BAND HISTORY
BAND HISTORY
Nastia was formed in early 2011 by a group of music diploma students from ASWARA — Leo Azman (Vocals), Nemo (Guitar), Adzim (Bass), Nik (Drums), and Rudy (Guitar).
What began as a casual intention to form a band quickly escalated when they came across a flyer for Suria Showdown, an inter-campus music competition organised by Suria FM. Nastia decided to participate, partly to challenge themselves and assess their musical potential.
During the two-month competition period, the band wrote their first original song, "Teman Semati". Together with a cover of Sheila Majid's "Dia", the song was performed at the Suria Showdown finals at KL Sentral on 19 March 2011, where Nastia successfully secured 2nd place. This achievement and date is officially recognised as the band's founding day.
After the competition, the band began shaping their musical direction. Each member carried contrasting influences — Leo leaned towards Hip Hop, Nemo towards D'Masiv-style pop rock, Nik towards Malay pop rock ballads, Adzim towards Rock, while Rudy explored Classic Rock and the Indonesian band, Padi.
In April 2011, Nik stepped down due to commitments with White Percussion Unit. His departure opened the door for Taqi Ahmad, a junior ASWARA music student, to join the band.
Taqi's entry profoundly influenced Nastia's evolving identity. He encouraged the band to explore sounds reminiscent of Coldplay and Keane, noting similarities in Nastia's early demos — Maha Indah, Hapus Kesalku, Tujuh, and Prolog — which carried a UK alternative rock flavour.
Released 25 September 2011. Only 66 physical copies produced.
Shortly after a performance in Balik Pulau, Penang, on 1 October 2011, Nemo announced his departure. The news was emotionally heavy, particularly for Leo and Rudy, who viewed Nemo as a core element of the band's guitar foundation. Despite the heartbreak, the band respected his decision.
Zach — an accordionist and keyboardist with a strong foundation in traditional music and a passion for Rock & Roll (influenced by The Sigit & The Changcuters) — had been closely attached and supportive of the band since day one, even living with some of the members.
In November 2011, Zach officially joined Nastia as a guitarist and immediately took part in the recording of the band's second EP, Xpresi.
The EP featured five tracks: Anggur, Hanyut, Pastel, Kosong, and Xpresi. Drum tracks were recorded at Music Workshop Studio, vocals at ASWARA Studio and Taqi's home studio, while the rest of the production was completed DIY at Nastia's house in Segambut.
One of the biggest challenges was financial constraint — the band lacked RM500 for CD printing. As a result, they manually burned all 500 CDs using laptops in a marathon 18-hour session.
29 March 2012 marked the official release of the Xpresi EP. Despite the printing efforts, media coverage of the EP was minimal. The only consistent media support came from ROTTW Magazine, which featured, reviewed, and rated Xpresi with an impressive 3.5/4 score.
Financial constraints and limited exposure eventually triggered the departure of Adzim (20 August 2012) and the news that Taqi would be leaving for further studies in London. The band entered a period of emotional and creative burnout.
Throughout 2012, Rudy frequently tweeted promotional messages about Nastia to AG Coco and other artists — all without response. Unexpectedly, a single tweet addressed to the late Adibah Noor caught AG's attention in October 2012.
AG — at the time one of Malaysia's most in-demand young producers known for his work with Hafiz Suip, Yuna, Tomok, and Hujan — invited Nastia to his studio and offered them a recording deal under Kamar Seni.
This also marked the first meeting between Leo, Rudy, Zach, and Jenk, then the drummer for Faizal Tahir's Royal FT Force and a frequent collaborator of AG.
With renewed momentum, Nastia secured their first OST placement with the short film Hawa, using their song Pastel. Another song, Anggur, was selected for the telemovie Budak Flat Jalan Bayan.
The band recorded nine songs plus an intro, including re-recorded versions of Anggur, Pastel, and Kosong. During the demo sessions, AG proposed a duet between Leo and Liyana Fizi, creating one of the most memorable emotional highlights of the album's production.
Zach played bass on the album while consistently performing keys for live shows. The band developed a strong working relationship with Jenk, who handled much of the drum work.
The first single, Kisah Kita, received a warm reception and led to small gigs, carnivals, and indie festival appearances. Nastia also made their first TV appearance on KLTV (Homegrown).
On 29 September 2014, Esok Belum Tiba was released digitally, followed by physical CDs distributed by FMC. The title track gained strong recognition and was often pitched for drama OSTs.
On 21 March 2015, Nastia held their first showcase at KLPAC, attended by 400–500 people, with Liyana Fizi appearing as a guest performer.
From 2014–2016, Nastia entered a heavy touring phase — balancing indie gigs, corporate shows, and media appearances.
HLive (Astro) recognition for their craft and sound.
"Pastel" in Hawa & "Anggur" in Budak Flat Jalan Bayan.
21 March 2015 — 400–500 attendees, featuring Liyana Fizi.
The Breakthrough
In late 2016, Nastia was approached by Faizal Tahir to produce a single. The band proposed a 5-year-old demo titled Jatuh, later renamed Rapuh. They signed with Faithful Music as the label, with Warner Music handling management.
Before recording began, the band invited Adzim to rejoin — which he did. Rapuh was recorded with guest drummer Jenk and released in January 2017, with the music video following in May.
Rapuh achieved mainstream breakthrough, leading to university tours and frequent TV appearances.
Yet despite the commercial success of the song, the band itself remained unfamiliar to the public — resulting in media remarks such as:
"Popular song, unknown band." — MStar
Due to this, internal tensions grew between Nastia, Faithful Music, and Warner Music. However, a second single, Untuk Kamu, was recorded with the same team.
By June 2018, due to prolonged conflict, Nastia formally requested to be released from the label — and the request was granted. A month later, the band held a small showcase, Kembali Indie, at ATAS by Bijan, marking their return to the independent scene. AG Coco also performed with them.
After years of hoping to bring Jenk onboard permanently, the band finally invited him following the Kembali Indie — only to learn that Hujan was also scouting for a new drummer and was seriously considering him.
The decision was emotionally difficult, as both offers came from close friends and represented different musical paths. Ultimately, Jenk chose Nastia, saying the connection and "soul" he felt with the band since 2012 was irreplaceable.
With Jenk officially joining, the band began writing new materials including Tanpamu, Sang Geran Cinta, Jiwa-Jiwa Ku Sanjung, and Puteri.
Tanpamu originated from Jenk's musical sketches and featured his synth solo and chord progression ideas, which became key elements of the final production.
In 2019, Adzim left the band again to focus on work back at his hometown. Zach assumed the responsibility for bass duties for both studio and live shows.
On 1st of February 2020, Tanpamu was released, with its music video premiering at Angkasa Space Cheras before an audience of 200.
Soon after, the COVID-19 pandemic halted all activities. Leo and Zach returned to their hometowns, and the band went into a near two-year freeze. Their final pre-hiatus performance was at Angkasa Online Fest (July 2020).
A live release, Nastia Live @ Black & White Sessions (Vol. 3), was published before the band entered a full hibernation period.
In July 2022, an event organiser who happens to be a close friend invited Nastia to perform at Angkasa Riot, a fundraising event to cover a council-imposed fine on Angkasa Space.
Nastia accepted the invitation, marking their highly anticipated comeback. The show was held at Panggung Asia, Gombak, drawing around 300–400 attendees.
It became an emotional milestone — symbolising the band's re-emergence after years of silence.