Meet Salar Rajabnik | Artist, musician, songwriter & producer.

We had the good fortune of connecting with Salar Rajabnik and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Salar, why did you pursue a creative career?
For me it was less of a choice and more of just where I ended up. I was not raised in a situation where I had a lot of opportunities generally and I also faced a fair amount of turmoil in my childhood. At the time of my coming of age vinyl was at its pinnacle of being out of fashion so crate-digging and diving into researching music the old school way was one of the only accessible and inexpensive things I could do. Other hobbies and pursuits required a lot more means. Music, whether is was listening to it or eventually learning to play and write it, also just innately resonated with me. It was a way to (at least, in the way I saw it) express oneself while also somehow being able to disappear within something that was a healthy distraction from how difficult your reality may be. It also always seemed like a nice marriage between technical and creative approaches. So I just found myself pouring everything into music this way.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My path has not been an easy one. But, I’m proud of the fact that I worked very hard for everything I have and I have the scars to prove it. I come from a tumultuous upbringing and a real lack of means so as a result of that, playing music was not merely a hobby but in fact a sort of necessary escape and coping mechanism which I began to take deadly serious as a life path very early on. Due to lack of option, the “DIY” ethos was mostly the way I came up. If you can’t go out and just buy it, then you make it yourself, fight for it. Just figure it out. Get in the van and go, etc. I’m thankful for that school of hard knocks approach, as it has taught me humility, patience and the value of accomplishing things on your own. It’s also allowed me to not back down from who I am as a person and not cater to whims or trends – to stick to my guns morally or principally, and of course artistically as well.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Pardis Glendale – I am Iranian and a huge part of our culture which I love to share with others is our rich culinary history. Outside of LA, it’s rare to find people who know much about Iranian cuisine but we’re spoiled to have so many great options due to the large diaspora population here. Pardis, despite being relatively new on the scene, is really exemplary to me, even compared to some of the old school stalwarts. They do staples incredibly well and also feature a few items that are a bit more rare on some of the other menus.

Verdugo Mountains – LA has plenty of mountain ranges to explore but I love the countless trails, some publicly known and many not, in the Verdugos. It’s between the city of LA, the San Fernando Valley & the San Gabriel Mountains so you can explore and get a real range of gorgeous views. It also usually feels far less polluted by influencers, social hikers, selfie takers etc.

Bills Burgers – There are fewer old school LA feeling places left as gentrification and mono-cultural peddling developers start to make everything look the same but this place is a gem, somewhat frozen in time. It feels like the old San Fernando Valley, in the best way. Like a slice of the LA I idolized from old noir films, etc before I moved here. And the burgers are no-nonsense and fantastic.

BMO Stadium – Football (soccer) is one of my main passions in life behind music. I love to play and watch the game, and I’m a huge LAFC supporter since the club’s beginning. Their home venue, currently called BMO Stadium, was purpose built for the team and is in the heart of LAFC, within Exposition Park right next to the LA Coliseum, the museums and rose garden. Attending an LAFC game, aside from watching the world’s game played very well, is enriched by the setting being such a beautiful encapsulation of what truly makes LA great: people from a vast array of cultural and ethnic backgrounds coming together in the heart of the city.

Sabzee Market Encino – Coming back to food being such an integral part of being Iranian, a good market with essential sundries & supplies is key. It’s hard to find certain things necessary for Iranian cooking in your usual grocery store and Sabzee features lots of them. The thing that really sets them apart from their competitors to me is that they are the only spot in town (that I know of) that bakes fresh taftoon bread, which is my favorite of all of the Iranian breads.

Pirates Cove, Malibu – A secluded point off the coast of Malibu. There are so many great beach spots once you get out of the core of LA, but because it requires more effort to reach, it is rarely very crowded. In fact it is often totally deserted. You can go there and have your own little slice of the beach and enjoy the beautiful drive along the way.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are so many people and inspirations I’d love to shout out in regards to support for me as a person and an artist, but for the sake of the Darker Lighter musical moniker I’m working under and those songs, I’d have to say Robert Adam Stevenson. Robert and I met serendipitously via both being brought in to work on a record and hit it off on a number of levels. Eventually it came up that I had been slowly writing, demoing and preparing what would become the upcoming Darker Lighter record that’s due out in March of 2025. I played him the demos & the foundation of friendship, shared work ethic, musical sensibilities & devotion to our crafts provided a perfect bedrock for an ideal musical collaboration. We eventually entered the studio after some pre production and Robert provided the perfect balance and partnership to my songs, bringing a welcome alternative perspective and pair of ears that helped the project take off to the next level. I’ll forever be indebted to him for helping me in that way. He possesses a very rare set of skills in today’s day and age – the ability to balance modern effectivity and workflows, adaptability and sensitivity with a deeply grounded artistic core and personal integrity.

Website: https://www.darkerlightermusic.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darkerlightermusic/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/salarrajabnikmusic

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@DarkerLighter

Other: https://bio.site/darkerlighter for all other links, newsletter sign up, etc.

Image Credits
All Images By Joey Martinez, except color headshot image by Evan Myaskovsky.