance-Pop - Scapi Magazine

“NÆ’s new album, Push Button Future is a dance-pop confection with a biting edge, commenting on modern-day issues of consumerism, commercialism, influencer culture. It’s bold, flashy, with elements of rap and EDM splashed throughout, skewering white privilege in a catchy way. ”

— Scapi Magazine

Get Your “Sugar Pumps (feat. Blizzle)” in NÆ’s Latest Music Video - BUZZ MUSIC

“NÆ promises to leave her audience with a prominent message in each release, comical or not... [the Sugar Pumps] music video truly resembles that of a hilarious Saturday Night Live skit, as NÆ gives us heavy Kate McKinnon vibes from beginning to end.”

— Buzz Music

Interview with synth pop artist nÆ - The What the Punk?! Podcast

“...Words, melody, fashion, and an obsession with dead shopping malls are the paints she uses to launch her pop music rebellion against stability. Could her debut album, Push Button Future be the clarion call for white women to shed the absurdity of a “privileged” existence and look for meaning outside of their “Sugar Pumps”? ”

— The What the Punk?! Podcast

Interview: NÆ Discusses The Release Of Her Brand New Album ‘Push Button Future’! - Fierce & Fabulous Revolution

“Up-and-coming singer-songwriter NÆ has caught the attention of listeners across the globe with her vibrantly charismatic multi-genre musical style & passion-filled vocals.”

— Fierce & Fabulous Revolution