SMOKE & MIRRORS
Stark D's narrative behind Super Asymmetry
by Holly Havelock
Source - MORE THAN JUST MUSIC
For face value the music industry is often perceived as web of ample opportunities for creative musical talents to climb the ladder to success, but remove the commercial layer of fame and glamour, and some may say you’ll find a deep chasm of dead-ends and difficulties when trying to find your way as an artist.
Whilst this may not be the case for everyone, there are some artists who have endured struggles with industry politics throughout their musical careers which, as a result have impacted harshly on their mental health.
DJ, Music producer and audio engineer Diego (Stark D) spoke to More Than Just Music about his own experiences and battles with depression within the music industry, which in turn became the narrative behind the release of his 2019 deep tech/melodic tech album ‘Super Asymmetry’; an album produced to raise awareness around mental health issues within the DJ’ing scene.
“It’s a reflex of my struggles and wakeup call during my darkest moments in life” Stark D explained.
Having moved to the U.K. from Brazil in 2007 with the purpose of studying electronic music, Stark D said, “I produce deep house and techno but my history in electronic music comes from Drum and Bass (DnB) which is why I chose England to study music”.
However, he was advised by his management to cross over into the house music scene in 2009 after having a club residency playing DnB.
Despite his passion and love for the DnB scene he explained “My manager one day came and sat down with me and said I think you should invest into house music/deep house because even though you love DnB and you came to England to learn about it, there is no money in it”.
He continued “In the U.K if you think about it, you have house music everywhere from radio to TV and wherever you go you have house music present.
“In the U.K. it is one of the main genres of music.
“I got really frustrated in the beginning because it was really difficult to get to know the new artists because I was really into DnB”.
Speaking in more depth about difficult situations he’s faced as an artist in the house music industry, Stark D said “Unfortunately the music industry is built up on top of a fairytale.
“There are lots of gurus online encouraging people to do x, y and z and saying you can become a huge artist if you invest in PR or if you invest in marketing it can make you huge and blah blah blah but unfortunately over the last 20 years, I’ve been seeing a situation where the music industry doesn’t always work on discovering new artists”.
Stark explained how he was approached by a record label early on in his deep house/techno music career and asked if he wanted to release music with them for a fee.
Having paid out of his own pocket for the release of his own music, it only remained in shops for a single month before being taken off shelf and never sold again.
He said “Since then I have been seeing lots of similar situations happening with other artists.
“This certain side of the music industry always works towards making the clubs richer and the DJs poorer.
“It’s exploitation. They call it an opportunity but it’s not really an opportunity at all.”
Stark explained how these circumstances inspired him to share his opinion on the truth of certain aspects of the music industry. He said “This situation took me into the lane of opening my own record label.
“I started to understand how the industry worked and I met loads of people who are fighting against this kind of situation, I started to help loads of artists as well without charging for anything.
“I literally put it out on the table the whole reality about the music industry”.
The Vintage Music Label owner founded the label in 2013 with the purpose of supporting new and up and coming artists and to discover new trends within the music industry.
However, it was that same year that his mental health took a turn for the worst. Battling severe depression caused by relationship issues and knock-backs with self confidence Stark said “I was really bad.
“For a long time, I was doubting myself.
“I couldn’t find new gigs; I couldn’t do anything.
“I really doubted myself about if I was doing something wrong and doubted if I was a good music producer or good DJ”.
Despite his struggle with mental health, it was this dark period that sparked the inspiration for the creation of his 2019 album Super Asymmetry.
Stark explained how this influenced him to start writing new music, with each different track he composed representing the different stages of the depression he experienced with relationships and negative encounters in his musical career.
Stark D - Acromion
Super Asymmetry features 12 exclusive tracks diving into deep tech and melodic techno.
He expressed that as unique artist he wanted his album to contrast the generic tech house sound that is heard so often in the U.K.
Speaking more on his choice of musical genre for the album, Stark said “House music in general tends to air more on the side of disco which gives an uplifting feel.
“But deep house is more of the opposite side which is more thoughtful music.
“When I pushed this side of the progressive house music with the melodic tech, we get the melancholy side of the melodic tech.
“I then started to produce the album with the idea of raising awareness to people around the journeys we go through as DJ’s”.
The album is available to listen on all major streaming platforms including Apple Music, Spotify, Soundcloud, Amazon, Deezer, Bandcamp and more.
Today, Stark continues to develop his musical career from growing his music label, to producing his own music but also mixing and mastering for other artists.
He has also released his new single ‘Acromion’ (25th March 2022) which he wrote after recovering from a major tendon injury in his shoulder which he says portrays that all important reminder to not take things in life for granted.