Ever wondered why Thirdstate? The term seems out of the world, right?
In the electronic music scene, making it’s place with unique strategies and out-of-the-box music, of course! We got a chance to talk to Varun from the Thridstate about their music, artists, industry, event curation and what not!
Let us take you to the Thirdstate’s inner chat room.
Varun introduced Thirdstate as feeling the music through vibrations. As per him, vibration is a third state of the conscious mind. It was he and his two other friends, RJ and Vyoma, who began with Thirdstate on March 3, 2023, as electronic music artists. They dropped out of an organisation they worked in before as musicians and wanted to begin with something that represented them. He described RJ as an unwavering support and a strong backbone for Thirdstate while Vyoma is a crackhead who has the energy to pull off an event where she can take people to different zones in a swing with her music. He further talked about other team members, Wadjet has a childish quirk that brings quirkiness and light energy to the team, while Mocid is an experienced person who guides the team on the technicalities of the electronic music industry, owns a calm and soft aura, and plays the role of an elder person for all the team members. The team also has Koch, who is so proud of working in Thirdstate and can’t stop himself from talking about it wherever he goes. He is a really talented musician and is a valuable part of the team; Annabstract in the team has been a great support on the field; she is the one who has encouraged Varun to get out of his comfort zone so that he can work across his limits. Varun also mentioned his good friend Kabir Khera, who was the first person to support them when Thirdstate was just an idea. He says his contribution is valuable to him and to the organisation. Varun defines Thirdstate as a community of people who are working on things that are beyond the present, and they run on the fuel of passion for the work that they do. Now, the organisation is growing into a healthy family dedicated to the motto of creating music and creating more awareness of electronic music. “Thirdstate is the way of listening to music,” said Varun. His interpretation of music is more like therapy than a mere source of entertainment. He has made amazing bonds through it and considers his life to revolve around it. Music has helped him get out of his tough times, and he strongly believes that music has the power to bring people together. His motto is to make a safer space for people, for women who are artists or listeners, and he wishes to bring a transparent model to the electronic music scene to make it a more reliable and effective arena for the community to explore.
Varun envisions Thirdstate quite aspiringly, as he claims that Thirdstate as an organisation stands for whatever it says. It has a certain way of portraying the industry and remains firm with it. He further emphasized that Thirdstate is a closely-knit family where passion comes first rather than money or fame. They wish to set standards in the industry and are figuring out their ways to stay relevant in the market. They have been taking help from friends in the industry to move ahead with their agenda of making music while keeping a sense of warmth, openness, purity, and inclusiveness with their music as well as events.
Varun spoke to us about their I.P.s, where he mentioned Deep Fried as an amalgamation of food and music in a space where people enjoy and chill with their folks. There are small pop-ups, menu-tasting events, displays by home-grown brands, and good food for a time to remember for the people. Then he spoke about Euphoric and described it as a representation of Mocid. It has more lost and underground music elements with a line-up of rare artists and their unique sounds. Euphoric showcases more of the future of electronic music. He then described Last Supper as a fun part of Thirdstate. As the name suggests, it is considered to be breaking the last bread or having the beer after the last grind. It’s a space for people to enjoy light and happy music after their hectic and long working hours. Varun spoke about Rare, saying that it works like a touring agency for different artists from the global electronic music scene. Here, they focus on curating an exclusive show for one artist in India, where the artist is given a free space to play their music. They work on one show extensively to make it the best one and also build a community to create more awareness of the electronic music scene among the people. This also becomes a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the audience to cherish!
Thirdstate conducts various kinds of events, keeping themselves away from the boundaries of genres and subgenres of electronic music, hence carrying an umbrella for all kinds of electronic music and taking them ahead together, or to say they are putting their best foot forward to make it happen! As per Varun, every artist stands for their genre or the kind of music they create or play, and that’s how they become inspiration even for the Thirdstate! Thirdstate spends most of its time curating fresh line-ups of artists as well as music for electronic music enthusiasts, and this way they create opportunities for all. They do repeat artists, but only if they are incredibly extraordinary! They communicate with their artists to shed away their fear and play with a fresh mind without thinking about the people’s reactions. They are always up to take a risk and embrace the possibility of something new happening. In this process, Varun shared with us that artists also appreciate these kinds of efforts where collective growth is taking place and trends are looked at as new opportunities. The organisation is also looking for ways to find more partners in the business—venues that are like-minded as them and would support fulfilling their vision.
Talking about the support factor, Varun mentioned that they are getting there—not 100%, but they are building trust day by day. They are getting their fair share of recognition for the kind of work they are doing.
Till now, as per him, they have received more positive feedback on their events than negative ones. However, they take the negative ones seriously to get better. Varun also shared an incident with the team Oslava when they were experimenting throughout the show with different kinds of genres and people couldn’t relate to it. That day, they received complaints and disappointments from the audience. However, Varun also gave a reason for the lack of awareness of music among the people that makes them stuck to a particular kind of music.
When asked about challenges, he shared that the right education is the biggest problem in the electronic music industry! People are not that aware of music and events; it becomes tough to give out the right message out there. Another challenge is managing finances with such uncertainties and figuring out ways to curate unique events.
In our conversation, Varun also talked about the taboos attached to the electronic music scene in India, as the government still looks at it through that lens. There are questions about the culture, it’s wildness, and how people lose themselves in it. Abuse of various things is related to it, which makes it look even more ugly. In this case, finding the right mentor for guidance is a difficult task. Yet he has hopes as he witnesses times changing and people getting comfortable with the idea and coming forward to help aspiring artists. Varun emphasizes the unity of the community to make something revolutionary.
Thirdstate wishes to grow as an artist agency where artists get their share of opportunities and reach more people. In the future, they envision conducting their festival with their own kind of charm. The organisation is approaching rare artists who have the potential to introduce a new element through their music. “We want to keep curating and experimenting more. We are learning from our mistakes, from the good and bad people that we have met, and we are building a larger community,” said Varun. As per him, in the next 10 years, they will be doing fewer events but will deliver quality ones. They have never been at the back of creating a large number of events but curating the impactful ones!
For the upcoming artists in the industry, Varun has a message: “Keep an open mind and be generous with your art. Music is more about giving and being humble about it, as that’s what is going to refine your craft.”. He believes music is nature’s gift, and it comes to those who are humble in their lives.