KSHMR on the Importance of a Good Story, The Loyalty of Fans, And Advice to His Younger Self
For some, KSHMR may be perceived as relatively new to the EDM world having debuted as a solo act in 2014 followed by an impressive growing success that isn’t slowing down, but Niles Hollowell-Dhar has been in the music industry for a long time. Previously one half of the duo The Cataracs which brought us the #1 hit Like A G6, it’s easy to see that KSHMR has a vision of what is producing music, putting together a show, and what his role is regarding his fans. From playing major festivals to launching his own label Dharma Worldwide last year and collaborating with some of the biggest names in the game, the humble DJ kindly dismisses praise by reiterating the importance of providing his fans with a unique feeling; a real story to truly experience that they can feel in their soul, as authentic and heartfelt as can be.
Welcome back to Montreal! It’s not your first time here obviously, is there something that stands out this time around?
It’s my third or fourth time yeah! Usually I come alone but I brought my girlfriend so the idea was to stay a couple of days and to explore but like I was telling you, it is SO cold! So windy! How do you guys do it!?
Thank you so much for taking some time to sit with me, you’re getting on stage in 15 minutes to introduce to us your new concept called The Giant. Tell me about the story behind it, the process, the cinematography.
For the 1st year of KSHMR, I didn’t show my face. I knew I wanted to do something different for this leg of shows when I finally did it and my idea was to have this story. This story is animated, it takes place in the very beginning of the show, you get introduced to these characters and then I start to play music. Then, 15 minutes later, you hear more about this story, who the bad guy is, and you realize that there’s something going on. //
What’s beautiful about the Giant story is that it’s the first time we can completely fully animate the whole thing. Before, we didn’t have the budget so we used to make it look like a comic book, but this time we went all out, got a real production house to make the animations, and we’re telling this story that’s not just about revenge and murder, it’s more of a magical story about a giant that falls from the sky and he meets this little girl, and together they team up and save the world basically together.
That’s beautiful! It’s a very creative side of a music project. DJs play music all the time but you have pushed the story aspect to a whole new level. Whenever you talk about your craft, you always put the emphasis on the word “story”, there must be a reason why it’s so important to you?
I think with instrumental dance music, it’s easy for people to write it off. I came from hip-hop before I got into dance music so even I couldn’t really see the beauty of it, until I started listening to it and starting seeing the story. Even other people’s music, I’ll listen to it and start to see the story of it all and that’s when I realize there is some real soul, and something that touches me in my heart about dance music.
I am proud to be able to give people a show that has a beginning, middle, and end of story. It’s important to all good art to really have a story.
I feel like that differs a lot from The Cataracs, which we obviously have to talk about. Would you consider that KSHMR is a totally new project or is it an expression of something that you wanted to explore while being in The Cataracs?
I would say it’s different. The Cataracs at the beginning was all hip hop and after Like A G6 it became about making sort of pop/dance tracks, but with KSHMR I threw all of that out of the window and I wanted to make this whole new interpretation of dance music. My interpretation of it was sort of cinematic and had Indian influence in it. It was almost a thing I felt was missing from all the music I had done up to that point. The Cataracts music had become a big departure from who I was, so KSHMR was finding my way back more to who I was, what I wanted to be.
I think it also ties in with your influences that you bring in. I’m sure that taints not only your production process but also how you envision your name and your legacy of KSHMR. You have a very distinct sound, would you say that it was your way to go back to your roots and honour them in your own way?
Right, I mean, a lot of me being into hip-hop was about escaping sort of from my family. There was a real rough patch with my family. When my parents split, that was a difficult time for me so hip-hop was an escape. KSHMR was later in life when I came to appreciate my roots, my heritage. The thing that made me different, being Indian, I was sort of running away from that and wanting to fit it. I realized as I grew up that what makes you different is what makes you special and that can be a real tool. It such a resource, if you can just be proud of it you know.
Where people really fail is they don’t recognize the beauty in what makes them different. They’re annoyed by it, it haunted them their whole life, it’s been something they tried to supress so they could fit in. If you could look at it as a resource, something that you’re proud of… in my case, it opened me up to so many instruments that come from that part of the world and it allowed me to really put some soul, to really feel that this is not just a song, this is really me. It was almost like a revealing process for me… and yes I’ve become to be very thankful of my heritage.
