Ukrainian Nastia, Artbat duo land on world’s best DJs list

DJ Nastia and Artbat duo have done it again.

The U.K.’s DJ Magazine, also known as DJ Mag, released its annual Top 100 Alternative DJs list, with the Ukrainian musicians in the rankings for the second year in a row. 

Anastasia Topolskaia, known as DJ Nastia, one of Ukraine’s most known techno DJs, was 54th in 2020 and jumped to 29th in this year’s ranking.

“I haven’t asked anyone to vote for me,” Topolskaia wrote on her Instagram. “Twenty-one places up in a year means I do it right and you like it, which is what’s most important.”

It’s no surprise that Topolskaia has risen up the ranks. This year the artist continued to play gigs around the world and released the second season of the Scary Beautiful project through her label, Nechto.

The Scary Beautiful series is an audiovisual music project where Topolskaia is filmed playing sets with unreleased music from international producers in fascinating locations. Her sets have been played at the abandoned Morozovsky coal mine, Chornobyl exclusion zone, mysterious Tarakanivsky Fort, the Carpathian Mountains and the ArcelorMittal steel factory.  

Topolskaia also placed 47th on the magazine’s “The next 50” list, which mentions artists who didn’t make it into the main Top 100 DJs but came the closest.

The DJ was one of the winners of the Kyiv Post’s Top 30 Under 30 awards in 2016. The award celebrates young Ukrainian leaders from all walks of life.

Other Topics of Interest

Ukrainian Musical Breakthrough

Not only has the war led to greater visibility for Ukrainian culture, it has also spurred musicians to compose works that convey the nation’s current struggle, pain and hope.

Meanwhile, the Artbat duo consisting of Artur Kryvenko and Vitalii Limarenko dropped 2 spots, to 42nd place. 

French DJ David Guetta, who yet again topped this year’s Top 100 DJs, had previously told DJ Mag that he was a fan of Artbat and called them rising stars in 2020. 

Last year’s list also included Ukrainian DJ Miss K8 who had been steadily rising up the list since 2014 but didn’t end up on the list at all in 2021. 

Belgian techno artist Charlotte de Witte topped the Alternative Top 100 DJs for the second year in a row after toppling the previous champion Carl Cox. DJs Claptone, Peggy Gou and Boris Brejcha ranked behind her. 

DJ Mag’s Top 100 lists have been published since 1993. As the ranking kept being dominated by electronic dance music and trance, the magazine expanded the list by launching the alternative list in 2018 to recognize DJs of other genres of electronic music. The lists are selected through public polls.