New Zealand's Villette Dasha Is The 'One-Woman Band' Set To Make It Big In 2018

Could New Zealand's Villette Dasha be the next big thing? The label reps at Sony Music think so - fervently arranging interviews in December, Christmas party season, for Dasha's inaugural mixtape, Drip Crimson, out via Melbourne label Valve Sounds. Even Taylor Swift might envy such promotional commitment.

But, in Dasha's case, the hype is to be believed. This self-proclaimed "one-woman band" (she's a singer, songwriter, rapper, producer and DJ) has created a slinky set of avant-soul with subliminal electronic textures and a hip-hop spirit. "I'm just excited for it to finally come out," Dasha admits. "I'm really interested in what people want to take from it and how they perceive it; I'm just really looking forward to that part of it."

In fact, the week of release, Dasha, a Red Bull Sound Select artist, has flown to Los Angeles. "I'm working with Red Bull to make a video for a song that's coming out in February, so that's really exciting," she explains. In 2016 Red Bull arranged for the Aucklander to support AlunaGeorge in the US.

Dasha was born to musician parents who met while gigging in the same band. Her first name is symbolic and prescient. "My Mum named me Villette 'cause it means 'strong and determined'," Dasha laughs. "I think it makes for a good artist name as well!"

While her career has gained momentum in a short time, in some ways Dasha was a reluctant prodigy. "When I was about 12, I was doing singing-songwriting with a guitar and entering different competitions and stuff like that, but they never really took me anywhere," she recollects before adding, "I don't think I took it very seriously." In her late teens, however, Dasha's focus changed. She moved from Hamilton, on the North Island, to Auckland, where she studied electronic production (and gave beats to the Hermitude-affiliated MC Young Tapz). Dasha also picked up DJing, only to outgrow it. "I think the lifestyle for a DJ just didn't suit me, 'cause I wasn't happy spending all my nights, from Thursday to Sunday, in a club around drunk people and stuff. It didn't feel like me. I felt like my personal life was pretty rough during that time." She returned to singer-songwriter mode, albeit producing her own music. Dasha shared songs on SoundCloud and became a blog fave. Her break-out track was Beige.

In November, Dasha - who'd previously toured Australia with sometime collaborator UV Boi - appeared at Melbourne Music Week, performing in front of St Paul's Cathedral alongside other Valve Sounds-endorsed acts including Baro. So what about a full Australian tour? "Probably next year, probably 2018, maybe around the middle of the year," Dasha responds. Luckily, we have Drip Crimson for now.