MUMBAI: Sartek is one of the few DJs from India, who started in his career in a non-Indian market and now decided to make his debut in India. After having captured hearts in international audiences, Sartek explains why he took so long to debut in India, “I was really happy and content doing international music without actually being too concerned what's happening in the Indian scene. But seeing the sudden rise of Punjabi singers and a lot of electronic influence in Bollywood music, I actually decided to give a try and see how it goes. The response has been phenomenal and I wish to do more stuff for the local market.”

DJ Sartek is ecstatic about his debut here as he says, “It's opened a complete market to me. I have a new fan base which is now expecting me to do more of Punjabi and Hindi music. Plus, now even the elders at home can relate what I'm actually doing”, he says with glee.

Continuing, “The DJ market in India is still very strong with Punjabi and Bollywood music hence it has opened a new avenue for performances.” 

About his track in Hindi Thug Ranjha Sartek shares, “I was approached by Sony Music to remix this track as they wanted an artist producing international dance music to remix it so it gets a fresh vibe. I was hesitant at first but when I heard the vocals I really liked them and thought I could do a justice to the track. Sony Music gave me a super positive feedback as they really thought it's a good retouch to the original.”

Simultaneously, Sartek is coming up with his new venture in an international market, “I got my career breakthrough when Hardwell started playing my music in his sets. So, every year I make it a point to try and release something these labels like (labels like Hardwell’s Revealed Recordings that are tastemakers themselves). Don't Stop is a dance floor energetic track with big room vibes. It's a proper EDM concert track with big synths and hard electro drop.”

Now that he has worked in both markets, he can identify the similarities in Indian and international music industries. “Even though EDM is booming in India, the Indian market is still inclined towards Bollywood and Punjabi music. Most of the DJs play local commercial music. So to grow as music producer/artist in India one needs to make and release music for masses as now the streaming services like Saavn and Wynk are doing a great job in promoting local talent,” he says.

While for International music industry he adds, “Internationally electro dance music has become saturated as they have got enough of it lately. Now the new trend is making pop music with an electronic dance music feel to it. So, to stay relevant in an international market I do release a track with English vocals once in a few months which are followed by heavy support from other big producers and DJs around the world.” 

Basking in the success of Thug Ranjha remix, Sartek shares his future plans, “After the success of Thug Ranjha remix, a lot of labels are interested to work with me and asking me to remix their old hits. So yes, you can expect a few more remixes before this year ends. Internationally I just signed a new ‘EDM Track’ to a Korean label. I wanted to open my market in South East Asia hence I decided to do a track for them. This one is scheduled to release in August.”