An anxiety-ridden DJ was desperate to stay anonymous but claims fans loved his music so much they FORCED him to reveal himself.
Kartik Desai, known as DSAI, burst onto the scene earlier this year when his debut single BLOODRUSH racked up six million streams on YouTube and was played across Europe.
The 23-year-old released the hit under the name DSAI with no image attached in a bid to keep his real identity under wraps.
But when the catchy EDM hit was repeatedly streamed and played at festivals and in clubs this summer, Kartik says fans were clamouring to know the man behind the pseudonym.
After repeated requests to put a face to the name poured in on his social media pages Kartik, initially reluctantly, did so and hasn’t looked back.
Kartik, from Las Vegas, Nevada, US, said: “I started as a visual artist on Instagram where I was faceless.
“I used royalty-free music and then started putting my own music into that earlier this year and that’s when people first started asking where the music was from.
“The biggest issue was I was just too scared. I’d built such a big audience on Instagram and I was afraid to put out my own music.
“The first big hit was called BLOODRUSH, that was huge. I had terrible social anxiety, I was so scared 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 that I had to.
“On the art track of the original upload people were asking who I was, did I have any other music.
“I was scared people wouldn’t like the music, which is why I stayed anonymous.
“When I found out people would actually stay for my music that made me say ‘screw it I’m going to put my face out there’.
“It was a bit nerve wracking even though I knew people liked my music.
“It felt weird putting my face and name out there because I knew I wasn’t hidden anymore. But for the most part I got lucky as it was positive feedback.”
The success of ‘cinematic’ BLOODRUSH inspired Kartik to create more music, including ones that evoke ‘nostalgic’ childhood memories.
Kartik said: “My interest in making music started in high school when I was 18.
“Martin Garrix inspired me, I fell in love with Animals. It made me want to understand how he made it, there are so many different elements in it.
“The sounds I use now invoke a lot of memories and missing a time you can’t go back to.
“Fans get a feeling of nostalgia that ties the music to a certain time in their life.
“You hear the song and think back to all the good or bad times you had in your life. I describe my music as sad dance music that’s very nostalgic and pretty emotional.”
