Artist of the Month: Dastro
Welcome to the first installment of artist of the month. This month we have Duan Truong who goes by the artist name Dastro. Coming to the United States from Vietnam in 2014 to pursue an education and learn about American culture, Dastro became enamored with the EDM culture and the PLUR movement. Dastro attended his first EDM show in 2017 (Yellow Claw at the Bill Graham in San Francisco, CA) and this changed his life forever. We sat down and spoke with Dastro to gauge his place in the EDM scene and how he got to where he is now and what he plans on for the future. This is his story so far (and moving forward we hope to share even more stories from our local Bay Area scene – and eventually, the greater United States).
Dastro started his project in 2019 as DT and pursued some local gigs in the San Jose, CA area. With an emphasis on hybrid trap and bass house, DT crafted a unique sound for himself that continues to shock his friends and fans alike that keeps venues wanting more. The global pandemic in 2020 proved to be a pinnacle moment for DTs music as he began to venture further down the audio production route and began defining himself as a producer. Shortly thereafter he released a few tracks on SoundCloud ranging from his tune “Back At It” to a bass house remix of Riot Ten’s “Mawlee.”
In 2023, DT started his Dastro project. Dastro stated that at around this time he “decided to take a step further and join the Cosmic Academy to learn about the music industry and production”.
Continuing this pursuit in musical expression and education in the arts, Dastro mentions that:
“My journey in music taught me how to be self-taught, be myself, and trust in myself. I know a lot of good friends in the scene that support and show each other unconditional love and make the EDM community one of the best communities – you can’t find it anywhere else.”
According to Dastro, one of his defining moments as an artist so far was being selected as a winner for the DJ contest we hosted years ago closing for the Tisoki show in San Francisco, CA. This helped motivate him to play on a more professional setup and brought him right back into the studio in the following weeks to continue his dream of being an audio engineer.
Moving into 2024 Dastro has tons of new music prepped and ready to go for release. His new EP “Bad Habits” just dropped on February 2nd and is available now on all streaming platforms. Go check it out if you haven’t yet!
Dastro would like to shout out his friends John Gang and Twstd Zoo and is excited to move forward into the new year.