Bangers, midtempos, soulful, emotional, you name it, he’s got it. Yes, we are talking about easily one of the best producers dance music scene has ever seen, KSHMR. His quick rise in the EDM scene is quite evident with the quality of music he delivers. With support from industry’s heavy hitters (and who wouldn’t want to support such a talent!), KSHMR has become one of the most favourite names for ravers around the world.
Niles Hollowell-Dhar was born on October 8, 1988, in Berkeley, CA. His connection with India is quite known with his stage name and Indian classical music’s influences in his music. The American – Indian producer has been around well before he started producing EDM. He used to produce for some well-known pop and hip-hop artists as a part of The Cataracts, a duo in partnership with his songwriter friend David “Campa” Singer-Vine. They have had a few major hits like 2010 record “Like a G6” (with Far East Movement and Dev) which topped Billboard Hot 100 twice. By 2012, Campa left the music industry for good but Niles kept going with Cataracts till 2014 when he started his KSHMR project.
KSHMR started his EDM journey in Feb 2014 with ‘Megalodon‘, a big room house track released on Spinnin’ Records. With power packed tracks like ‘Omnislash‘ and ‘Baila!‘, KSHMR kept on gaining traction in the scene. Soon he dropped his next release with Firebeatz, “No Heroes” which featured vocal chops well before they became lethal in big room driven mainstream scene. Niles also started his podcast, Welcome to KSHMR.
In September of 2014, KSHMR gave his first major hit in collaboration with DallasK. You guessed it right, it was ‘Burn‘. Released on Revealed, Spinnin and Ultra together, this track wreaked havoc on dancefloors. In no time, KSHMR became a known name. R3hab grabbed the opportunity and released one hell of a track with KSHMR, ‘Karate‘. This pushed KSHMR’s reputation quite higher. People now started asking who he is, because his identity was still a mystery as he was not DJing. Meanwhile, he kept on giving out free downloads and carried on with Welcome to KSHMR. He also delivered a remix for Martin Garrix and Moti‘s collaboration, ‘Virus‘.
2015 started with his next release on Spinnin’, “Dead Man’s Hand“. After a free download of VIP House Version for his Virus Remix, KSHMR officially remixed Galantis‘ signature track “Runaway (U & I)” and Nervo‘s single “It Feels”. KSHMR also tried his hands on downtempo/moombahton domain with Dillon Francis and collaborated on ‘Clouds‘ featuring Becky G, which they gave out as a free download. He also gave away ‘Kashmir’ as a free download. So much new music in just the first quarter of the year. The hype was real and the curiosity for the identity of KSHMR was reaching peaks.
It was the day of March 27, 2015, when Tiesto unveiled KSHMR to the world (watch at 13:25), along with their collaboration “Secrets (ft. Vassy)” at the main stage of mighty Ultra Music Festival Miami. That was a milestone for KSHMR, the legend Tiesto’s seal of approval and one of the best crowds in the world. Now there was no stopping to this talented producer from becoming a giant entity. Secrets went on to become a huge hit for the year, alongside notably diverse remix pack.
After dropping ‘Toca‘ with Carnage and Timmy Trumpet, KSHMR carried on with what he experimented on his remix for Nervo’s “It Feels” and his original, ‘Kashmir’. The string elements were unreal with those productions. By moulding Indian classical music’s influences in dance music, KSHMR rose with ‘Jammu‘ on Spinnin Records. The Indian feel was impeccable with the track. No wonder it was a major hit! As a follow-up to the success of his experiment, he also delivered a 4-tracks EP titled Paradesi which packed an amazing Indian touch, and gave it away as a free download to all those who purchased ‘Jammu’.
Jammu was a turning point for KSHMR’s native sound, but KSHMR cannot be confined to a single genre or style. He has given dubstep tracks like “Lazer Love” and his Halloween special “It Follows“. While his first release after Jammu was an electro house collaboration with Bassjackers, “Memories“, he also delivered a beautiful and lush House track with Shaun Frank and Delaney Jane, ‘Heaven‘. Giving something in return to all those fans who purchase his music became a custom for him. This time, they were given KSHMR’s personal remix of Heaven in his progressive house style.
While his free downloads keep on coming, he also keeps up with his releases. As a follow up to ‘Karate’, KSHMR and R3hab delivered ‘Strong‘ on Spinnin’ records. KSHMR also delivered a midtempo progressive remix of R3hab and Ciara’s track “Get Up“. It was awesome to hear a little variation from native 128 BPM style. Following that up, KSHMR unleashed a slayer of a track with Felix Snow and Madi, “Touch“. This 9o BPM electro house track is sure to tremor floors! At the same time, in his lush and wavy style, he delivered a beautiful VIP remix for the same
As the question was getting more and more frequently asked about him to start touring, he had hinted earlier that he would be starting to tour that year. He gave his debut live performance at the Fonda Theater, Los Angeles in September. Making his debut in India, he played at Sunburn Festival in December and also delivered a perfect anthem for the same in the form of ‘Bazaar‘ in collaboration with Marnik. His live sets are not just sets, he takes listeners on a journey with a story. The visuals and music selection are set around the story. It’s a one-of-a-kind experience. Since he started touring, he has graced some of the biggest stages in the world like Ultra Miami and Coachella.
In his recent releases, he has unleashed a spectacular EP, The Lion Across The Field which also follows his way of performing live sets. You can hear him growing with his Indian musical influences with this EP. The tracks like “Jungle Whistle”, “Dadima” and “Hymn of Reflection” are just breathtaking. The EP also includes his singles like VIP remixes of ‘Touch‘ and that of ‘Wildcard‘.
As great of a producer KSHMR is, he is also known for helping out up and coming producers by answering their questions and providing tips. He also gave away the Ableton live project of ‘Burn’, ‘Secrets’ and his VIP remix of ‘Touch’ on Splice and has released his own sample pack, Sounds of KSHMR vol.1 and he is soon to drop the vol.2 on Splice Sounds. He has also hosted remix competitions for ‘Jammu’ and ‘Touch’ with Spinnin Records. He is also known to be a ghost producer, the correctness of which we may never know because of the NDAs but it is said that he produced ‘Tsunami‘ and ‘Stampede‘ for Borgeous, DVBBS and Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike.
KSHMR is a big name in today’s EDM scene. His quick rise to fame is backed by his talent and unique sound. No matter how big he has got, he is considered one of the most down to earth persons of the industry. With that being said, he’s not just a great producer, but also a great personality. Here we give you KSHMR, as our Artist of the Month for June, 2016!
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