To Infinity And Beyond

From Their Expansive, Cinematic Songs To The Curious Scientific Society That Surrounds Them, STARSET Are A Band Like No Other. But Just How Far Can They Go? 

- Tomas Doyle

Starset’s Dustin Bates is extremely excited. Talking to Rock Sound from his house in Columbus, Ohio, he’s about as animated as we’ve ever heard a musician… and he isn’t even talking about music.

“I’ve just had a tweet from one of the guys who wrote [recent Star Wars movie] Rogue One!” he blurts, his huge grin almost visible down the phone line. “He says he’s going to check out my band! That’s so awesome!” In case you hadn’t clocked it yet, Dustin is a self-professed, card-carrying nerd whose lifelong obsession with science, engineering and, most importantly, space, has shaped every part of his life. In fact, it was only after he had begun to study for a PhD on the topic and had completed heavyweight research for the U.S. Air Force, that music got a serious look in to his busy life.

“Space is an amazing medium for thought,” begins the frontman, his passion for the cosmos as evident as it is captivating. “The engineering side of the brain is satiated by stuff like spacecraft and interplanetary exploration, and it’s also such a beautiful place – it’s a great canvas for creativity.”

And so, when his previous band Downplay split up, Dustin decided to start a musical project not just inspired by space, but totally devoted to it. Now, alongside bassist / keyboardist Ron DeChant, guitarist Brock Richards and drummer Adam Gilbert, Dustin is combining his two loves to stunning effect.