Bharat Bindal, known as Starlab comes from the national capital of the country, Delhi and belongs to a family of musicians and music teachers. He is someone who loves traveling and exploring different cultures. This helps him to make music and currently, he is trying to establish a studio of his own in Goa and looks forward to collaborations. Starlab takes his inspiration from different forms of music where he experiments with artists of various genres and backgrounds to create a community of music. He has his roots in Hindustani Classical background and that has impacted his work hugely. He got the knowledge of music early in his life and that sowed the seed of music in his mind at a time when he wasn’t very aware of the field. It’s the melodies and rhythms of Classical Music that have enabled him to feel the “Psychedelic” part of the electronic music. He took inspiration from The Beatles, Zeppelin, Floyd, etc for creating his music.
Starlab got into Rock and Metal in his teenage period and used to play bass guitar in some prominent bands in Delhi and after a point branched out to make his music on his terms. Unaware about which direction to head, he just had a profound experience at Psychedelic beach party in Goa and this helped him to end his search for creating his music. After this, he realised he needed to learn music software and work on his craft.
It was in 2012 when he went to The States to study music in San Francisco and felt quite empowered to be surrounded by professional teachers, equipment and peers who came from different backgrounds with similar goals and thoughts on music. The Bay Area was a hub for various types of music and art forms there, something that he had never seen before. He made friends with the Psy crew there – PULSE SF and started DJing for them at parties and festivals all over California. This gave him experience and knowledge in production and he wished to work more on his skills.
Starlab has played at festivals like Boom, OZORA and Universo Paralello and that experience has helped him to get his spotlight in terms of music festivals! He dreams for every Psytrance producer to make their way to these festivals as it’s an experience of it’s kind. He likes to take different elements from these stages and use them in his music to make it more better for the crowd.
Collaboration is something that helps Starlab to polish his skills and it helps him to learn from the top tier artists on production as well as marketing. This way he is also able to reach to wider range of audiences and deliver his best work to the world. He emphasised that he likes to work with artists with whom he resonates and the ones he respects. He believes that collaborations are a great form of learning and strengthening friendships.
Starlab takes his inspiration from his past sets and festival experiences. Intaking the crowd’s energy and figuring out on what works and what does not, fulfills his aim of bringing something new to the dancefloor. He enjoys remixing tracks as it interests him on a different level. He sticks to the original track’s hooks while remixing and adds his touch to it so that it remains recognisable for the crowd.
As per Starlab, Psytrance is flourishing globally now and it’s a genre that was never a fad but a way of life. Though it has been commercialised too yet it’s vibe remains the same. He also mentioned how Covid affected the condition of music festivals and gigs but he also hopes to see Indian producers representing electronic music in big festivals.
Starlab believes that music is the way of seeing the world and having life experiences. This is what drives him every day to go to the studio and work on his sound with each track to add quality to his live sets. The moment he sees people jumping on his music gives him a boost and motivates him to keep working more on his craft.
To all the aspiring electronic music producers, Starlab words are “Focus more on the music rather than just on image & social media. Don’t just follow trends, be original and remember the music is always bigger than yourself”.
Currently, Starlab is working on his new music for the summer season, a new solo track and a couple of collaborations that he is looking forward to but can’t disclose now. He is also experimenting with his music at this point and might announce a new project soon. Apart from that he is excited about his performance in the UK, this August for a huge festival and his Europe Tour, this winter. For New Year’s Eve, he is going to perform in Thailand at a new festival by Free Earth called Sola Luna.