There is a particular kind of pressure that comes with running a program that others have begun to depend on. French-Indian DJ-producer Rummy Sharma \u2014 founder of 3is\u2019 The Bootcamp Goa<\/a> \u2014 has felt it build steadily over five seasons of the electronic music-focused education initiative. What began as an experiment in bringing serious electronic music education to India is now seeing participation from artists who want to be challenged. \u201cI promote it for the people who are really hungry to learn,\u201d Sharma tells Rolling Stone India <\/em>over a Zoom call from Morjim, Goa, ahead of the camp. \u201cNot for networking. Not to get a slot at [Berlin festival and techno-parade] Rave The Planet. To learn.\u201d<\/p>\n Now in its fifth iteration \u2014 running from Mar. 9 to 21, 2026, in Morjim, Goa \u2014 the Bootcamp has grown from an inaugural batch of 16 or 17 students to a hard cap of 45 participants. Before they can be accepted into the programme, every applicant is thoroughly interviewed by Sharma, who looks for mindset and skill level.<\/p>\n One of the more deliberate shifts in The Bootcamp Goa Season 5 has been a pivot away from international mentors in favor of India\u2019s own. This year\u2019s mentors include Gaurav Raina aka Grain <\/a>of Midival Punditz<\/a>, Ma Faiza<\/a>, Anyasa<\/a>, Audiogramme, Komorebi<\/a>, Hybrid Protokol<\/a>, Clement Dsouza, Navendu, Seventh Sea and music & media company The Big Beat\u2019s Malvika Nanda, among others. The decision, Sharma says, reflects a new confidence in what the Indian electronic music scene can deliver.<\/p>\n \u201cIndian mentors are strong enough, they can deliver,\u201d he says. Past seasons brought in figures like Berlin-based producer Robert Babicz, whose experience at the Bootcamp extended well beyond the fortnight\u2019s program. Sharma recalls Babicz collaborating with percussionist-producer Krishna Kishor, who had been a drummer for A.R. Rahman<\/a>\u2018s ensemble, taking recordings of Konkani spoken word and Indian percussion back to Europe, and fashioning them into new work. \u201cHe got that influence. He carried it back \u2014 and it went international,\u201d Sharma says. That kind of cross-pollination continues to be a feature of the camp, with this season including an Italian couple, who have enrolled to learn DAW-less production and advanced Ableton.<\/p>\n Among the most in-demand courses over the years has been DAW-less performance \u2014 the practice of creating and performing music live, without the scaffolding of a digital audio workstation. The Bootcamp introduced DAW-less modules roughly three years ago. This season, demand has outpaced available equipment. The advanced DAW-less module alone has enrolled 10 participants, while the foundational DAW-less DJing and Ableton tracks each have eight, and the VJing module has seven or eight enrolled students. \u201cI had to cut down on applications because we don\u2019t have enough equipment. Every student needs their own machine,\u201d Sharma says.<\/p>\n For Sharma, DAW-less performance represents a necessary response to a deeper problem facing the industry. \u201cDJing and digital music production is like learning the ABCs. It\u2019s essential. But everyone is a DJ now. Everyone is a digital music producer. And AI is making it more difficult to stand out,\u201d he explains. The way he sees it, the DAW-less participants are signing up to challenge themselves and grow.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are getting tired of influencer DJs,\u201d he says, drawing a line between artists who perform and those who merely push play. \u201c[As] the live act \u2014 with DAW-less, with hardware \u2014 people know this person is real. There\u2019s no ghost production. There\u2019s no copied mix. And in older times, when I was DJing in the Nineties, people saw the turntables as an art. But as it became more and more common, it became boring.\u201d He believes that art is returning, driven partly by audiences and partly by artists who are serious enough to seek it out. A modest DAW-less setup is increasingly accessible, according to Sharma. He points out that these days, a single hardware machine costing around \u20b930,000 can be built out to a full-performance rig for four to five lakh rupees.<\/p>\n Each season, three to four students take up turntablism \u2014 the most demanding of the Bootcamp\u2019s disciplines, and the one closest to Sharma\u2019s own heart. \u201cPersonally, I\u2019m a turntablist, or I\u2019d like to be,\u201d he says, half-laughing. The form has historically struggled to take root in India: access to records and to properly maintained decks has been challenging. But the tide is turning slowly, and the Bootcamp\u2019s greatest asset in this area is one of its core mentors \u2014 Skipster, who won the IDA World DJ Championship in London in December 2025 alongside DJ Johney.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s [Skipster] the best example India can ever have, or the world can ever have,\u201d Sharma says, adding that Skipster is now a permanent part of The Bootcamp team. \u201cHe\u2019s so versatile. So delicate. He\u2019s possibly one of the best teachers on this planet.\u201d For Sharma, the students who pursue turntablism share the no-shortcuts determination similar to those drawn to DAW-less modules. \u201cThey want to enjoy the journey before the destination.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/template> <\/p>\n A newer addition to the Bootcamp\u2019s offering is a fully structured VJing module. While the program introduced VJ masterclasses in earlier seasons, Season 5 marks the first time a complete beginner\u2019s track has been offered: a six-day, 24-hour course led by visual artist Yash Chandak.<\/p>\n The module\u2019s uptake reflects something broader happening at the intersection of sound and creative direction. Several students enrolled in DAW-less advanced are simultaneously taking up VJing and building toward a practice where live music and visuals are generated together in real time. \u201cYou can see the sound,\u201d he says. \u201cWhen you see something in a club and it\u2019s a perfect match for the music being played, it\u2019s fantastic.\u201d<\/p>\n He\u2019s seen artists with synthesizers and groove boxes connected via software to a projector, translating audio signals directly into graphics. \u201cIt catches up a lot in Europe,\u201d Sharma says. The Bootcamp is working to accelerate that trend in India, where club infrastructure is shifting but willing. Sharma \u2014 who runs film education programmes in Europe through his 3is organisation \u2014 is candid about his own desire to one day learn the form himself. \u201cI wish I had the talent. Maybe next year.\u201d<\/p>\n Ask Sharma about the students who have passed through the Bootcamp\u2019s doors and gone on to forge international careers, and he speaks with the measured pride of someone watching a long-term bet pay off. He cites Mashter aka Mash Mendiratta \u2014 now performing regularly in Berlin and Munich, consistently invited back \u2014 and Bahaar, who has played Rave The Planet, representing India in Berlin as well. He also talks about Ankur Vedh Batra, a first-season student turned core team member, and about Dotdat, whom Sharma describes as the next Arjun Vagale<\/a> for his adventurous sonic choices.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I go and play in any club in France or Germany or Italy and I say I\u2019m from India, there was a time people knew Rummy Sharma. Now they say, \u2018Do you know Arjun Vagale?\u2019 His name in the techno scene is very big,\u201d Sharma says with a laugh. <\/p>\n Sharma projects that within two years, India will have \u201cat least 100 serious DAW-less artists,\u201d and he believes \u201c40 to 50 percent\u201d of them will have come through The Bootcamp. He adds, \u201cIndians are hungry to learn. They don\u2019t have the infrastructure or the access, but they are hungry. And that hunger is everything.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n![\"music](\"https:\/\/cdn-ilegigk.nitrocdn.com\/sccIUIbmWTauRiOqCExZqNNyEmbLBkSx\/assets\/images\/optimized\/rollingstoneindia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/The-Bootcamp-Goa-The-Bootcamp-GoaWhatsApp-Image-2024-06-09-at-13.39.53-1-960x1280.jpeg\" "\\"music\\"")
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