Filipino-born indie pop/soul artist Natassja Kelly blends warm soul influences with the dreamy textures of bedroom pop. Witness her latest single Something That Feels Real and its accompanying music video, for which she received New Music Pan-Asian funding in June last year. NZ On Air Music also included the mood-up slow groove on their February NewTracks compilation.
Kia ora / Kamusta! My full name is Natassja Kelly Mancebo Medina, I’m 22 years old and I use she/they pronouns. I was born in Quezon City, Philippines and moved here to Rotorua when I was six. Currently I’m based in Kirikiriroa / Hamilton, after moving here when I was 12 years old.
I’ve been playing both guitar and piano since I was seven years old, after begging my parents to buy me a guitar. I wouldn’t call myself an absolute maestro at either of those instruments, but I definitely know enough to write songs on them! I’ve dabbled in playing percussion instruments for my high school orchestra at Hamilton Girls’ and if I see them, I’ll pick up a ukulele and bass guitar for a jam.
I’ve worked with Christchurch-local, Harry Burt on a track we released in 2024 called Overdue. Other than that, I don’t think so!
I had always dreamed of being a full-time musician since I was young. It wasn’t until the end of 2021, after my first year at university, when I decided to actually pursue it. There was a small songwriting contest that I had won in the Waikato, where I was given the chance to record two singles for free at The Porch Recording Studio.
Pretty much since then, I have been so incredibly lucky to have been given the opportunity to release and share music yearly! I got to meet and connect with so many beautiful people through this artform.
I currently study a Bachelor of Business, majoring in Marketing and a minor in Music at Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato (the University of Waikato). I used to major in Music a couple of years ago, but found it extremely draining for my creative endeavours outside of study, hence the switch. (Fun fact: I first majored in Software Engineering when I was fresh out of high school! Meaning I’ve switched degrees twice… I am living proof it takes time to figure out what you want to do with your studies, and that it’s okay to switch pathways!)
It would definitely be my EP release show at Last Place in August 2025. I got to play my tunes with my gorgeous and talented friends in a band together with the best and most supportive crowd ever. It was my first time actually playing the full EP (and some other treats) live with a band. It was an incredible first experience! Granted the lead up to it was SO nerve-wracking. The band only had one full rehearsal together before the actual gig, but everything went smoother than expected and it was super fun to just be able to jam out some banger tunes with my mates.
The track is definitely a stand out from other singles I’ve released in general actually! I’ve been wanting to create music like this for a long time. When we made the first demo, on the drive home all I could think about was, ‘This is exactly the type of music that I want to keep sharing.’ So choosing this as my next single was a no-brainer. It was just a bonus that it ended up getting chosen for NZOA funding! Playing and making tunes like this makes my heart feel like I’m doing something right with my music. Plus, who doesn’t love a good foot-tapper?
One of my favourite bands at the moment is Couch, who do such a dreamy blend of pop, R&B and soul. I had their song, Alright stuck in the back of my brain for weeks before sending it to Auckland producer Christian Tjandrawinata, along with the message, “Keen on writing something with this vibe?”
Christian laid down a similar chord progression to the track and I immediately started writing down lyrics and melodies that came to mind.
I wanted the track to feel exactly like waking up and feeling grateful you have someone you can love, and in turn you start feeling grateful for everything. It’s flirty, it’s fun and it’s bright!
There’s a little run the guitar does in the second verse that I absolutely adore. It’s right when the lyric, “There’s no hiding it,” plays. I think it’s a cool little detail that you don’t really notice in the grand scheme of things but adds a lot to the verse musically!
I actually wrote most of Something That Feels Real in one day! I had time with Christian at his home studio at the end of December in 2024. We pretty much wrote the bulk of it and did a rough demo of the song in one day before I drove back down to Hamilton. The demo ended up being one of my favourites out of the tracks that Christian and I had worked on together, and wrote a bridge a couple months later while we were finishing the song at Parachute Studios. It’s really cool and refreshing to write an upbeat track like this one, given I usually write slower tunes.
Honestly, I want people to have a good time when they listen to the track. It’s supposed to be a feel-good tune. Something to chuck on queue while you have the windows rolled down and you’re driving down the motorway type-beat. Lyrically, it’s so incredibly cliché and purposefully cringe enough to make it as happy as it is. So, enjoy it! Groove to it! Chuck her on for a good time!
