The Lowdown
- Name: Anastasiya Muravyeva
- School: Steinhardt ’19
- Major: Media, Culture, Communication with Business of Entertainment, Media, and Technology Minor
- Hometown: Germantown, Maryland
HC: Anastasiya, you DJ’d at almost all of the 2015 Welcome Week Parties. Can you tell me more about this experience? How did you get your name out there in the first place?
AM: Basically when I was a freshman going into sophomore year (of high school), I knew a guy named Philip who was a photographer and editor at the website DJ List and now works at Universal Music. We became really good friends and he invited me to one of the festivals. I had never been on the industry side so going back and meeting the DJs was so great.The thought of being a DJ had never crossed my mind honestly, but as I became more and more interested, I realized that I did have the connections to learn and branch out. So, I told my parents I wanted a DJ mixer for Christmas, and I got one. The months following I literally locked myself in my bedroom day and night, trying to learn how to work it. After some time passed, I went to a show in the city and met another photographer named Constantine, who is one of my best friends now. He started bringing me out to NYC and helped me build my network. Networking and being a memorable person were the most important things to me. I stayed in contact with everyone I met, and became close to the people who run EDM NYC, and they helped me get small gigs at Pacha. And it was at one of these events where I met the owner of Omicon Entertainment who asked me to sign with them- so I did. Omicon hosts all the Welcome Week shows, so that’s how I became involved in that.
HC: What was your favorite Welcome Week party, and why?
AM: I’m going to have to go with Glow because that was actually where I ended up making one of my most important connections. I met the co-owner of the dance cruise Bounce Boat. I’ve been on Bounce Boat quite frequently, and in the past they have booked a lot of my favorite DJs. We ended up becoming really good friends, and it was such a good opportunity to branch out and network.
HC: Aside from this, you were an internationally ranked fencer. Could you tell me more about your fencing career at home and here at NYU?
AM: Before DJing, fencing was my life. I practiced five hours a day, and my dad was my coach. When I wasn’t practicing, I was at competitions. So, that was my life for 12 years before NYU recruited me – which was life changing. It’s also neat that we’re the only Division One team. We actually had our first competition over the weekend, and I miraculously ended up being the only freshman to medal, coming in 5th out of 85 people. Because I took a year and a half off, I have to continue to practice hard to get to where I was though. I always know there’s room for improvement.
HC: What do you want to do with your MCC degree?
AM: I really love marketing. When I look at things and products, I always find myself wondering why products are marketed the way they are, and assessing the psychological factors of why we find certain things appealing. I just find it all so interesting. I feel like I really enjoy branding as well, and making the public immersed in whatever [product] needs branding. I’m all about the aesthetic so any field in marketing, strategic planning, or social media platforms in the arts or entertainment industry looks promising. Eventually I want to work for a company like Ultra Music and serve as the head of their PR department, or maybe even open my own PR/Marketing firm.
HC: What’s the biggest misconception people have of you?
AM: People think I’m really established. And I do have a somewhat of a network and small name for myself, but people really overestimate it. I think people give me way too much credit. I remember during Welcome Week people in the elevator would recognize me as the Anastasiya from the Facebook group. Attention actually makes me feel really uncomfortable because it pressures me to live up to everyone’s expectations. I want people to know that I’m no different than any other person. I mean, I spend ninety percent of my time watching shows on Netflix.
HC: Three words to describe your ideal significant other?
AM: I don’t have three words but three requirements actually. 1. He has to be able to pull off wearing all black and white shoes. 2. He has to take me on dates to art galleries, so basically he has to be a connoisseur of the arts. 3. He has to have depth and experience. I had a really tough childhood so I want someone I can really connect with intellectually.
HC: What’s your favorite song at the moment?
AM: LSD by ASAP Rocky. Ever since Hotline Bling came out, I’ve been super into hip hop/rap. And I’m glad I am, because it’s a subculture I really need to start out branching into. Honestly though, I usually end up just putting on Apple music, listening to whatever comes up.
HC: Lastly, can you tell me more about your very first upcoming project, Rebirth?
AM: Originally it was just going to be a blog about my life and experience in New York. But soon enough, everyone started blogging, so I wanted to do something different. Then I came to NYU and met all these incredibly talented people. I began to think, what if we brought all these people together to support one another, share networks, and have events to promote each other’s art? It’s still in the baby stages, and we’re still looking for talent- whether that be graphic designers, photographers, screenwriters, writers, videographers, musicians, etc. Rebirth is collective so we’re all under one name. We all use this network to help each other and build our own name while breaking the barrier of industrial competition, and instead building a sense of community.
Follow Anastasiya on social media!
- Facebook: Anastasiya Muravyeva
- Instagram: stasiyaofficial
- Twitter: stasiyaofficial
- Soundcloud: stasiyaofficial
- Snapchat: anastasiyam