I think the whole problem with people accepting who they are is also linked to the mold or the standards created by society, but this is a whole different discussion for another time (laughs).
Oh it really is. (laughs) We could branch out for hours. It’s funny, when I think about if I could go back to high school, you’d say to yourself “just be yourself and you’ll be the coolest kid in school”, right? I think that’s true, but I also think that if I were to go back in my shoes back then, I wonder would I really be strong enough so that I didn’t want to fit it all over again? It’s easier said than done. As you get older, you realize that the kid who owns his weirdness is the coolest kid.
It’s definitely a personal process to get to that point, but I think it’s also good that people look up to people like you that are not shy about talking loads about it. It might help them realize it sooner. I believe that it’s always good to talk about it no matter what.
Definitely. I totally relate to that. Anybody producing, we’re a cast of weirdos, you know, we spent way too much time by ourselves. It’s the kind of thing that only somebody who’s not been very accepted their whole life can do well.
I have to ask you, between the world of pop/club bangers versus the EDM scene, you must’ve seen differences regarding values and how things are perceived in the industry. How did you adapt moving from one to the other?
You’re right. I find that you’re sort of held within your last hit in the pop stuff, whereas in dance music, if you can bring something unique and have a real contribution to the dance scene, you will find that people are loyal, people will stick with you and will support you even when you experiment. It’s not like pop music where by definition you have to be popular you have to have made something popular.
Dance music, fans are a lot more loyal and stick with you a lot longer.
Is loyalty part of why you started you own label? You wanted to bring with you people that supported you and support them in your own way?
The label is less about them being loyal and more about me trying to be loyal to the fact that I was just like every one of these guys that put out a song on Dharma and try to be loyal to my roots. I try to do a lot you know, I mean with the sound packs and the tutorials and everything, I try to really be true to the community I care most about, before anything else.
That is very generous of you. There aren’t a lot of artists that put out that kind of stuff in public, adding to that the masterclass contest tonight… It says a lot about your character, you give back as much as you can and it shows that you care.
Thanks a lot! I kinda define happiness as to be important to whatever is important to you or whoever is important to you. I know that the producer world is really where I belong, where I came from, it’s a world that I care for a lot. So to be important to them, I think when everything else evaporates, I’ll feel good about that because that’s really what I care about.
I guess the opposite of what I’m saying is you could really care about a group of people that you don’t understand but when people shoot for the moon and try to please everyone and try to make pop songs, you got to think about how you’re trying to reach all those fans that you don’t really understand. I feel like I really understand who I’m caring about and devoting my time and energy when I give back to the producing community because I feel like I belong to them.
You’re familiar with the kind of struggles they may be facing since you were in their shoes at one point.
Yeah I can speak with the most confidence to those people. The wider you cast your net, the harder it is to stay true to all these different people. In fact, you end up perceived as untrue to everybody if you cast it so wide with who you’re trying to impress.
It does depend if the artist is after quick money and fame, or if they’re doing it for the right reasons. The EDM scene has been growing exponentially in the past couple of years although it’s been around for a pretty long time. It’s a matter of realizing who’s in it for the right reasons.
Everyone is going to be known for something, right? So you got to be careful with how you spend your attention and energy. You want to get a fanbase, obviously, but in the process you got to be careful with what you become.
RAPID FIRE QUESTIONS WITH KSHMR
Indoor venues or outdoor festivals?
I think indoor. It’s got to be a good venue though. It’s proximity with the crowd, it’s sort of a oneness with everybody.
Type of music or artist people don’t expect you to enjoy?
I don’t listen to EDM very much. I listen to Frank Sinatra, The Beatles, Queen, The Killers, Tupac, Eminem, Nas. I would love to work with Paul McCartney as well as Brandon Flowers.
What is needed in your rider backstage?
If I’m being honest, a little tequila is always nice (laughs). Just a couple of shots, I don’t like to get drunk, I don’t get nervous but it does help stopping you from overthinking the whole thing. I just feel so good when I’m on stage.
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