Christian first messaged me a few odd years ago, wanting to collaborate before we first did my single, Missing Socks together in 2023. We knew each other through mutual friends, so collaborating was a long time coming! Christian and I were lucky and grateful to have received the NZOA Development funding in 2024, which led to some gorgeous tracks done in a few sessions up in Auckland. Something That Feels Real was born during these sessions.
Working with him was absolutely incredible, I love watching him do his thing and bring my music to life! I got to co-write with Jeremiah Fale (HALES) during my time up in Auckland too. Something That Feels Real was the only one I wrote lyrically on my own!
At present I do most of the work on my own! I’m grateful to have Christian and Noah Page as producers and mentors I work with often. I look after most of my own management and marketing, which is a lot on my plate as a full-time student! It definitely feels like I’m doing more administration tasks than the actual making of music as a musician as an independent artist, but I do it for the love of the game. I just feel lucky I get to work with talented people all the time!
‘canyoufeelitafterwards?’ was a love letter to my past self who’s been saying, “I’m working towards an EP” for the last five years! It was such a big weight off my shoulders when it was released to the world and I’m super proud of it.
One key thing I learned was that good things really do take their time. I’m glad I took the time to sit down and choose a tracklist that I was proud of and wanted to share with the world. There were definitely versions of the EP with a whole different set of tracks that will never see the light of day now. Which is okay, because looking back, I wouldn’t have been proud of those old versions. The main goal for the EP was to share music that I truly loved making, and I believe I reached that goal perfectly.
I am actually planning towards a release of my next EP some time this year. Hopefully sooner rather than later. These were the tracks I worked on with Christian and HALES alongside Something That Feels Real. I’m just super excited to share music again with everyone.
My 2023 single, Isn’t It Nice? gathered the most streams on Spotify out of my current discography. I actually didn’t expect the single to blow up as much as it did. I believe it’s currently at about 30k+ streams on Spotify which is unreal to think about! There was no real release plan behind it either, so it was a pleasant surprise to see the numbers going up so rapidly. I did make silly little tiktoks with the song almost every day, which did gain it a lot of attention.
Kyla Greening: My Life
Jaedyn Randell: Little More Time
HALES: Revolve
This is actually my first time featured on NewTracks, which is super exciting!
Make connections! I applied for this same fund a couple years ago and was given feedback by people I knew on the panel on my initial application for the next time I wanted to apply. It goes a long way to actually know what they’re looking for, instead of blindly applying and hoping for the best. Honestly, just knowing the right people can point you in the right direction of resources and opportunities you wouldn’t have heard about otherwise.
Not gonna lie, the only thing I watch on YouTube are barbershop quartets and choruses (nerd alert). My most watched YouTube channel for 2025 was actually Barbershop Harmony Society’s channel! I love me some shop.
The music video team consisted of my very talented and wonderful friends, Ella Rollo, Natasha/Satsuki Dall, John Chua and Alex Lai. We did the whole shoot up in Tāmaki Makaurau, where Ella, Natasha and John are based. I previously worked with this team for the MV for Missing Socks too! Natasha and I went to high school and took a Media Studies class together. I remember us dreaming about making a music video together in the future, so being able to professionally work with her twice now is a dream come true!
The shoot itself was super fun but oh my goodness it was an incredibly hot day! In between takes, I would touch up my makeup since I would practically sweat it off after each run through. The whole experience was something I’ll always cherish though. Making and sharing music is always more fun when you get to do it with your friends.
I wouldn’t call it a secret as I’m constantly singing and making music in my room, haha! In all seriousness, most of the artists I listened to from high school till about now definitely fit the “bedroom-pop” bill, so no doubt I was heavily influenced by them. There’s something about the genre that feels so homely to me, I think I’ve always liked its sound growing up.
I just wanted to thank everyone who has supported me on my musical journey – my pamilya (family), my friends, and my community. Thank you to everyone who streamed and played my songs. Lastly, thank you to NZOA for the opportunities and the support they’ve given me! I wouldn’t be able to say that I’m living my lifelong dream without all this. I love making music!
