He sings and plays the kalyuka, overtone flute, svirel, pyzhatka, reed instruments and gusli.

[1][2] In his early childhood, Starostin sang in a boys choir led by Vadim Sudakov.

He started to play clarinet in school, and later graduated from Merzlyakov college of music, and then from the Moscow Conservatory.

In his songs, Starostin avoids harmonising, staying within certain scales rather than sticking to chord patterns, which makes jazz played this way more "compatible" with traditional folk music.

[4] As of 2011, Starostin moved from jazz and rock compositions back to traditional folk performances.