Delhi-based musician Sartek ditches the electronic beats to reimagine folk tunes

International DJ Hardwell had once called Sartek the future of Indian EDM, but now the Delhi-based artiste is stepping out of his comfort zone and exploring different tunes.

“The first love will always be EDM. This concept arose during the lockdown, when concerts and gigs were halted and the audience’s attention was drawn away from preppy dance numbers and onto soothing soulful music. Also, with the rise in popularity of streaming services, I decided to broaden my horizons by experimenting with other sounds,” says Sartek, adding, “After going back and forth with my projects, I realised that I was actually good within the Indian-folk electronica sounds, also since few others were doing so I decided to take a step in this direction”.

In this new journey, he is expanding his horizons, starting with electronica renditions in Ajeeb Khoj, which comes with Hindi vocals and a dance music mood. “My newfound adoration of Indian folk vocals was a huge influence. One night, I was just listening to a random playlist when I came across a few folk songs with very profound lyrics but lacked high production quality mainly because of the fact that they were recorded before new sound enhancing techniques were developed. So I chose my favourites, had them reimagined, and packaged them,” he shares.

Opening up about his new direction, the Delhi-based DJ producer says, “I’ve always assumed that I can only create dance floor tracks with an electronic feel. In recent years, I’ve been working hard to go out of my comfort zone and attempt something different, than what I usually do. In this journey, I am proud of myself for discovering my diversity, which has given me the courage to pursue more projects that are not necessarily influenced by electronic dance music in the future”.

New calling doesn’t mean he has quit EDM. “In the coming decade, I believe there will be a significant growth in the number of electronic music producers. This is evident from the fact that house music has a strong influence even in Bollywood now. I also conduct an academy in partnership with Sunburn Festival, and we are always thrilled to see the increase in the number of enrolments every months,” says Sartek, who has opened for Justin Bieber, AP Dhillon, Hardwell, Martin Garrix, Axwell and Steve Aoki among others during their India tour.